Head Coach Bob Fallon addresses the 1971 Oxford Hills football squad during a preseason workout in August, 1971, prior to the season-opening exhibition game against former Seacoast Conference rival Traip Academy. On the right are the team’s two assistant coaches, Carl Fitzgerald and Fred Lovejoy.
Racehorse trainers say you never know what you have until the horse races a couple of times. The same may usually be true of football teams.
Coming off a 1970 season in which they were 5-3-1, the 1971 Oxford Hills football team and its coaches got their racing experience in the season opener against a well-regarded Traip Academy. A non-Pine Tree Conference full dress rehearsal (referees, game clocks, etc.) played on home turf, it was technically an exhibition game.
On a hot Friday night preceding the Labor Day holiday weekend, Coach Bob Fallon and his staff discovered three things. First, they had a diamond in quarterback Brad Cummings, both as a runner and a passer. Second, they had three outstanding weapons in left end Bill Brooks, halfback Larry Durgin, and right end Hal Edwards. The three qualified both as runners and receivers. And third, their team showed promise on defense—bending, not breaking. Cummings had a hand in all six Viking touchdowns on the way to a 37-8 victory. The senior threw for four and scored two more sneaks at the goal line. He also proved elusive behind the line, avoiding tacklers on pass plays. Brooks caught three touchdown passes and Durgin added another. Durgin also recovered a fumble and had an interception. Edwards exploded for a 73-yard pass-run play that ended at the one-yard line. In all, Cummings was 8 for 9 in attempts and completions for 226 yards. OH fans had never seen an air show quite like it.
Coach Fallon knew going into the season that he would be light on experience. He had only seven lettermen. Three of those, however—offensive tackle/defensive end Jerre Bryant (5-11, 175 lbs.), offensive tackle/linebacker Ron Somers (5-10, 170 lbs.), and Durgin (5-8, 160 lbs.) were All Conference players the previous season. The other lettermen, Cummings (5-10, 160 lbs.), Edwards (5-6, 150 lbs.), fullback/linebacker Peter Brown (5-10, 170 lbs.), and defensive tackle Dave Daniels (6-1, 210 lbs.) were also seniors.
The Vikings had looked good both ways in two scrimmages sessions against Winthrop and Westbrook. But Somers summarized how things stood following the Traip win: “We still didn’t have everything going right,“ he said. “8ut we’ll get there,” Fallon noted that his seniors would be playing both ways much of the time, a tiring experience, especially until the underclassmen could start to fit in. Little did he guess at the time that the perceived weakness would turn out to be a team strength.
Bob Moorehead covered the 1971 Oxford Hills football team as a general assignment reporter for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram. He later served the Guy Gannett newspapers as a sports editor, city editor, managing editor, and general manager. His coverage also appeared in the Advertiser Democrat. Paul Ricci and Brian Partridge (both OHHS Class of 1972) conceived the idea for this series and provided extensive research. Readers who would like to share any favorite memories or stories from the 1971 season are encouraged to E-Mail either of them at paulricci@hotmail.com or brianpartridge@comcast.net.
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