Forward Pass: A Story of the "New Football"

by Ralph Henry Barbour

For the first few minutes the ball changed hands constantly, Yardley winning the advantage of territory on every exchange of punts. Brewer was weak in this feature and Kapenhysen was quite at his best to-day. Finally, with the ball on Brewer’s twenty-five yard line, Clapp tried a quarter-back run and lost four yards by it, Minturn failing to block his man.

“Why didn’t he try Dickenson’s end?” growled Loring on the side-line. “He had all the room he wanted, the silly ass!”

Then, just when Brewer was expecting it, a forward pass was tried and spoiled, the ball going to Brewer. Tired of being out-punted, the red-and-white settled down to the game they knew best and plugged away at the Yardley line for short gains. Twice they barely made first down, and then Berwick suddenly weakened and the Brewer backs piled through him for ten yards or more.

In the center of the field a fumble gave Yardley the ball again and Clapp copied Brewer’s tactics. Kapenhysen made a short gain through left tackle and Connor, on a quick plunge at center, captured first down. Back to the thirty yard line went Yardley. Then Clapp engineered for a position in front of goal and sent Capes around right end. But Brewer was looking for this play, naturally enough, and Capes, fight as hard as he might, was downed back of his line. It was third down and Kapenhysen fell back for a try at placement. But Berwick passed high and the ball just tipped the full-back’s fingers and went rolling off up the field. Connor was quickly after it, but the Brewer right end got by Minturn, shouldered Connor aside and fell on the ball with half the field on top of him. On the side line Loring and Hill and the others were muttering uncomplimentary things. Payson seemed quite unmoved by the catastrophe, although for some time past he had been scowling darkly. Brewer plunged away at the blue line again and found lots of room between guard and guard. Colton and Hadlock played their own positions and Berwick’s, but Brewer’s attack was savage and soon the red-and-white was on Yardley’s twenty-five yards and directly in front of her goal.

“I think I can see about four points coming to Brewer,” observed Smith to Dan. But Dan shook his head.

“They won’t kick,” he said. “It isn’t their game. It’ll be a fake, perhaps a forward pass but more likely a half-back run.”

And so it proved. Brewer formed as though for a placement kick, but the ball slanted off to the right half-back and he went skimming around the line. It was Minturn’s end again, and Minturn was caught napping. Five yards, ten yards sped the runner, the field trailing after him. Then Kapenhysen got him well over toward the side-line and it was first down once more for Brewer with less than fifteen yards to go. Brewer tried the center again, but this time Colton and Hadlock were desperate and the attack was piled up for no gain. Then, on a cross-buck, Brewer’s right-half attempted Yardley’s right end. But it was Dickenson this time and not Minturn that he had to fool, and Dickenson refused to be fooled. It was third down with eight yards to go.

“Well, it’s kick this time, all right,” said Smith. Payson, who had paused nearby heard and turned his head, listening absently, his mind on the next play.

“Bet you a nickel,” answered Dan. “They haven’t got a fellow who can make a drop or kick from placement, or they’d have tried it before when they were right in front. Now they’ve got a nasty angle and I bet they’ll try a trick.”