right end a hard place to get a gain. Forssen, a new man, will
go in at quarter, while the halves will be Chase and Burdon. Chase is
the surest ground-gainer, and can be depended on to advance the ball
every time it is given to him. Burdon is good for around-the-end plays,
as he is a fast runner, good dodger, and uses his blockers to the best
advantage. His chief fault is in not starting the second the ball is
snapped. Bryant is pretty sure of full-back, as he is the best punter on
the team. He runs low and hard, but is apt to fumble.
What has weakened the Newton team more than the lack of old material,
however, is the preference the candidates for positions on the eleven
have been showing for tennis. For the past ten days a tennis tournament
has been in progress, and many of the football-players have been trying
for the prizes there in preference to practicing with the eleven on the
school grounds.
The interest in football and baseball has always been greater in the New
England schools than in almost any other, as I have frequently found
occasion to mention in these columns. An additional proof of this fact,
if any such proof were needed, is that the Boston English High-School,
besides putting a strong school team into the field, is supporting class
teams. The class of '98 especially is doing good work in that direction,
and intends to arrange games, if possible, with all the first-year
classes in Boston. Such teams are bound to be a good thing for the
institutions that have them, as there is no better way of developing
material which will eventually prove of vast benefit to the first team.
The kicking game of the present will be taken advantage of by the
Cambridge M.T.S. eleven, for Captain Murphy has among his new men as
good a punter as there is on any team. This man is Yeager. Last year he
made some reputation by returning for Brewer and Fairchild of the
Harvard eleven in their practice before the Springfield game. After
catching the longest punts he would return the ball by a punt of the
entire distance. As a rusher Yeager has not such a good reputation, but
with White and Thompson as side partners he will easily be brought up to
the standard. Another good man that Captain Murphy may rely upon is
Seaver, who used to go to Brown and Nichols'. He has of late been
practising with C.H. and L., and will try for an end on the C.M.T.S.
team. Last year he broke his arm at the first of the season, but his
play improve
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