I caught the last half hour or so of Yale's practice on Thursday and senior defensive end Tom McCarthy is still being held out because of a calf strain. It's likely that the Yale captain will miss his second straight game.

"Here is what my thinking is, instead of having him come back and play in a non-conference game - we could use him - but I’d rather get him another week of rest and get him ready for Dartmouth," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "If we had to play him, if this is Harvard, I think he’d play but we are going to err on the side of being smart with the season as opposed to just this game."

Also, running back Mordecai Cargill, slowed by a hip flexor and is questionable. If Cargill is held out, sophomore Javier Sosa would likely be the top backup to starting tailback Alex Thomas while promising freshman Elijah Thomas could also figure into the equation.

There's been no decision on whether Matt Battaglia, who has practiced all week, will get the call at defensive end. Battaglia started the opener before missing last week's Cornell game with a hamstring issue. Williams said Battaglia will be evaluated to see how he feels before making a final decision. If Battaglia doesn't start, sophomore Allen Davis figures to be in there after recording 2 sacks in just 20 defensive snaps against Cornell.

Williams said that Nathan Burow, a former starting offensive lineman, will not play again because of a torn labrum. Burow will follow the path of another former starting lineman Nate Blair by becoming a volunteer assistant coach/manager with the team.

REISING A CAMPBELL TROPHY SEMIFINALIST
Yale senior linebacker Jesse Reising is one of 28 Football Championship Subdivision and four Ivy League players named as semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, considered to college football's premier scholar-athlete award.

Players are nominated by their schools and must have at least a 3.2 grade point average, be a key contributor on the field and according to the release put out by the National Football Foundation "demonstrate strong leadership and citizenship."

Reising, a first-year starter, is second on the 2-0 Bulldogs with 12 tackles and has also broken up two passes. Reising is planning to enroll in Marine Corps Officer Candidate School after graduating from Yale. Reising has a 3.75 GPA in economics/political science.

Brown's Kyle Newhall-Caballero, Columbia's Alex Gross and Dartmouth's Tanner Scott are also among the candidates as is Albany's Chris Blais.

Yale got one of its starting defensive ends back when junior Matt Battaglia took part in practice on Tuesday morning. Yale captain and fellow starting defensive end Tom McCarthy was forced to miss practice again with a calf strain. McCarthy's status for Saturday's game against Albany will be determined by when McCarthy is able to return to practice but Battaglia should be good to go on Saturday.

"We didn't give him (Battaglia) a million reps but they were quality reps and he didn’t report any soreness," Yale coach Tom Williams said.

Sean Williams, who has been named among Yale's players of the game both against Georgetown and Cornell, and Allen Davis, who had 2 1/2 sacks in 20 snaps against Cornell, are making things interesting in the fight for playing time at defensive end.

"What we said to the injured players is you will never lose your starting position because of injury but if you can’t beat the guy out who took your place, that is just the way it goes," Williams said. "All the guys understand that but they also know we are going to play them all."

One other item of note, the junior varsity opener against Milford Academy is back to a 1 p.m. start on Sunday at Clint Frank Field.


They are experienced, they are big on both lines and they’ve got enough skill players. Their running back is a good player, they have a receiver (Hutchins), they have a couple of guys on the outside who can catch the ball. Thye are - to date - the most talented team that we play. Their record doesn’t indicate their talent level