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THE ATHENAEUM
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men I do not mean men who are not capable of carrying the ball fo
the required yardage, but I mean stars whose work was so brilliant
that they towered head and shoulder above their team mates, mere
were no Johnsons, Gentrys, Langlands, Clarks, Warrens, Brocks,
Maxwells, and other stars of the past whose sensational sidestepping
broken field runs, have often brought the spectators to their leet.
But in place of these have come hard charging, line-plunging backs;
men who do their work well and consistently.
Another feature of the season has been the lack of heady, clever
quarterbacks. One Southern coach said at the beginning of the sea
son that the team which possessed a capable quarterback would win
the championship. He was indeed a prophet for Tuskegee, Southern
Champions for 1924 had two of the brainest quarterbacks in the game.
Mobley and Smith possessed all the requisites of field generals- The
success of Abbott’s crew can be traced directly to these men.
The third feature of the 1924 season was the development of
strong lines.. Never before in Southern football have so many teams
boasted of strong lines. Perhaps this is the real season for the lack
of sensational backfield men. Morehouse who in the past has always
has a good line still stood out above her opponents when it came to
the forward wall- Atlanta University, Tuskegee, Morris Brown—all
had lines that would make any team feel proud.
The forward pass was not used as frequently as has been in the
past, with one exception. Most teams regarded the forward pass
as a weapon which may prove to be a boomerang as it is unless used
with discretion. Morehouse however had a passing system that could
be used anywhere and it was a common thing to see tha Tigers throw
ing a pass when deep in their own territory. But most teams only
resorted to the pass when time would not permit a drive of any great
distance. . .
li? looking over the season there were very few weak teams.
Every college had an eleven of which it could feel proud. What was
lacking in science, and ability they made up in fight. Coaching had
improved and every college possessed coaches of unusual ability.
-.Harvey of Morehouse, Abbott of Tuskegee, Aiken of Atlanta Univ.,
McGhee of Morris Brown, Fields of Fisk, Johnson of Clark, Kendle of
Talladega, Harris of Ala. State Normal, Bynum of N. C- State College
and others have developed teams which are capable of holding their
own anywhere. Harvey of Morehouse is the dean of Negro coaches,
having coached at Morehouse for the past nine years. In developing
green material, he is without a peer in the country. Johnson has
worked wonders with Clark as has Harris of Ala. State Normal.
The officiating was unusually good, showing great improvement
over last year- Very few lost games could be traced to bad officiating.
Gentry, Kelly, Hamilton, Pinkett, Hill, Rivers, Brown, Lawrence, and
others are helping to d#velop football in the South-