Two Down, Eight to Go

An old familiar refrain came from South Bend: Notre Dame has another winner. In two games the Irish's unscored-on teen-agers had piled up 13 touchdowns, nine against Pittsburgh, four against Tulane.With the help of two bona fide Irishmen and a pair of trigger-armed passers, the Fighting Irish looked like champions as usual.

Irishman No. I is Ed McKeever, who has stepped into the sizable coaching shoes of Frank Leahy (now a Navy lieutenant) and found them a perfect fit. Once before, in 1942, he subbed for Leahy and steered Notre Dame to victories over Stanford, Iowa Pre-Flight and Illinois. That time, he admits, he was so scared the kids had to calm him down. This time, the happy-go-lucky Texan (he played for Texas Tech) has half-kidded, half-finessed his man-sized freshmen into blocking and tackling the way Knute Rockne's veterans once did.

Since spring practice, McKeever has sifted and shifted his young huskies from spot to spot. Freshman Johnny Ray bounced from end to center to guard before winding up as first-string center. Towering Joe Gasparella, a 6-ft.-4 freshman who started as a center, has become a quarterback. This week, after six months of juggling, McKeever was still at it, still maneuvering and polishing, as he prepared his powerhouse for Dartmouth's not-so-strong Ivy Leaguers.

Irishman No. 2 is red-haired Robert Kelly, the only real speedster in Notre Dame's backfield. Against Pittsburgh, the rosy-cheeked V12 right halfback handled the ball 14 times, gained 232 yards, raced to four touchdowns (one an 84-yard gallop). Against Tulane, his change-of-pace foxing of the defense enabled him to pull down the first touchdown pass. But Kelly's span at South Bend may be short; he completes his V12 training about Nov. 1.

On the comforting side, 34-year-old Coach McKeever knows that he has a wicked weapon in his forward passing offense. Quarterbacks Joe Gasparella and Frank Dancewicz are equally deadly with their pitching arms up to 30 yards, already have completed 20 passes for 421 yards. Effective on the receiving end, besides fast-breaking Bob Kelly, are Halfback Achille ("Chick") Maggioli and two 6-ft.-4 freshmen ends, Bill O'Connor and Tom Guthrie.

If they get by Dartmouth as expected, McKeever and his yearlings will still have seven tough games to go for an unbeaten season. Two of the seven future opponents are especially formidable

P: Navy, which found the range against Penn State, 55-to-14, after being outgunned by North Carolina Pre-Flight the week before.

P: Unbeaten Army, which shook Halfback Glenn Davis loose for three of its nine touchdowns against Brown.

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