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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 777215, member: 289"] THE GAME The Post Standard had a front page story on SU’s “Most Colorful Opener”. Three Thousand SU freshmen wore orange caps and carried multi-colored cards they used to create an American flag. Forty patients form the local VA hospital were guests of the University. Some of them had not been outside the grounds of the hospital for a year. Alpha Tau Omega’s cannon was missing much of the week. It was returned by some Colgate students just before the game, having been painted maroon. The SU band, 110 strong, was decked out in new double-breasted navy blue uniforms with orange trim, (the current SU players would have approved). A t their head was Alta Berg, the national champion baton twirler and new Orange Girl. (The number of tubas was not reported .) Even West Virginia fans were reported as being impressed. The weather was perfect. The game was great and the sun set Orange. If you could go back in time to watch an SU game, this one would be on your short list. Putting Bill Reddy’s and Arnie’s Burdick’s observations together: “Twenty-five thousand hearts each stopped several times in Archbold Stadium yesterday afternoon before Syracuse turned back West Virginia 27-20 in a bruising football thriller. It was exciting enough for Hollywood to borrow the script….A Syracuse team which alternately sparkled and sputtered but which capitalized on its breaks beat the rugged West Virginia gridders….The Orange won because their halfbacks, Jimmy Brown and Jim Ridlon played like the All-Americans they are. Racing like a loaded beer truck running downhill, Brown threw it into high gear in the last seconds of the third period to ignite the fire for victory…..Brown rolling overland like a berserk tank, gained single-handedly more than twice as much yardage on the ground as the entire West Virginia backfield.” (Including Jack Rabbitts!) “On the ground, as Syracuse piled up 328 yards and netted 20 first downs to West Virginia’s 12, the Orange was blocking better than against Pitt and they managed to contain the visitor’s outside speed rather handily. Jim Ridlon returned the opening kick-off to the Syracuse 34 and Jim Brown ripped off 16 yards to midfield on the first play. But the Orange was forced to punt and Paul Shepard called for a fair catch at the West Virginia 17. “A second down pass gave Syracuse its first big break. (Mickey) Trimarki hit Joe Kopinsky in the hands but he juggled the ball and Ridlon, defending alertly, grabbed the ball for an interception. He ran it back from the 32 to the 18. From there Brown took a pitch-out, went wide and shook off Shepard on the 10 yard line, then went the rest of the way untouched to score.” Arnie Burdick described Jim as “roaring into the end zone”. Kopinski felt a little better after he blocked Jim’s extra point try. Syracuse led 6-0 4:40 into the game. The Orange then forced the ‘neers to punt. Snider “loosed a beautiful 49 yard kick”. The ‘Cuse drove to midfield but Danny Ciervo fumbled after a short gain to end the drive. After an offsides made it first and 15. Back-up quarterback Alex Szuch “heaved a long wobbly pass, (Arnie Burdick referred to it as a “blooper”) down the right sideline. Despite Two Orangemen, (Burdick identified three: Ferd Kuzala, Alan Cann and Ernie Jackson), covered the intended receiver but even so (John) Bowles managed to make the catch. Then he broke out of the knot of the defenders, stumbled as he got away and covered the last 23 yards to score. It was a 55 yard pass play.” But Dick Aloise broke through to block the point and keep the game tied at 6-6. Jim Brown returned the kick-off from the goal line to the 21 and then Syracuse put on a 9 play 79 yard drive to take the lead. The big play was a 37 yard pass from Ferd Kuzala to Nick Baccile, who was escorted out of bounds at the West Virginia 19. “Brown and (back-up fullback Alan) Cann gained 11 yards and a first down and with four seconds left in the period West Virginia sent in its starting array for defense. They were set to stop Brown and Kuzala fooled them neatly. Ferdie faked a handoff to Brown, who cut off to the right and Kuzala kept it, ran to his left and swept the final five yards for the score as the people ended. This time Brown converted and it was 13-6 going into the second period.” West Virginia, unphased, marched back down the field to tie the game. A 15 yard pass from Trimarki to Roger Chancy, another on 4th down for 11 yards to Kopnicky and a pass interference call on Don Althouse were the key plays. The last put the ball on the SU 4 and three plays later Larry Krutko “cracked into the end zone”. Snider kicked the point to tie it at 13 all. Stymied by the Mountaineer’s tough defense and an offsides penalty, SU punted from deep in its own territory on third down, using a trick play. “Syracuse used its buck-lateral play in which Zimmerman spun away from the line and Ridlon took a direct pass it was third down and Ridlon’s booming punt caught the Mountaineers by surprise, rolling dead at the visitor’s 25.” A motion penalty set them further back and they had to punt. Ed Ackley made a fine 21 yard return and SU had the ball in West Virginia territory. Two runs by Cann got a first down. Four short runs got another and Zimmernan hit Brown for a pass to the 5. But a botched handoff ended the drive with only 34 seconds left in the half. West Virginia didn’t want to try anything from down there and it was 13-13 at intermission. Nothing much happened in the third period until Ralph Anastasio fumbled a pitchout and Ted Warholak fell on it on the Orange 46. Syracuse drove to the Mountie 29 before giving up the ball on downs when a Zimmerman sneak came up short. “Jim Brown made a marvelous interception to set up the tie-breaking score. As Alex Szuch passed long toward Bruce McClung Brown reached over the end’s shoulder and grabbed the ball on the Orange 35.” Syracuse now drove 65 yards for a touchdown they scored twice. “In the 65 yard surge, Jimmy contributed 48 yards, including the final two His 34 yard sweep of the Mountaineer left flank, after taking a pitchout from quarterback Chuck Zimmerman was as brilliant and as determined as the ancient bowl had ever witnessed. … Brown hit up the middle, hopped a tackler at the line of scrimmage, seemed to be stopped by the secondary, then spun aside and raced across the goal line. That tally was nullified by a clipping penalty which put the ball on the 25. Three plays later, Brown again was off to the races. He went wide on a pitch, shook off a tackle by Howley and galloped 22 yards before he was pushed out of bounds on the 3. In one more play Brown was again in the end zone and this time it counted.” Brown converted and it was 20-13, 2:37 into the fourth quarter. “On West Virginia’s next play from scrimmage, Syracuse got the “lock-up” break. Trimarki tried a deep pitch-out to Sammy Sizemore the halfback fumbled it and (Dick) Lasse recovered it for Syracuse on the visitor’s 26. Brown and Bacille collaborated on a fine gain there. Jimmy burst through the middle for 11 yards, fumbled when he was tackled and the ball flew forward toward the goal line. Bacille beat two defenders in the race to cover the ball and ti was first down for Syracuse on the four. From there, after Ridlon made a yard, Coffin dived for the remaining three and when brown converted for the third time it was 27-13 at 4:30 of the final period.” “Here the Mountaineers went into their aerial act and they moved strongly to their final tally. Two Trimarki passes and a 15 yard gain by Noel Whipkey on a draw play moved the ball quickly downfield. Again, Trimarki, rushed hard, managed to complete a pass to Anastasio on the Syracuse 3 and Snider dived from there for the score. Snider added the point and the scoring was over. “There was still 7:05 left when Syracuse received the kick-off. Brown and Ridlon carried it to a first down at midfield before Brown hit left tackle three straight times. His third down stab should have given Syracuse another first down on the West Virginia 37 but the Orange was caught for holding and pushed back to its own 44. Ridlon made nine, then punted to the visitor’s 27. The Southerners had the ball and 3:23 was remaining on the clock. Trimarki’s first pass was good for a first down on the 38 and consumed only five seconds. On the next play, Ridlon intercepted Trimarki’s bid for a touchdown on the Orange 32.” Syracuse couldn’t quite run the clock out so they did one of those things you wonder about- they punted on the last play of the game with a one touchdown lead. “Althouse kicked a 50 yard punt, a beauty, which Jack Rabbits took on the three and returned 12 yards as the clock expired. [/QUOTE]

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