The late Bernie Licarta and Billy Hajjar were the Co-Captains; Bernie later became a barber whose shop was on Lawrence St. across from the “Nick Carter” tennis courts. Walter “Skeets” Scanlon a future baseball coach at Methuen was an assistant football coach for this year’s team.

“Skeets” went to Arizona State to play baseball and was a hitting machine at that school. lt was said that he could get out of bed at 3:00 a.m. and hit line drives. I’ve seen him hit and he could hit what they call “frozen ropes” one after another. He is a Methuen Hall of Famer and still lives in the town. He and good buddy John Weir were very good skiers and went to the slopes whenever they could.

Vinnie Carroll of South Lawrence and Billy Larochelle were also assistants to Roberts. Billy’s pals called him “Wimpy” and he became a great basketball coach at Johnson High (now North Andover High School) and later at Merrimack College and Lowell State. When not coaching he played a mean trumpet for his band in many clubs in the area, he played under the name of Billy Stevens.

The team was averaging 4 touchdowns a game and had knocked off Winthrop, Cambridge Latin, North Andover, Hudson, Billerica, Clinton, Tewksbury, St. Columbkilles and Andover. This team was climbing the ladder towards an undefeated season. The offense was averaging 26+ points a game and the defense was allowing a stingy 5+ per outing.

Carmine DiAdamo now a famed local barrister was the quarterback and was considered by many as the best in the area. In 1958 he was also as good on the basketball court as he is today in local courts. He didn’t need a jury to send him to the school’s Hall of Fame as he earned it by his performances.

Mel Winsper and the Woronka kids, John and Andy, along with Hajjar and Licarta formed the defensive line that gave up points like hens teeth on their way to shutting out 4 teams and only allowed one touchdown to three other teams.

Carmen had a great arm for passing and was a magician on the fakes, he also liked to pull the ball down and run with it if need be. Joe Catalano, Ross Faucher, Hal Duffen and speed merchant Billy Goterch were sure handed runners and receivers.

With all these weapons Coach Roberts and his staff could easily run or throw whenever they wanted to. Rival coaches had their hands full when it came time to defend this talented bunch. Not many high school teams can show such an explosive attack both on the ground and in the air and cap it all off with a swarming and tough defense.

In 1958 Andover, North Andover and Methuen played for the title of what was known as the Little 3 title and this year Methuen would wear that crown as they knocked off Andover (Punchard) at the time by the score of 26=14. The Roberts men shutout North Andover 19-zip. Billerica had the undefeated local kids on their heels and played some hard nosed ball to have an 8-6 lead late in the 4th quarter.

Visions of a perfect season going down the drain has the Methuen fans on the edge of their seats. The coach calls a time out and brings his coaches and the Rangers team together. When DiAdamo and his mates return to the field with the clock ticking away, he finds Goterch for a big gainer. All of a sudden, the passing game heats up and then Licarta and the line is giving the passer better protection.

Woronka and Winsper seem to have got a second wind and will not allow anyone near their QB. The Rangers find a way to pull it out with just 30 seconds left on the clock and win 12-8. It’s a tough loss for the green and white Indians but they have just made Methuen’s first ever undefeated team give everything it had to win this classic of a high school game. There may be other times sporting an unblemished record but the 1958 Rangers and their Co-Captains Billy Hajjar and Bernie Licarta and Coach Roberts and his staff will always be remembered as the first to ever record a 9+ 0 season.
 

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