DURHAM, N.H. — Top-seeded Lebanon High football struggled to establish its prolific offense in the NHIAA Division III football championship game on Sunday at windy, rain-whipped Wildcat Stadium on the campus of UNH.
Trinity High’s James and John Thibault rumbled for a combined 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders fell, 28-21, to the No. 2 Pioneers.
Lebanon, seeking its first championship since 2010, mounted a second-half comeback — anchored by Wade Rainey’s 96-yard effort on the ground — that put the Raiders within striking distance, but it wouldn’t be enough.
“I think we ran out of gas at the end there,” 13th-year Lebanon coach Chris Childs said. “Kinda came out a little flat and settled down as we got to halftime, got our wits about us. Dug ourselves a pretty big hole at halftime. When you get to that situation when it’s 4th and 20 at the end of the game, you have to throw. It’s hard.”
Lebanon’s final possession ended when quarterback Jonathan Willeman threw an interception with under two minutes to play, allowing Trinity to seal its first championship since 2011.
The Pioneers took initiative from the outset. Dantre Taylor returned the game’s opening kickoff 70 yards to the Lebanon 17-yard line.
While Trinity was forced to settle for a missed field goal on the drive, it set the tone for the first half.
“That was definitely a punch in the gut at the beginning (kickoff). It showed us they were going to answer the bell, and that’s exactly what they did,” Rainey said.
The game-winning touchdown came on the feet of senior John Thibault, the elder of the two brothers, who zapped momentum from the Raiders’ second-half rally with a 68-yard touchdown run down the Trinity sideline midway through the third quarter.
Trailing 21-7, Lebanon (10-2) had received the ball to start the second half and pieced together an eight play, 55-yard drive over 3 minutes, 57 seconds.
A Rainey 20-yard run put the Raiders inside the 10, and he capped off the possession two plays later with a one-yard plunge to cut the deficit to 21-14.
Trinity didn’t wait long to respond, however. It was on the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing possession that John Thibault, the former Newport star, outran the Raider defense down the left sideline for what would be the decisive score.
Lebanon responded with another scoring drive that ended with a Philip Mellish 2-yard score with 4 minutes, 12 seconds to play in the third quarter to make the score 28-21.
In the fourth quarter, the Raiders put together an 11-play drive over six minutes, but it didn’t result in a touchdown.
Instead, a holding penalty on fourth down negated a would-be first down and setup a 4th and 26. Willeman was sacked the following play.
“They were manhandling us in the first half,” Rainey said. “We came into the locker room and kinda had to recollect ourselves. I was really proud of the effort we put into the second half.”
Lebanon failed to record a first down on its opening possession of the game and turned the ball over on downs.
Trinity took advantage of the field possession with a 5-play, 40-yard drive capped off by Pioneer quarterback Peter Alisandro’s 5-yard scramble to put Trinity up 6-0.
Trinity extended its lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter. James and John Thibault teamed up for four carries and 46 yards on the 64-yard drive, but it was John Thibault’s 26-yard run that counted.
Using a wildcat formation, with Rainey taking direct snaps, the Raiders answered Trinity with a possession that started on their 45-yard line and advanced into the red zone.
On 4th and 13 from the Trinity 20-yard line, Willeman scrambled to his right, evaded a few defenders and found Rainey on the goal line. The extra point made it 14-7.
On the ensuing possession, with Trinity facing a third down and 10, Lebanon was hit with a personal foul for a late hit, which extended the Pioneers drive. They finished it off with sophomore James Thibault’s lone touchdown of the game, which put Trinity up 21-7 at the break.
“All season we have started a little slow, so we wanted to come out fast. We have started fast in the playoffs and the kids dedicated themselves to it. We did it again today,” Trinity coach Rob Cathcart said. “We knew when we had the lead at halftime, that wasn’t the end of it. They’re a talented and strong team, so we knew it was going to be a tough football game.”
Lebanon finished the game out-gaining Trinity on total yards 249-243, but it was the big play factor that separated Trinity (11-1). The Pioneers finished with 201 rushing yards to Lebanon’s 200; Rainey accounted for 122 of them.
Willeman was intercepted three times and was 3 of 10 for 49 yards. Cole Ames had two catches for 29 yards.
Lebanon will lose a core of seniors to graduation: Mason Adams, Ames, Nathaniel Beaulieu, Jack Chamley, Mellish, Rainey, Joshua Roebuck, Caleb Smith, Noah Tyler and Willeman.
“This definitely stings a lot more; we could’ve won I thought,” Willeman said. “We just made a couple mental mistakes that kept us from that. At the end, I’m proud of this team. We had a pretty successful year, just couldn’t get it done at the end.
Pete Nakos can be reached at (603) 727-3306 or pnakos@vnews.com