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The 1961 Panhandle A&M Aggies football team, sometimes also known as the Plainsmen, was an American football team that represented Panhandle A&M College (now known as Oklahoma Panhandle State University) as a member of the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference (OCC) during the 1961 college football season. In their 11th season under head coach Oscar Williams, the Aggies compiled a 9–2 record (4–1 in conference games), outscored opponents by a total of 315 to 178, and finished in third place in the OCC.[1]
| 1961 Panhandle A&M Aggies football | |
|---|---|
All Sports Bowl, W 28–14 vs. Langston | |
| Conference | Oklahoma Collegiate Conference |
| Record | 9–2 (4–1 OCC) |
| Head coach |
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Central State (OK) + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Langston + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Panhandle A&M | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Central | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SE Oklahoma State | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northeastern State | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SW Oklahoma State | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NW Oklahoma State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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After losing the first two games of the season, the Aggies won nine consecutive games. The winning streak included: (i) a victory over Langston in the inaugural All Sports Bowl; (ii) sa season-high 60 points against New Mexico Western, including 34 points in the second quarter;[2] (iii) a 56–0 victory over otherwise undefeated Peru State, the worste defeat suffered by a Peru State team since 1942.[3]
The team was inducted into the Oklahoma Panhandle State Hall of Fame in 2011.[4]
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 16 | at Langston | Guthrie, OK | L 14–33 | 5,000 | [5][6] | ||
| September 23 | at Morningside* |
| L 7–14 | [7] | |||
| September 30 | New Mexico Western* | Goodwell, OK | W 60–32 | [8] | |||
| October 7 | Adams State* | Goodwell, OK | W 30–7 | [9] | |||
| October 14 | at Northwestern Oklahoma State | Alva, OK | W 17–7 | [10] | |||
| October 21 | at East Central |
| W 33–32 | [11] | |||
| October 26 | Southwestern Oklahoma State | Goodwell, OK | W 40–0 | 4,000 | [12] | ||
| November 4 | at Peru State* |
| W 56–0 | [13] | |||
| November 11 | New Mexico Highlands* | Goodwell, OK | W 31–27 | [14] | |||
| November 17 | at Central State (OK) |
| W 27–26 | 8,000 | [15] | ||
| December 9 | vs. Langston* |
| W 28–14 | 8,500 | [16] | ||
| |||||||
Panhandle led the NAIA with 4,688 yards of total offense in ten regular-season games, an average of 468.8 yards per game. The Aggies also set an NAIA single-season record with 3,944 rushing yards in the regular season, an average of 394.4 yards per game.[17] On October 26, the Aggies tallied a season-high 532 rushing yards against Southwestern Oklahoma State.[12]
Tailback Jerry Linton led the nation with 1,356 rushing yards.[17][18] Linton added another 173 rushing yards in the All Sports Bowl -- bringing his 11-game total to 1,529 yards.[19] He was also selected as a first-team player on the NAIA's 1961 All-America team.[20]
Fullback Tony Pontillo, sometimes referred to as Tony "the Tank",[3] ranked second on the team in rushing with 1,149 rushing yards. He also led the OCC in scoring with 90 points on 15 touchdowns in the regular season.[1] Pontillo added another 12 points in the All Sports Bowl to raise his season total to 102 points.[16]
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