MANCHESTER — Even though the Newport Tigers won’t be vying for the NHIAA Division III football championship at the University of New Hampshire this weekend, a former Tiger will seek to make his mark.
Trinity High senior John Thibault hopes to lead the Pioneers to their first state championship since 2011 against Lebanon on Sunday, building on an impressive high school career that began in Newport.
During his first two seasons as a Tiger, Thibault had more than 2,000 rushing yards, a total he’s duplicated this season alone in helping the Pioneers to an 8-1 regular season record and two playoff wins. One of those victories came at the expense of Newport, with Thibault scoring four of Trinity’s five touchdowns.
“It was kind of weird (playing against old teammates), but you just have to overlook that and focus on your responsibilities for the team,” Thibault said this week.
Although he played for Newport High School and played youth football in town all the way back to third grade, Thibault attended Mount Royal Academy, a Catholic high school in Sunapee that did not have a football team of its own.
Thibault’s move from Newport to Trinity came as a byproduct of the job his father, David, has as superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Manchester, which supports diocesan schools throughout the state.
David Thibault described the transition from Newport to Manchester as bittersweet given the connections he made in Newport, but the move provided a more centralized location that reduced commute times in his job and made also made it easier for John to hit the gridiron, given the fact that Trinity restarted its varsity football program in 2018 after a short hiatus.
Like his father, John Thibault saw positive aspects within both schools as well as the communities surrounding them. However, there are differences as well, such as the fact that Trinity has a student population almost 10 times larger than Mount Royal and Manchester has a population almost 20 times larger than Newport.
“Coming from Newport, it’s a pretty small town and everybody knows each other. It’s a pretty tight-knit community,” John said. “In Manchester, it’s a lot bigger. We have our little cliques in school and all our parents know each other, but we’re smaller fish in a bigger pond (in Manchester).”
As for the difference in the football programs, John said the largest difference came from the expectation his coaches have for him as a leader on the team, forcing him to help his teammates improve and stay focused on top of making big plays on the field.
In particular, that leadership role has helped in the development of Thibault’s younger brother James, a sophomore on the team who his older brother said is one of the Pioneers’ hardest hitters on defense.
Like John, James plays both running back and linebacker for the Pioneers. James has taken cues from his older brother on how he can continue to improve his game.
“On defense, he helps me understand what to look for and what to do,” said James of his brother. “He also helps me in the weight room, and I’ve learned all my techniques from him. He’s definitely been a mentor.”
Following Sunday’s contest in Durham, John’s high school career will end next week as Trinity faces Dover’s Saint Thomas Aquinas in the beginning of what both schools hope to be a new Catholic school Turkey Bowl rivalry.
These also may be his last football games ever, as right now Thibault expects to forego any thoughts of college football to instead focus on majoring in biology, with a goal of possibly going to medical school.
“I’m just savoring these last few days of practice; I’m looking forward to giving it everything I’ve got,” he said. “I definitely want to savor it now, because pretty soon it’ll be all gone.”
Trinity and Lebanon will kick off at 11 a.m. on Sunday, the first of three championship games at UNH that day.