Page 76 - 1951 VES Meteor

V. E. S. Prospects
Hot Off The Gridiron
Yes, now summertime is done and autumn days are won. With the coming of fall our thoughts turn to football. The V. E. S. gridiron is sizzl- ing this season.
We lost many to the status of alumni last spring. This year we have :;oven returning lettermen, but we lost r1Jch oF our last year's weight and ex- ro rience. Therefore this year's team w;ll depend much upon speed, hard drive, and that old V. E. S. spirit and determination to win. The return- ing lettermen are Sammy Peirson, Smokey W atts, George Barlow, Chauncy Hutter, Bill Stokes, Tal Kemper, and Ed d i e Hotchkiss. Among these men, Sammy Peirson, Chauncy Hutter and Ed Hotchkiss are a big part of our backfield strength. George Barlow and Smokey W atts are two of our finest prospects for end. Bill Stokes and Tal Kemper are again lending much power to our line. Stokes at center and Kemper at tackle.
We hove been very fortunate this season with some of our new boys, all of whom look very promising at this point. The newcomers for our varsity football are: Bob Bradsher, B. Shaw Smith, Bill Huggins, Fred Jones, Bob Hughes, Joe Barber, Bob Grubb, and Mike Spear.
Then there are those nonlettermen, many of whom played on last year's J. V. and midget teams, who are com- ing along very well on the varsity this year. They are: Owens Jones, Blair Farinholt, Johnny Hunt, Alex Dirom, Vern Keefer, Archer Ruffin, "Jungle Jim" Wiley, Robbie Lowe, Gibbie Roe, Fred Schilling, Barclay Bondu- rant, Bob McDowell, Sox Sibley, Nick Steiglitz, Waller Wills, Jimmy David- son, Phil Braxton and Milton Barber.
At fullback this year we have a lot of strength in the form of Joe Barber and Mike Spear. Joe Barber, at 185 pounds, will likely be one of the hard- est-hitting backs in the state. While less experienced, Mike Spear is do- ing well on both offense and defense.
Our halfbacks this year are gen- erally small, but are fast and spirited and numerous. V eterans Hotchkiss and Hutter lend much strength, speed and experience to this position . Hut- ter has been recovering from a sum- mer operation, but will be ready for action in a few weeks. Sibley, Steig-
litz, and Wills give the halfbacks posts more speed and depth than is found at other positions. Both Hughes and Grubb, newcomers, have caught the coaches' eyes with their speed and football savvy.
Sammy Peirson has been a stand- out so far at quarterback. Phil Brax- ton and Milton Barber, though lack- ing varsity experience will add valua- ble depth to this position as the sea- son progresses.
The ends this year are definitely the brightest spot on the team. W e have veterans George Barlow and Smoky Watts back this year to give us their top-flight defensive know-how and skill. Blair Farinholt is showing very well on offense. Owens Jones, a vastly improved player, and Johnny Hunt give the ends valuable reserve strength. All of our ends are tall and fairly fast.
Giving the coach the most concern for this season is tackle depth. Both Tal Kemper and Alex Dirom are strong tackles in the 180 pound class. Be- hind them are four prospects who are inexperienced but hard-working. They are: Bill Huggins, Arthur Emory, Vern Keefer and B. Shaw Smith, all of whom will be heard from before the season is over.
At guard we have six nonlettermen, all in the 160-175 pound class, who
are waging a mild war to see who will get the starting call. These men are: Archer Ruffin, Fred Schilling, Jim Wiley, Robbie Lowe, G ibbie Roe, and Barclay Bondurant. The coach is not worried about overal l guard strength, but he does expect a lot of fighting spirit and hard hitting from those who want to be putting in game time at this position.
Bill Stokes, a veteran who played guard and end last year provides our main strength at center. He is an aggressive blocker as well as a defen- sive standout. Fred Jones, a new- comer from St. Christopher's, is show- ing promise, while Bob McDowell adds reserve strength to this import- ant post.
Our coach this year is Mr. Schulte, also a newcomer to V. E. S. He is al- ready very popular with his team, as well as the student body and faculty in general. This is his second year at coaching, and we can see that he's tops in this field. Mr. Schulte seems much pleased now that the season is under way. He says, "This year's team lacks size and experience, but is fast and the boys are showing a lot of hustle. There are only seven return- ing lettermen, but several new boys are showing promise. As for the sea- son outlook, we will, as usual, be play- ing several bigger teams from big-
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THE METEOR
SPORTS