Litchfield, n.h. — A trio of forced turnovers in the second half helped spark the Lebanon High football team to a 17-16 comeback victory over defending NHIAA Division III champion Campbell on Saturday afternoon to close regular-season play.

The win gave the Raiders a 6-3 record and, with Hillsboro Deering-Hopkinton winning on Friday night, secured for Lebanon the No. 5 seed in the eight-team state tournament. The Raiders will visit the No. 4 seeded Red Hawks in the first round on Saturday.

Lebanon took an early lead when Wade Rainey ran one in from 20 yards. Quarterback Jon Willeman had a 60-yard run earlier in the drive to get the Raiders within striking distance.

The Cougars answered back with two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to lead, 16-6, in the second quarter. Rainey then added a 25-yard field goal to close the gap to 16-9 at halftime.

The Lebanon defense took over from there, shutting out the host Cougars in the second half.

Willeman connected with Caleb Smith for a 45-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown in the third quarter to narrow the gap to 16-15. Lebanon took the lead when Willeman found tight end Cole Ames for a two-point conversion pass.

The Raiders’ defense forced and recovered three fumbles in the second half, included two in the fourth quarter as Campbell was attempting to mount a comeback.

“Team-wise, this is a great victory. As a group, there was a lot of unselfish play today. Everybody really contributed,” Lebanon coach Chris Childs said.

The Raiders return to the postseason after going 1-7 last year. Lebanon played its upcoming quarterfinal foe at Henry Emerton Memorial Field on Sept. 28, with the Red Hawks emerging with a 14-7 win.

Windsor 38, Mill River 6

Clarendon, Vt. — The Yellowjackets (5-4) relied on a dominant effort by their offensive line to run over and around the Minutemen in a VPA Division III quarterfinal contest.

“The line played well; everybody ran well and took care of the ball. It was wet and nasty, not a day you were going to throw the ball a lot,” Windsor coach Greg Balch said. “The defense played very well and really held them down.”

The heavy blocking duty in the trenches was carried out by Cam Burton, Dakohta Sanderson, Josh Gaudette, Gavin Harriman, John Cook and Caden Lockwood. Quarterback Ryland Richardson ran for a pair of touchdowns. Robert Slocum also had two scores. Max Clifford added another.

Balch also praised the running of Jackson Davis and Caleb Meagher, saying, “It was one of those games where they ran it all the way down the field and then the QB sneaks it in from the 1 (-yard line).”

Windsor will now look forward to a visit to rival Woodstock next week in the D-III semifinals. The Wasps (8-0), who had a quarterfinal bye on Saturday, beat Windsor, 48-0, in Woodstock on Oct. 19.

Newport 21Epping-Newmarket 14

Newport — The Tigers came back from a 14-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to close the season with a win, their first of the fall for first-year coach Dennis Borcuk Jr.

“It’s been a long season, but we’re proud of the kids. Throughout the whole season, they kept their heads up. I’m proud of the effort we got from them, they fought to the end,” Borcuk said.

Newport led, 7-0, at halftime on the strength of a 35-yard Marius Edwards interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter. The visitors returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown and built a 14-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Tigers quarterback Austin Malool evened things up, finding Cole McNamara with a 3-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth. Joey Ackerman then put Newport in front for good with a 60-yard touchdown run with just over a minute left to play.

“We left them 32 seconds, and those last four downs were intense,” Borcuk added.

The Tigers close the season at 1-8 and will not qualify for postseason play. Borcuk loses six players to graduation.

Raymond 22, Mascoma 18

West Canaan — The Royals (1-6) had their comeback fall just short against the visiting Rams.

Raymond built a 16-0 lead at halftime. Mike Evans ran for three touchdowns in the second half to spark the Mascoma rally, including one score from 75 yards. Evans led the Royals with 110 yards rushing for the game.

Frigid, wet conditions made offense tough to come by for both teams. Raymond committed eight turnovers, while Mascoma had six. The Rams were able to convert for points after touchdowns as well, while Mascoma was 0-for-3 on PATs.

“It was a really good, competitive game. The kids did a great job fighting through in the toughest conditions they’ll ever play in,” said Mascoma coach Kyle Colburn, who graduates six “I’m really looking forward to next year; we’re really young in several key spots.”

Poultney 41, Oxbow 8

Poultney, Vt. — The second-ranked Blue Devils ended the seventh-ranked Olympians’ season at 2-7.

Cooper Simmons connected with Hunter Locke on 30-yard pass for the O’s sole touchdown. Simmons completed two of five passes, both to Locke for a total of 40 yards.

Brennen Marsh led the Oxbow rushing attack with 65 yards on 10 attempts. Harley Wescott added 35 yards on six carries for the visitors.

Oxbow was playing for the first time since a 40-24 loss at Springfield on Oct. 5, having forfeited a game to Poultney two weeks ago before receiving a forfeit win from Missisquoi last weekend.

The O’s, who competed with fewer than 20 athletes throughout the season, graduate only senior two-way lineman Zach Koslowski.

HD-Hopkinton 21, Stevens 0

Hillsboro, n.h. — The Cardinals (5-4) closed the regular season on a down note on Friday night.

The Red Hawks scored a touchdown on their opening possession but were then held in check by the Cardinals’ defense for the rest of the first half. Stevens trailed, 6-0, at halftime. The Red Hawks added a pair of touchdowns in the second half to pull away.

The Cardinals’ best scoring chance came on a field goal attempt in the first half which was undone by a mishap on the snap. Stevens had the ball in the Red Hawks’ red zone twice in the second half, but turned the ball over both times.

Stevens will open the NHIAA Division III playoffs on the road next week.

Girls Soccer

Oxbow 1, Hazen 1 (Oxbow Advances on PKs)

Bradford, Vt. — The Olympians survived a wet and wild VPA Division III quarterfinal matchup with the Wildcats, winning when freshman Emma Parkin made a penalty kick in the fifth and final round of PKs.

The game was scoreless until the final four minutes of regulation, when Oxbow’s Zoe Barton found the back of the net from 23-yards out. Hazen solved the Oxbow defense less than two minutes later to knot the score at 1-1.

“Hazen played very defensively and we threw the ball through the box, unfortunately we didn’t get it in the back of the net,” Oxbow coach Charlie Barton said. “We had a few chances in overtime, but not as many as in (regulation). Again, we just couldn’t put in the net.”

Oxbow kicked first in PKs. Madison Fornwalt, Avery Barton and Schyler Hanzas all made their PKs to give the O’s a 3-2 lead heading into the final pairing. Parkin then sealed the win by drilling her own PK past the Hazen keeper.

The Olympians (13-1-1) held a 13-3 edge in shots. Oxbow keeper Mason Tomlinson made three saves. The O’s will host Vergennes on Wednesday at 3 p.m. to play for a berth in the state championship game.

Peoples 2, Rivendell 0

Morristown, Vt. — The Raptors (12-4-0) were not able to answer a pair of goals by the Wolves midway through the first half in the VPA Division III quarterfinals.

“(Peoples is) a very good team. They spread the ball out, work side-to-side and attack really hard,” Rivendell coach Tim Goodwin said. “I’m really proud of the girls. Team defense all the way through was really good.”

Keeper Kendyl Boisvert made 13 saves for Rivendell. The Raptors defense was busy throughout as Peoples had 17 corners. Rivendell graduates seven; Thessalie Butler, Madelyn Eastburn, Jenna Gilbert, Casey Ghio, Shauna Simmons, Emily Hebb and Lilia Tse.

Rice 6, Woodstock 0

South Burlington, Vt. — The Wasps (10-5-1) had their season come to an end in the VPA Division II quarterfinals.

Alex Dostie and Olivia Waite each scored two goals for Rice. Petra Langan and Fiona Connolly also scored. Abby McKeown had three assists, all on corner kicks.

Woodstock keeper Emma Tarleton made 21 saves. The Wasps will graduate Addie Gray, Gina Sorrentino, Momo Biele, Chloe Noble, Tierney Dugan and Katie MacMaster.

KUA 3, New Hampton 1

Meriden — The Wildcats (9-3-2) fought off the chill for a Pope Field win.

Emily Pariseau got Kimball Union on the board first, finishing a Gracie Gamache pass on a play started by a Scout Beaupre throw-in. After New Hampton tied the contest, KUA responded through Willa McGough’s swerving shot on a Maike Lasser assist. Gamache added a second helper when she fed Kat Maniatis with a through ball for the home team’s final goal.

Olivia Brooker and Sophie Braver shared the win in goal. KUA meets Holderness on Wednesday.

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