Villa Nova Outclassed

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VILLA NOVA OUTCLASSED

So read the headline of The Pennsylvanian, the predecessor of today's Daily Pennsylvanian on Monday, Oct. 16, 1911, two days after Penn beat Villanova for the last time.

In case you missed that issue or couldn't spring for the three cents, here are some snippets from the recap.

Villa Nova could offer little resistance to the Varsity attack Saturday afternoon and the 22-0 score is hardly a fair comparison of the strength between the two teams. Had the first string backs been permitted to remain in the game, the total probably would have been doubled...

The rest of the backfield were in improved form. Mercer and Harrington are certain regulars and Barr is gaining experiences that ought to insure him his place. He handled his end of the forward pass in masterly fashion and aided greatly in the interference. He got punts off a trifle slowly...

The line played better than at any time and had little trouble with the visiting forwards...

The final count came in the last period when Barr caught a short unt on the thirty-yard line and eluded four tacklers before he was finally brought to earth behind the goal line. The punt-out was fumbled.

Here's what I gathered from it all:

Penn scored four five-point touchdowns for 20 points and was successfull on two of its four attempts at "goals" after the touchdowns. The punt-out was presumably part of the goal try.

The offense lined up as follows against the interference: A center, two guards, two tackles and two ends, a quarterback, a left halfback, right halfback and fullback. Not all that different from 2006.

It was not the style of the times to use a first name in referencing a player, even on first mention in the article. Nor was it the style for the author to have his byline atop the story.

And on a related note: The DP has certainly bucked the trends by increasing in size and decreasing in cost over the years. Three cents has become no cents, and that four-page paper has become 18 pages on slow news days and 10 on busy days.

Lastly, attempts to reach Scotty Williams for his recollections on that 1911 game were unsuccessful.