(At the time this article was written P. Lee Irwin (1919-1995) was publisher and owner of the Gresham, Ore., Outlook newspaper. His son, John Irwin, is a 1968 Linfield graduate.
By Lee Irwin, Sports correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Mon., Dec. 6, 1965
Portland, Ore. –
Even if the Linfield Wildcats should lose in the NAIA (small-college) football finals Dec. 11, they won’t have to take any guff from the sports columnist in their hometown newspaper.
Coach Paul Durham, you see, if that columnist.
Durham, Linfield’s eminently successful
grid coach and athletic director, also doubles as a sports writer and
contributes a twic-weekly column to the McMinnville, Ore., News-Register.
His Wildcats qualified for the NAIOA finals
againist St. John’s of Collegeville, Minn., with a 30-27 victory over Sul Ross
in the semifinals Nov. 27 at Midland, Texas. Freshman Tim Kubli kicked a
36-yard field goal (longest in the 10-years NAIA playoff history) with just 49
sefconds left to assure the win.
Durham has been at Linfield a long time.
He’s now in its 18th year. And his Wildcats are a frequent entry in
NAIA playoffs.
In 1961, they went all the way to the
fianls efore losing, 12-7, to Pittsburg State of Kansas. Left year they palyed
Concordia of Moorhead, Minn., in the semifinals and lost, 28-6, at Fargo.
The thermometer read six degrees at time
time. And Durham is hoping the weatherman surved up something a bit more
equitable in Augusta, Ga., Dec. 11 for the game with St. John’s.
Linfield is a big team – its front five
defensively averages 237 pounds – but scouting reports indicate St. John’s is
even bigger. “We’ll trade three game films with them and thus can see for
ourselves,” Durham said.
“We understand St. John’s has given up only 20 points all
season and that their two starting tackles come in at about 270 pounds each.
“But our team is an explosive one and we can move the ball a
lot of ways. It’s just a question of which team can do the best job
consistently.”
Draw
pro scouts
Standouts for Linfield on offense are left end Brian Carter,
a senior from Albany, Ore; tackle Gene Forman, a 245-poinds junior from Toledo,
Wash.; quarterback Terry Durham, the coach’s son, a 206-pound junior from
McMinnville; and halfback Leroy Fails, a senior from Seattle.
Defensive stars are end Denny Schweitzer, 220-pound senior
from Reedsport, Ore.; middle guard Bob Ferguson, senior from Eugene; tackle
Jack Ostlund, 255-pound junior from Hillsboro, Ore.; linebacker Mike Consbruck,
a junior from Phoenix, Ore.; and safetyman Bob Webber, senior from Tigard, Ore.
Ostlund and Forman, though only juniors, have already drawn
attention from professional scouts, particularly Forman, who is 6ft 5in and
still growing.
The two starting backs are Rogers Ishizu, a
Japanese-American from Maui, Hawaii, and Odis Avritt, the fullback from
Cleveland high in Portland.
Two other names should ring a bell. The starting left guard
is Bob Laycoe, son of Hal Laycoe, Portland Buckaroo hockey coach and a former
Boston Bruin. The starting left tackle is Jeff Basinski, son of Eddie Basinski,
former major-league second baseman.
Laycoe started college when he was 16 and now, as a 6-2 by 205-pound
sophomore, has just turned 18. “He’s probably the youngest sophomore regular in
the country,” Durham points out.
The Wildcats have lost once this year, a 20-14 decision to
Humboldt State of California in the fourth game of the season. “We had a 14-0
lead, “Durham said, “but couldn’t hold it. We’ve improved a lot since then,
however.”
Team
matured quickly
The Wildcats weren’t considered a particular title threat
this fall since Durham had left 15 of his 22 offensive and defensive starters
from last year. But the team matured quickly and was unstoppable once Northwest
Conference play began. Its selection for the NAIA playoffs came as a great
surprise.
Durham concedes that Sul Ross ‘scared us” in the semifinals.
“They are without a doubt the greatest offensive team we’ve ever played. Their
quarterback, Luz Pedraza, is as good as any I’ve ever seen,” Durham said.
Six recovered fumbles were the difference in that game.
Durham is a 1936 graduate of Linfield and, of course, played
football as an undergraduate. He was a high-school coach for 12 years before
coming to Linfield in 1948. He has doubled as athletic director since 1949.
A tireless recruiter, Durham and Linfield have done
extremely well with small-town boys, youngsters who didn’t get a lot of
high-school publicity but who, nevertheless, were coachable college material.
Linfield has also turned out a great number of prep coaches – perhaps more than
any other college in the state – and these are a fine source of material for
the school.
#
