Two days and counting

"The Game" is two days away and here are a few tidbits.

First, the game is sold out except for a few student tickets to be given out at Harvard.

The status of Yale junior cornerback Paul Rice probably won't be known until just before kickoff. Rice missed last week's game against Princeton and was limited to just one play the previous week against Brown with a knee injury. Rice, who is tied for the team lead with Bobby Abare with four interceptions, won't attempt to go full speed until the pre-game warmups.

Speaking of injuries, Yale will dress just 36 players for Friday's junior varsity game. The Bulldogs have been hit especially hard at the running back position. Freshmen Alex Thomas of Ansonia and Josh Kozel of Westport should see the majority of time in the backfield for the 1 p.m. JV game at Harvard.

The recruiting process is beginning to intensify.

Likely letters, which is basically the admission's department giving the thumb's up that Yale's football recruiting targets' applications have been approved, have been sent to John Runk, a receiver out of Anderson High in Cincinnati, Greenwich linebacker Will McHale (the team's leading tackler a a junior who missed his senior season with a knee injury), Hopkins quarterback John Powers (who projects as a safety at Yale) and Buckingham, Brown and Nichols kicker Philippe Panico (who kicked a Massachusetts high school record 58-yard field goal in a 57-6 win over Middlesex on Oct. 25).

Runk and the defending Division II state champion Anderson will face top-ranked Columbus DeSales in the Division II semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. DeSales defeated Anderson 38-17 during the regular season. Runk leads the run-orientated Anderson team with 22 receptions and 356 receiving yards.