This is the 12th installment in a series recapping the 50th anniversary of the Oxford Hills 10-1 1971 football season. In addition to this contribution from Bob Moorehead describing the pre-game picks of various Pine Tree Conference coaches, several articles from other reporters documenting the game are presented.

The late Oxford Hills football coach Bob Fallon started worrying about the Morse game before the season even started. Morse High of Bath and Oxford Hills were the ‘new boys’ in the Pine Tree Conference, and Fallon had a good idea of the Morse team size, depth, and talent from the previous season. With only seven lettermen, he wasn’t really sure what he had when he opened the season. “I hope we can be competitive,” Fallon had said.

The November day came. The Vikings were 10-0 and Morse 9-1. Madison scored 20 on the Hills in a 40-20 loss. The best anyone else did was score twice.

An “inventory” of assessment of the two teams by other losing coaches that had played both Morse and Oxford Hills indicated how close the teams were before the kickoff.

Coach Tank Violette, Winslow. (OH 13, Winslow 12. Winslow 13, Morse 12.) “I won’t predict a score. Defensively, I would give the edge to Oxford Hills even though they have allowed more points.

Oxford’s line is quicker than Morse and the defense more complicated. Offensively, Morse has the best-balanced backfield in the state. Oxford’s middle linebacker Ron Somers is one of the best in conference, if not the best, and their backfield is very good. Overall punch offensively goes to Morse and defense goes to Oxford. I wouldn’t be surprised if either team won. The difference won’t be more than one touchdown and maybe one point.”

Coach Jerry Michael, Belfast. (OH 25-0; Morse 28-0). “We’ve played both teams and I think Morse is much tougher. If Oxford Hills is going to win they have to play over their heads. Defensively, they are pretty even, but we moved the ball better against Morse. I’m not saying Oxford Hills can’t win but on paper, Morse had the edge.”

Coach Art Rudman, Rockland. (OH 20-13; Morse 26-6). “On the basis of our game with the two, I’d have to give the edge to Oxford Hills. I don’t mean to hedge. It could be a toss-up. They both are explosive on offense. Morse has more speed in the backfield, but Oxford has as solid a group as I’ve ever seen at the high school level. Defensively, Morse has a better record but we had more trouble
moving the ball against Oxford Hills. Also, the Morse game was our first of the season and we had them on the ropes for a while. We’re a much better ball club now and much better when we played Oxford Hills.”

Coach Bob Webber, Gardiner. (OH 32-0, Morse 33-0). “Size-wise, Morse is bigger, but Oxford Hills is a real fine ball club. I don’t see how you can pick it. Morse gave us a harder time and seemed to have a tougher defense. The game is at Morse but I don’t think that matters.”

Coach John Wolfgram, Madison: (OH 40-20, Morse 28-0). “Based on our games, Oxford Hills is more explosive and Morse is much more physical. Actually, there is not too much to pick because both are fine ball clubs. Morse is stronger but Oxford Hills is quicker.”

Coach Earle (Pete) Cooper, Lawrence. (OH 34-12, Morse 45-14) “Oxford Hills has overall team quickness. Morse has more scoring power. (OH Larry) Durgin, whom I think is the best back in the conference, and (M-Jim) Soule are much alike. Playing in Bath may be an advantage but the game could easily be decided on breaks. It won’t be a runaway. I’d call it a toss-up.”

Coach John Staples, Old Town: (OH 40-14, Morse 55-0). I think Morse has the real edge. I thought Morse hit harder than Oxford and had a tougher defense. Oxford Hills has an edge in the passing game and I think that will be a key. Oxford Hills can score from anywhere on the field with (QB Brad) Cummings and if Morse can stop the passing, they should win. The Skowhegan game (won by Morse 33-0) made a believer out of me.” It should be noted that Old Town gave up five OH touchdowns on five plays in the first quarter.
Coach Fallon did not use his first offense and defensive teams after the first period.

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 Newspapers 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.

Coach Perspective:
By Carl Fitzgerald (assistant coach on the 1971 team)
We scored suddenly, twice, in the 2nd quarter. From the tower, Fred Lovejoy spotted a weakness in the Morse secondary, and Brad Cummings hit Billy Brooks with touchdown passes of 50+ yards on consecutive plays. We scored, recovered a fumble, and scored again, and were on the verge of blowing the game wide open. Morse tightened up its defense and the score at halftime was 16-12 Oxford Hills. It remained that way until the final minute of the game and the season.

It all came down to the final four minutes. Oxford Hills 10-0 vs Morse 9-1. We led 16 – 12 late in the 4th quarter. Our backs were to the wall and we punted out of our own end zone into a strong wind. Morse got the ball well inside the 50 and they just kept pounding their excellent running back, Jim Soule, off tackle and blocked Ron Somers, our middle linebacker, with what seemed like three or four of their toughest guys. Final score: Morse 18 – Oxford Hills 16. We never gave up, but the stronger team, on that day, won. Showing great character, our guys held their heads high and congratulated Morse players for their championship.

Dick Doyle, the longtime sports editor of the Portland Press Herald attended the game and someone asked him why he wasn’t at the Class A game. He simply replied, “This IS Class A.”

Manager Perspective:
By Everard Monk (junior manager of the 1971 football team)
During the games, I had time to watch the game only on occasion. Most of the time I was busy doing other team manager tasks, but the one game that I did get to see a lot of was at what turned out to be our final game of the season at Morse. This was a huge game for all of us but to answer your question which I know you will be asking me, I do NOT recall any one play or most any play for that game. To me, it was a game that was a “Team Game”, we all played and we all lost. It was a disappointing end, but I was NOT disappointed in any of our efforts in that game. My comment also applies to the entire season for us. That year was a year where we all played as a “Team”.

From the Advertiser-Democrat:

Vikings lose 18-16 to Morse High

Oxford Hills Vikings came within a whisker of a perfect season here last Saturday afternoon, but in the end, the 11-game schedule proved one minute and seven seconds too long.

With 1:07 remaining in the game, Morse High School’s brilliant running back Jim Soule found an opening in the Viking defense and hit paydirt from four yards out to give the Shipbuilders an 18-16 victory over the previously undefeated Vikes.

Some 5,500 spectators at McCann Field had screamed themselves hoarse after Morse got away to a quick 12-0 lead and the Vikings came roaring back on the passing arm of Brad Cummings and the magic hands of end Bill Brooks to go ahead 16-12 at halftime.

The win gave Morse the opportunity to defend Its 1970 Class B state champions title against Skowhegan this Saturday at Garcelon Field, Bates College, Lewiston.

The Shipbuilders will go into the game at 9-1, with the Indians boasting a similar record. Morse beat Skowhegan 33-0 in regular-season play. The Vikings bow out of 1971 with their best record ever, 10-1.

Morse took the opening kick-off and moved 89 yards in 16 plays as QB john Bussey and Soule found running room around the Viking flanks to move in for their first TD. Bussey’s extra point bid failed and it was 6-0.

In the second quarter, Morse tackle Bill McKellar recovered a Viking fumble at the Morse–43 to start the second drive. Coach John Dudley employed the same grind-it-out tactics, using a line with a substantial weight advantage to penetrate the Vike defense. The exceptions to the tactics were a 30-yard romp by Soule and a ten-yard pass from Bussey to Mike LePage. FB Lou Kingsbury scored with 11:46 left in the half. Again, Bussey’s pass attempt for the two-point conversion missed.

The Hillsmen failed to move on the next series and punted some 50 yards to the Morse-11. On the first play from scrimmage, the Shipbuilders fumbled. Vike FB Pete Brown recovered.

Cummings wasted little time in taking advantage of the break. He found Bill Brooks alone in the end zone and zipped home an 11-yard TD pass. Cummings came right back on the conversion play to hit Brooks, making the score 12-8.

The fired-up Oxford Hills defense held Morse to minus yardage on the next series and forced a punt. Hal Edwards gathered the ball in at his 25 and raced 30 yards to the Morse 45 before getting caught.

 

Edwards was within two men of breaking the runback for a touchdown. But the Cummings-Brooks duo quickly remedied the “almost” status of the run.

Cummings had plenty of time to throw and hit Brooks on a picture book pass at the Morse-20. Brooks gathered the ball in and romped home for the TD. Again, Cummings drilled the conversion pass into the arms of Hal Edwards and the Vikings led 16-12.

The Morse contingent was completely stunned. In less than five minutes, Oxford Hills had gone from a 12-0 deficit to a 16-12 lead.

The turning point came after a scoreless third quarter. The Vikings had taken the second-half kickoff and driven to the Morse-21 before being stopped on downs. At one point in that series, Cummings rolled out and gained ten yards on a fourth and seven situation to keep things alive, and hit Larry Durgin on an eight-yard pass to further the effort.

Most observers felt if the Vikings had scored on that drive, they could have turned the game indisputably their way. Morse would have had to abandon its crunching, time-consuming ground game in favor of passes, and the Oxford Hills secondary had been nearly airtight against the best passers in the Pine Tree Conference all season.

Edwards launched another 35-yard punt return in the fourth quarter, getting to the Morse-47 before LePage hauled him down.

On the first play after the runback, the Vikes fumbled. McKeller again recovered for Morse. Morse drove deep into Viking territory before Jerre Bryant intercepted a Bussey pass at the OH-15 with 5:14 left in the game.

The Shipbuilders held on downs and a short Cummings put took a bad bounce back to the OH-28 with 3:28 remaining.

That set the stage for Morse’s late rally. Soule and Bussey collected eight yards in two carries and LePage got a first down at the OH-16. Kingsbury and Soule combined to drive for a first down at the OH-5. Kingsbury got one and Soule then took it in.

In the final minute, Oxford Hills lost the ball on a fumble deep in its own territory, held Morse on downs, but the clock ran out before one last play could be started.

The script may have appeared familiar. In three of the last four years. Oxford Hills lost a piece of the Class B championship in the waning moments of their last game. Fryeburg had previously been the villain. This year it was an excellent Morse team.

In the final analysis, it was a case of an excellent big team against an excellent small team. If the game is played long enough, sheer weight is going to be the deciding factor. Sheer weight won it for Morse last Saturday, 18-16.

“We gave it everything we had,” said Oxford Hills coach Bob Fallon. “Our little guys were hanging in there against those monsters all afternoon. A coach couldn’t ask for any more than my team gave me. They were magnificent. They just reached a point…”

Fallon said the Vikings adjusted to prevent the kind of sweeps that earned Morse two quick touchdowns in the early going and forced the Shipbuilders to grind.

It worked until the very end was in sight. Morse was bottled up throughout most of the second and fourth quarters and all of the third period.

The Vikings stopped the notorious Morse draw plays for little or no yardage, thanks to a much-outweighed interior defensive line and the brilliance of middle linebacker Ron Somers.

In the coach’s opinion, Hal Edwards, Jerre Bryant, Paul Ricci, and Somers played their finest games of the season.

“Once we adjusted, everybody was working at about 110 percent,” said Fallon. “Hal Edwards at 135 pounds met (Jim) Soule (180 pounds) head-to-head one time and I thought both helmets would split. I don’t see how Hal got up from that one, but he did. And he never slowed down.”

Morse boosters went into the game with high regard for the Vikings and came out with increased respect. Said the Morse radio play-by-play man: “Whoever wins this one is going to be Number One in the state and whoever loses is going to be Number Two. That goes for Edward LIttle and Biddeford (Class A titlists).

“Edward Little has beaten Oxford Hills the past three years but the Eddies can be awful glad they didn’t play the Vikings this year.” Press Herald School Sports Editor Dick Doyle called the game one of the finest he had ever seen and added, “I’ll wait another five years before I see a pass like that one Cummings threw Brooks (45 yard TD pass in the second period).” But Doyle’s analysis was the same as Coach Fallon’s–size made the difference.

A frequent question asked in the game’s aftermath was why halfback Larry Durgin, who had gained 1,079 yards going into the Morse game, did not see the ball more Saturday. Durgin carried less than a dozen times and had only about 30 yards, it was reported. But Durgin had a lot of company Saturday. “They had two people assigned to him all afternoon,” Fallon noted. “Even when he didn’t have the ball, he was tackled. His decoy value was good enough to keep two of their men occupied all day.”

The Vikings managed only 87 yards rushing for the day and 79 yards passing–two Brad Cummings to Bill Brooks passes for 56 of those yards and two touchdowns.

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