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The 1970 Brewer High School Football Team is the first team to be inducted into the Brewer Athletic Hall of Fame. The 1970 team is legendary in its lasting historic legacy and tremendous impact not only in the City of Brewer but throughout the entire State of Maine. Coached by the creative and enthusiastic Ken Perrone, there may never be another football team in the state to accomplish what that team did in 1970.
The atmosphere surrounding Doyle Field during Friday night or Saturday afternoon football games during the fall of 1970 was magical. The coaches along with 106 football players marched from the high school down Wilson Street to Doyle Field escorted by Brewer police cars and fire engines, sirens blaring! The players were led by the marching band playing lively and spirited music, the Pep Squad and Cheerleaders rooting for the home team, the Twirlers hurling batons high into the air, and the Precisionaires dancing in unison to the snappy beat of the band. The “clickety-clack” emanating from the 106 players’ football cleats was nearly as loud as the drumline. Upon entering the field, the 106 players slowly and methodically marched single file around the perimeter of the entire football field. Certainly, there was a strong element of intimidation if you were a member of the opposing team watching this pregame spectacle unfurl. Brewer fans and team members recall with pride the band playing the Brewer Witches fight song after every touchdown, “Stand up and cheer for Brewer, cheer for a Brewer victory…”
The band played the school’s fight song often! During the regular season, the 1970 team scored a total of 440 points while only allowing 20 points scored against them; for the entire season they amassed a total of 488 points, the most accumulated in Maine football history, while only allowing 40 points overall clearly dominating the opposing teams. Thus, Brewer became one of the highest scoring teams in the nation in 1970.
The Brewer High School Witches were the only undefeated and untied team in Maine as they went 11-0, while playing many of the largest schools in the state. They defeated arch rival Bangor to retain the Timothy Geaghan Trophy* for the third straight year. Twenty nine players on the 1970 team also played on the great 1968 Class A State Championship Football Team as freshman and sophomores. Now juniors and seniors and hungry for another state title, the driven upperclassmen inspiringly led the team to capture the Class A State Football Championship for the second time in three years.
After the Witches defeated the Tigers of Biddeford 48-20 to win that coveted Class A State Championship, the buses, packed with players, coaches, cheerleaders and the band, upon returning unloaded everyone on the Bangor side of the Chamberlain Bridge. As the band played dynamic songs like “Hawaii 5-0,” the spontaneous victory parade crossed the Chamberlain Bridge and marched up Wilson Street for the victory celebration at the high school. The celebration was a massive community event attended by hundreds of Brewer supporters. Not only did the team receive a ‘hometown heroes’ welcome, they were honored by the State of Maine Legislature with an official Proclamation recognizing the 1970 Brewer Football Team’s outstanding accomplishments.
The Witches Football Team, loaded with great talent, dominated the 1970 All State Team with an incredible number of twelve players selected to either the first or the second team…the most players from one school selected to the All State teams than any other school in history. Selected to the Class A Football First Team were: Defensive End Robin Holyoke, Quarterback Don McGlauflin, Defensive Linebacker Steve Campbell, Offensive End Butch Robichaud, Defensive End Fred Olsen, Offensive Guard Larry Coolidge, and the legendary Offensive Half Back Ralph Payne. Selected to the Class A Football Second Team were: Defensive Half Back Bruce Whitten, Offensive Center Don Shand, Offensive Full Back Dick Coffin, Defensive Safety Dana Goddard, and Offensive Half Back Bob Van Peursem. Truly a team effort, numerous other players contributed in a variety of ways to the outstanding success of the team like unsung heroes Steve Bishop and Tom Coyne with more than 80 tackles each and Bob Fortier who tied a Brewer High School record with nine interceptions. Many long time fans said the second and third strings of Brewer were as good as the starting line-up of most of their opponents. In many of the games, the Brewer starters only played in the first half because the Witches were so far ahead. Some of the starting players even said they were concerned that they might not earn a “B” Letter because they might not have played enough quarters! The coaches, however, found creative and effective ways to make use of players on the special teams, such as the kickoff and receiving teams as well as the punting teams.
Of the 95 teams that were ranked in the United States in 1970, the Brewer Football Team was ranked #1 in Maine, #1 in New England, #1 in the East and #5 in the nation. No Maine team has ever been ranked that high prior to that year or since. The 1970 Brewer Football Team made its mark as one of, if not, the best football team in Maine history. Decades later, the glory and memories still remain in the minds of so many and the 1970 Brewer Football Team will forever live on as the pride of Brewer.
1970 Brewer Football Team Roster
*The Geaghan Trophy was an award bestowed upon the winner of the Brewer-Bangor football games, a tradition started in 1966 after the sudden death earlier that year of former Brewer High School player Timothy Geaghan. The Geaghan Trophy was awarded annually from 1966 to 1998, the last year before Brewer was reclassified from Class A to Class B.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INDUCTION OF THE 1970 FOOTBALL TEAM
Coach Ken Perrone (Front row, far right) and members of the 1970 Football Team
1970 FOOTBALL TEAM STATISTICS:
SEASON RECORD:
Brewer 47 John Bapst 0
Brewer 64 Cheverus 0
Brewer 40 Portland 6
Brewer 52 Brunswick 6
Brewer 61 Lewiston 6
Brewer 50 Waterville 0
Brewer 6 Edward Little 0
Brewer 58 Cony 0
Brewer 24 Rumford 0
Brewer 38 Bangor 2
Total Points Scored (Regular Season):
Brewer 440 points Opponents 20 points
State Class A Championship Game
Brewer 48 Biddeford 20
Total Points Scored for the All Games
Brewer 488 points Opponents 40 points