So who is this guy who has infiltrated Maine high school football with the mind game that is the double wing, the run-based offensive formation that gives brains and hard work an advantage over brawn?

Gorham HS head football coach Dave Kilborn grew up nearby, in Bridgton, and his football roots run deep. His dad has a stadium named after him, if that tells you anything.

And you may be surprised to learn that, while Dave seems a step behind the times in this post-Steve Spurrier era, rarely putting the football in the air, his dad was way ahead of his, with a let-it-fly, pass-happy approach.

“We threw more than we ran,” admits Art Kilborn, who coached through 111 wins at Lake Region from 1969 to 1987, and before that coached at Bridgton High School.

And some of those wins came with major contributions from son Dave, a big and strong tight end with soft hands.

This week both are garnering some well-earned accolades via induction into Lake Region High School’s Hall of Fame. The pair were to attend a ceremony at the school Thursday night. And many who know both say the honor is well-deserved.

Gorham athletic director Gerry Durgin hired David to run a football program that has climbed from the developmental league through Class B and into Class A, consistently success at each stop along the way.

Even this season, its first in tough Western Class A, Gorham is stirring things up. And the varsity’s 4-2 record probably doesn’t do it justice. The Rams’ only losses this season were narrow ones, to powerhouse Deering and Maine’s top-ranked Portland High by a touchdown and less respectively. Meanwhile the double-wing has amassed an amazing 225 points in six games, more than 37 points per game.

“David brought a lot of enthusiasm and certainly organization to this program,” said Durgin, who brought on the younger Kilborn seven seasons ago.

But Durgin also is long familiar with Art, who not only came out of “retirement” to coach the Lake Region golfers last fall, but also still serves as assistant coach for the Rams on game nights.

Durgin was a freshman halfback on Fryeburg Academy’s junior varsity football team in 1964 when he ran for a touchdown and kicked an extra point to down one of Art’s early JV teams at Bridgton High School, 7-6.

Since then, Durgin’s career has paralleled the elder Kilborn’s. Both became friends when they became athletic directors in the 1980s, Kilborn taking over that job at Lake Region while still coaching.

“He was not only good at what he did,” said Durgin, “but he was a class act. Certainly young coaches coming into the business need to emulate him. Art has a lot of integrity and a strong commitment to work with kids. And he has a passion for education.”

Current Lake Region athletic director Todd Sampson agrees both coaches are deserving of the school’s highest honor.

“Art set the standard for excellence for every coach and athletic director at Lake Region,” Sampson said. “And David is one of Lake Region’s greatest success stories. He is a class act that has had success in many aspects of life, not just athletics.”

Art played football, baseball and basketball at Bridgton High School in the 1950s, then went on to play baseball and football at the University of Maine in Orono as a third baseman and a fullback and offensive lineman.

A broken leg in baseball his freshman year put a damper on his college career, but he still was given a good look by the Brooklyn Dodgers. He made a tryout team as a third baseman with the Dodger organization in the 1950s.

But coaching would be his destiny. And Art answered that call in a big way, returning to coach football at Bridgton High in 1961. He continued on when the school became Lake Region in 1967 and for two years after David graduated in 1985. Lake Region’s football field and sports facility was appropriately named after Art several years after his retirement.

The Lakers enjoyed successful athletic years during David’s high school days, the football team losing only once his senior season and the basketball team winning a state title.

David also went on to play football at Orono, then Maine Maritime. Art’s son was destined to be a chip off the old block in the coaching world and started his career as assistant strength coach and defensive line coach for Tom Austin at Colby College.

“I learned about film work and preparing for teams at Colby,” David said. “And while I was there, I was also basketball coach at Lake Region.”

Before coming to Gorham, David coached at Lincoln Academy for four years. The school didn’t have football, so he coached soccer (“I gained a real appreciation for the sport,” he said.) and was the head girls tennis coach and coached girls basketball.

When he was hired at Gorham, he wasted little time establishing the groundwork for a strong football program. He coached the middle school teams early on and soon had both programs running the double wing, where the linemen are shoulder to shoulder and three running backs are bunched tightly behind the quarterback. Defenders are rarely confident who has the ball, often until the ball carrier is trotting into the end zone.

Art still is trying to get his son to throw more, and David insists he’s trying to evolve.

“You still need that passing threat, so they don’t put nine in a box,” said Art, who was known for his flea flicker – the fake end around, toss back to the QB and bomb – which he stole from the New York Giants. He’d bring that play out regularly, hopefully when his opponent least expected it, he said.

“Predictable,” Art said, “is what you don’t want to be in football.”

But one thing has been predictable when it comes to the Kilborns. They will not only put successful athletic teams on the field, but also successful young people out into the real world.

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