1951 Yearbook
Source URL
Title
1951 Yearbook
Description
THE DAILY TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1950
St. Norberfs Wrecks St. Ambrose Winning Streak, 17 to 13
Pat Smithwick
Nabs 9 Passes
To Upset Bees
Knights Take 17-0 Lead
Before Saints Score
BY JERRY JURGENS
St. Ambrose college's football
glory road was detoured into a
blind alley Sunday afternoon.
St. Norberfs Green Knights'
featuring a deadly aerial tandem
and bruising ground forces, buried
the Bees' 16-game winning streak
in Muny stadium, 17-13, to put a
damper on homecoming festivities
for 8,500 fans.
Coach Tom Hearden's Knights
of West DePere, Wis., roared into
a 14-0 lead at half time, and added
a field goal midway in the third
period before the Saints mustered
their forces tfor two TD drives
within the five minutes at the
close of the third period and the
opening of the fourth.
St. Norberfs rode to victory
on the passing arm of Bob Lindsay and the sticky fingers of
Pat Smithwick who already is
being eyed by the pros as another possible Don Hutson.
Seven times this combination
made connections, no matter what
the St. Ambrose defensive pattern.
Smithwick eluded his defenders to
make running catches, he stopped
in the open for short pitches, and
once he speared the ball with three
Bees almost on his neck.
Although Lindsay was his favorite sharp-shooter, Smithwick
caught two other passes thrown by
Dick Romanski. That gave him
nine catches out of the 15 the
Knights completed. He had another, but the officials ruled he
was out of bounds when he came
down with the ball on the Ambrose three-yard line after making
a leaping stab.
Smithwick alone accounted for
168 of the 224 yards the Knights
produced through the air lanes.
In the first period, he grabbed six
tosses, setting up a field goal attempt which went wide, the first
time Norbert had its hands on the
ball. He paved the way for a 68-
yard payoff march on the second
Norbert trip.
When Smithwick wasn't spearing passes, Bob Bush, a hard-
running back who could qualify
in the Big Ten was tearing the
Ambrose line apart. Although
only 5 feet 10 and weighing 180
pounds, he had the power of a
200 pounder. Time and time
again he rammed through the
Ambrose fortress and slipped
out of the grasp of tacklers as
he angled into secondary.
The Bees sorely missed the
services of their backfield ace, Pat
Carroll. With the fleet Texan in
the lineup, the result might have
been different, for St. Ambrose
had only one effective running
back on this occasion. However,
Dick Zielinski couldn't carry the
load alone.
Art Nixon, standout las& season
when the Bees were unbeaten and
untied, made his first appearance
since suffering a broken collarbone the first day of practice. He
gave a commendable performance
although far below his 1949 standard.
Dick Forbes and Bill Newell
were the standouts in the St. Ambrose line. On several plays, the
burly Bee end roamed to the opposite side of the line to bring
down the ball carrier.
St. Norbert effectively alternated 5-3-3 and 6-2-2-1 defensive
patterns to throttle the heretofore,
heralded St. Ambrose running
at+p^k
Dick Les comes up between two
Norbert players to grab one
St. Norberfs held the statistical edge in almost every department. The Knights made 22
first downs to the Bees' 15,
picked up 209 yards rushing to
134, and 224 on passes to 157
The Knights completed 15 out
of 23 aerial attempts to 10 of 21
for the Bees. They intercepted
three Ambrose shots while the
Bees flagged two Norbert aerials.
St. Norbert wasted no time in
putting the Lindsay-Smithwick-
Bush act onto the stage after the
opening kickoff. Bush returned
Michalik's boot to the 30. After
he made a first down on the Norbert 45, Lindsay sailed the first
pass to Smithwick who was
dropped on the Ambrose 42.
After two plays lost a yard,
Lindsay and Smithwick again
went into operation, this time
making connections on the Bees'
13 for a 30-yard gain. Then came
another by the same pair, only to
have the officials nullify the catch
on the three because the receiver
was out of bounds.
So with the ball on the Ambrose 10, John Richay attempted
a field goal which sailed to the
right of the uprights.
The Bees ran only two plays
before kicking the ball out of
danger, Berg booting to Norb
Wawrzyn on the Norbert 32. This
time the Knights went all the way,
two passes to Smithwick eating up
56 yards in the 68-yard sally.
The last put the ball on the
Ambrose 13. Wawrzyn notched the
first score on the fourth play,
going over from the two. Richay's
kick was good.
Norbert had another drive under
way late in the period but an intercepted pass disrupted the
march on the Ambrose 33.
Failure of the Bees to exercise
the punt gave Norbert a head
start for its second touchdown in
the second period. On a fake punt
on fourth down, Nixon was
dropped for a five-yard loss and
Norbert took possession of the ball
on its 38.
A 14-yard pass to Smithwick
got the drive under way. Lindsay altered the air patterns at this
point, for his next two shots were
aimed at halfbacks Frank Pirman
and Bob Morrissey. Those plus a
12-yard bolt by Bush through
right tackle put the ball on the St,
Ambrose- 10. ,
On the next play Lindsay
overshot his target, Smithwick,
in the end zone, after which
Wawrzyn lost two as Newell
nailed him. A pass to Wawrzyn
gained seven, and on fourth
down Bush circled left end for
the score. Richay's kick again
was good.
The Bees moved to the Norbert
13 on a series of passes, %but
Wawrzyn intercepted Berg's next
toss as the half ended.
The same man interrupted St.
Ambrose's bid after the kickoff in
the third session. He speared a
Matera pass on his own 12.
That set the stage for Richay's
field goal. With the aid of a 15-
yard penalty against the Bees and
some fancing' running by Bush,
the Knights moved to the five yard
line from where Richay's kick
was good on fourth down. They
did not fire a single pass in the
journey.
Eight plays later the Bees had
their first score. Richay's kickoff
went over the goal. Zielinski
picked up 13 and a penalty against
Norbert put the ball on the Ambrose 43. Two line plays netted
nothing. Then Tom Greenan shot
a 45-yard pass to Ed Scheck who
stumbled on the Norbert 12.
Zielinski and Greenan picked
up nothing on two cracks at the
line. Jerry Scherer threaded a
pass to Scheck on the four.
Zielinski shot through two tacklers on a scoot around left end
for the score. Tim Madden's
kick was blocked.
St. Norberfs Wrecks St. Ambrose Winning Streak, 17 to 13
Pat Smithwick
Nabs 9 Passes
To Upset Bees
Knights Take 17-0 Lead
Before Saints Score
BY JERRY JURGENS
St. Ambrose college's football
glory road was detoured into a
blind alley Sunday afternoon.
St. Norberfs Green Knights'
featuring a deadly aerial tandem
and bruising ground forces, buried
the Bees' 16-game winning streak
in Muny stadium, 17-13, to put a
damper on homecoming festivities
for 8,500 fans.
Coach Tom Hearden's Knights
of West DePere, Wis., roared into
a 14-0 lead at half time, and added
a field goal midway in the third
period before the Saints mustered
their forces tfor two TD drives
within the five minutes at the
close of the third period and the
opening of the fourth.
St. Norberfs rode to victory
on the passing arm of Bob Lindsay and the sticky fingers of
Pat Smithwick who already is
being eyed by the pros as another possible Don Hutson.
Seven times this combination
made connections, no matter what
the St. Ambrose defensive pattern.
Smithwick eluded his defenders to
make running catches, he stopped
in the open for short pitches, and
once he speared the ball with three
Bees almost on his neck.
Although Lindsay was his favorite sharp-shooter, Smithwick
caught two other passes thrown by
Dick Romanski. That gave him
nine catches out of the 15 the
Knights completed. He had another, but the officials ruled he
was out of bounds when he came
down with the ball on the Ambrose three-yard line after making
a leaping stab.
Smithwick alone accounted for
168 of the 224 yards the Knights
produced through the air lanes.
In the first period, he grabbed six
tosses, setting up a field goal attempt which went wide, the first
time Norbert had its hands on the
ball. He paved the way for a 68-
yard payoff march on the second
Norbert trip.
When Smithwick wasn't spearing passes, Bob Bush, a hard-
running back who could qualify
in the Big Ten was tearing the
Ambrose line apart. Although
only 5 feet 10 and weighing 180
pounds, he had the power of a
200 pounder. Time and time
again he rammed through the
Ambrose fortress and slipped
out of the grasp of tacklers as
he angled into secondary.
The Bees sorely missed the
services of their backfield ace, Pat
Carroll. With the fleet Texan in
the lineup, the result might have
been different, for St. Ambrose
had only one effective running
back on this occasion. However,
Dick Zielinski couldn't carry the
load alone.
Art Nixon, standout las& season
when the Bees were unbeaten and
untied, made his first appearance
since suffering a broken collarbone the first day of practice. He
gave a commendable performance
although far below his 1949 standard.
Dick Forbes and Bill Newell
were the standouts in the St. Ambrose line. On several plays, the
burly Bee end roamed to the opposite side of the line to bring
down the ball carrier.
St. Norbert effectively alternated 5-3-3 and 6-2-2-1 defensive
patterns to throttle the heretofore,
heralded St. Ambrose running
at+p^k
Dick Les comes up between two
Norbert players to grab one
St. Norberfs held the statistical edge in almost every department. The Knights made 22
first downs to the Bees' 15,
picked up 209 yards rushing to
134, and 224 on passes to 157
The Knights completed 15 out
of 23 aerial attempts to 10 of 21
for the Bees. They intercepted
three Ambrose shots while the
Bees flagged two Norbert aerials.
St. Norbert wasted no time in
putting the Lindsay-Smithwick-
Bush act onto the stage after the
opening kickoff. Bush returned
Michalik's boot to the 30. After
he made a first down on the Norbert 45, Lindsay sailed the first
pass to Smithwick who was
dropped on the Ambrose 42.
After two plays lost a yard,
Lindsay and Smithwick again
went into operation, this time
making connections on the Bees'
13 for a 30-yard gain. Then came
another by the same pair, only to
have the officials nullify the catch
on the three because the receiver
was out of bounds.
So with the ball on the Ambrose 10, John Richay attempted
a field goal which sailed to the
right of the uprights.
The Bees ran only two plays
before kicking the ball out of
danger, Berg booting to Norb
Wawrzyn on the Norbert 32. This
time the Knights went all the way,
two passes to Smithwick eating up
56 yards in the 68-yard sally.
The last put the ball on the
Ambrose 13. Wawrzyn notched the
first score on the fourth play,
going over from the two. Richay's
kick was good.
Norbert had another drive under
way late in the period but an intercepted pass disrupted the
march on the Ambrose 33.
Failure of the Bees to exercise
the punt gave Norbert a head
start for its second touchdown in
the second period. On a fake punt
on fourth down, Nixon was
dropped for a five-yard loss and
Norbert took possession of the ball
on its 38.
A 14-yard pass to Smithwick
got the drive under way. Lindsay altered the air patterns at this
point, for his next two shots were
aimed at halfbacks Frank Pirman
and Bob Morrissey. Those plus a
12-yard bolt by Bush through
right tackle put the ball on the St,
Ambrose- 10. ,
On the next play Lindsay
overshot his target, Smithwick,
in the end zone, after which
Wawrzyn lost two as Newell
nailed him. A pass to Wawrzyn
gained seven, and on fourth
down Bush circled left end for
the score. Richay's kick again
was good.
The Bees moved to the Norbert
13 on a series of passes, %but
Wawrzyn intercepted Berg's next
toss as the half ended.
The same man interrupted St.
Ambrose's bid after the kickoff in
the third session. He speared a
Matera pass on his own 12.
That set the stage for Richay's
field goal. With the aid of a 15-
yard penalty against the Bees and
some fancing' running by Bush,
the Knights moved to the five yard
line from where Richay's kick
was good on fourth down. They
did not fire a single pass in the
journey.
Eight plays later the Bees had
their first score. Richay's kickoff
went over the goal. Zielinski
picked up 13 and a penalty against
Norbert put the ball on the Ambrose 43. Two line plays netted
nothing. Then Tom Greenan shot
a 45-yard pass to Ed Scheck who
stumbled on the Norbert 12.
Zielinski and Greenan picked
up nothing on two cracks at the
line. Jerry Scherer threaded a
pass to Scheck on the four.
Zielinski shot through two tacklers on a scoot around left end
for the score. Tim Madden's
kick was blocked.
Publisher
Wagner's Printery Davenport, IA
Date
1951
Rights
St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA 52803
Identifier
http://cdm16810.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16810coll2/id/10136