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| 1961 Houston Oilers punter Jim Norton (43) chases down 1961 San Diego Chargers halfback Keith Lincoln (22) |
With 9:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, 1961 Houston Oilers head coach Walley Lemm told veteran QB George Blanda to take a seat. On his last 15 pass attempts, Blanda had completed only 3 passes and had thrown 2 interceptions, and the game was on the line. The 1961 San Diego Chargers had just tied it up 20-20, and young QB Jacky Lee hadn't even broken a sweat, so Lemm sent in Lee.
Lee then led the Oilers on a 13-play, 82-yard drive for a touchdown, which left the Chargers facing a long march of 80 yards if they hoped to tie the score again, but after 42 yards through the air, and after a fifth sack on the day by the Oilers' LLB Doug Cline, San Diego failed to convert on fourth down, and the Oilers won the 1961 AFL Championship 27-20.
=== BOX SCORE ===
1961 HOU 03 17 00 07 | 27
1961 SDG 03 07 03 07 | 20
=== SCORING ===
Q1 09:15 HOU PK George Blanda 21 yd FG
Q1 04:30 SDG PK George Blair 29 yd FG
Q2 15:00 HOU PK George Blanda 39 yd FG
Q2 06:45 SDG QB Jack Kemp 13 yd pass to TE Luther Hayes, PK Goerge Blair XP
Q2 03:45 HOU FB Charley Tolar 2 yd run, PK George Blanda XP
Q2 00:30 HOU HB Billy Cannon 2 yd run, PK George Blanda XP
Q3 08:45 SDG PK George Blair 25 yd FG
Q4 09:45 SDG QB Jack Kemp 33 yd pass to FL Dave Kocourek, PK George Blair XP
Q4 05:15 HOU FB Dave Smith 7 yd run, PK George Blanda XP
=== PASSING ===
HOU QB George Blanda 18-39 for 243 yds, 0 TD, 3 INT; QB Jacky Lee 6-10 for 71 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
SDG QB Jack Kemp 14-31 for 199 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
=== RECEIVING ===
HOU HB Billy Cannon 5-12 for 37 yds; SE Bill Groman 4-9 for 66 yds; FL Charley Hennigan 10-16 for 187 yds; TE John White 3-7 for 21 yds; SE Willard Dewveall 0-3 for 0 yds; TE Bob McLeod 2-2 for 3 yds
SDG FL Dave Kocourek 5-15 for 108 yds; SE Don Norton 2-5 for 38 yds; TE Luther Hayes 4-8 for 32 yds; TE Howard Clark 2-2 for 6 yds; HB Keith Lincoln 1-1 for 15 yds
=== RUSHING ===
HOU FB Charley Tolar 7 for 17 yds, 1 TD; HB Billy Cannon 12 for 56 yds, 1 TD; FB Dave Smith 1 for 7 yds, 1 TD; HB Claude King 8 for 8 yds; QB Jacky Lee 3 for -3 yds
SDG HB Bo Roberson 7 for 42 yds; HB Paul Lowe 11 for 66 yds; HB Keith Lincoln 7 for 27 yds; QB Jack Kemp 1 for 4 yds
=== PUNTING ===
HOU P Jim Norton 5 for 114 yds
SDG P Paul Maguire 6 for 218 yds (incl. 2 coffin kicks)
=== RETURNS ==
HOU KR Billy Cannon 1 for 47 yds; KR Claude King 4 for 61 yds (incl. 1 touchback); PR Billy Cannon 1 for 8 yds; PR Claude King 4 for 22 yds (incl. 1 touchback)
SDG KR Bo Roberson 2 for 25 yds; KR Paul Lowe 1 for 20 yds; PR Claude Gibson 4 for 81 yds; PR Keith Lincoln 1 for 0 yds (1 FC)
=== FUMBLES ===
HOU HB Claude King 1 (0 lost); HB Billy Cannon 1 (0 lost)
SDG HB Keith Lincoln 1 (0 lost)
=== INTERCEPTIONS ===
HOU LCB Tony Banfield 1 for 0 yds
SDG LCB Claude Gibson 2 for 45 yds; SS Bob Zeman 1 for 0 yds
=== SACKS ===
HOU LLB Doug Cline 5 for -41 yds; DLT Orville Trask 3 for -18 yds; DRE Dan Floyd 1 for -5 yds
SDG DLE Earl Faison 1 for -12 yds; DRE Ron Nery 1 for -10 yds
=== INJURIES ===
HOU OC Bob Schmidt; SE Bill Groman
SDG ORG Sam DeLuca
=== PENALTIES ===
HOU 3 for -20 yds
SDG 1 for -7 yds