This is the fourth installment in a series recapping the 50th anniversary of the Oxford Hills 10-1 1971 football season. Larry Durgin tallied three touchdowns to lead Oxford Hills to a 32-0 win over Gardiner High in a Pine Tree Conference clash under the lights in front of 2,700 fans at a misty Viking Field. It was the third straight Friday night triumph on home turf for the Vikings, the second in league play.

Gardiner dropped to 1-1. Durgin, twice an all-Seacoast Conference halfback, turned in the best performance of his high school career with 106 yards on 20 carries, then frosted the cake with two interceptions and three catches good for 24 yards. Standout performances were spread throughout the ranks. Fullback Pete Brown crunched for 54 yards on 12 carries. Right end Hal Edwards snagged a pass from quarterback Brad Cummings for a touchdown.

Defensive back Bill Brooks and middle guard Steve Raasumaa recovered fumbles to set up scores, and Cummings scampered 31 yards on a bootleg for another touchdown. He totaled 129 yards passing on the night. In all, the Vikings rolled up 368 total yards. And the defensive unit, led by end Jerre Bryant and linebacker Ron Somers, was overwhelming. It gave up only four first downs and held Gardiner quarterback Pat Kelley to six yards passing and the Tiger rushing game to a mere 48 yards.

The first two Oxford Hills scores, both in the second period, were set up by fumble recoveries. Brooks covered a fumbled Gardiner punt at the G-47. Brown ran for 18 yards and Brooks followed with 14 yards on an end-around play. Durgin capped the drive with a touchdown from four yards out. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Raasumaa recovered a fumble on the G-35 and the second attack was underway.

On the third OH play of the series, Cummings raced 31 yards on a bootleg. The Vikings took the second-half kickoff and marched 61 yards in a 13-play drive. Durgin carried the burden of the attack and scored from the two-yard line. A pair of passes from Cummings to Durgin, including an eight-yard toss on a fourth-and-seven situation, highlighted the drive.

The Hills struck for two more touchdowns in the final period. The first climaxed a 13-play, 85-yard drive, with Cummings hitting Edwards on a 29-yard scoring pass. After the following kickoff, Durgin picked off his second Kelley aerial of the night at the G-43, and Cummings immediately connected with Brooks on a 35-yarder to the eight-yard line. Durgin ran for two yards, then carried the final six for the touchdown. Cummings added a two-point conversion on a sweep around the left end to finish the scoring.

Coach Bob Fallon was able to use his bench in the fourth quarter, with back-up quarterback Andy Whitney hitting on his only two passes for 24 yards. Whitney was moving the team steadily and might have scored had the clock not run out. After opening the season with three consecutive home games, Fallon hoped that the initial road contest the following Saturday afternoon against PTC foe Madison would bring another opportunity for the reserves to obtain some vital game experience.

Bob Moorehead covered the 1971 Oxford Hills football team as a general assignment reporter for the Portland Press Herald and Sunday Telegram. He later served the Guy Gannett Ne

wspapers as a sports editor, city editor, managing editor, and general manager. Paul Ricci and Brian Partridge (both OHHS Class of 1972) conceived the idea for the 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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