Bedford, n.h.
Ultimately, the during- and between-points yammering made no difference. When the Raiders needed it most, they brought the Noahs.
With Noah Ryder and Noah Didehbani providing the emphatic doubles clincher, second-ranked Lebanon concluded a perfect court campaign with a solid 6-3 win over No. 1 Oyster River at Bedford High School on Tuesday for the Raiders’ first NHIAA Division II boys tennis championship.
And as has been the case all season, depth did the job: Like Thursday’s semifinal dismissal of No. 3 Portsmouth, Lebanon (17-0) grabbed three points out of the bottom four singles positions and clinched the title with the first completed doubles match.
Nos. 3, 5 and 6 — Didehbani, Ben Ask and Ryder — set the table for Thursday’s win by taking their respective singles matches. The Raiders caged the Bobcats (16-1) by erasing an early 2-0 deficit as No. 2 Terran Campbell joined wins from Ask, Ryder and No. 4 Owen Johnstone to give Lebanon a 4-2 cushion entering doubles.
The Noahs then routed Oyster River’s James Kahn and Justin Stevens, 8-1, at third doubles to start the celebration.
“I think the guys work hard all year; they believe in themselves,” said Haxton, Lebanon’s second-year coach. “They knew how close we came last year. I keep playing the song by Journey, Don’t Stop Believin’; that’s what I kept telling them. I told them to do your job like you’ve done all year, and we’re state champions.”
In beating Portsmouth and Oyster River back-to-back, two squads that went a combined 27-1 in the regular season, Lebanon showed that a deep lineup is a powerful tool against a foe with top-end talent.
Anyone who runs into Bobcat No. 1 Henry Bulkley in this weekend’s NHIAA singles tournament will have a hard time putting him away. The sophomore, in earning an 8-2 defeat of the Raiders’ Jacob Peress to start Tuesday’s scoring, has yet to find a forehand he can’t deliver with brutal, effective authority.
Beyond that, however, Oyster River couldn’t match Lebanon for the skills it brings through all six positions on the singles roster. Peress can line up against Ryder at any practice and expect a competitive match. Ask or Johnstone can play Didehbani or Campbell evenly. Haxton felt he’d have an increased advantage the further down the ladder Lebanon went, and the Raiders proved him correct once again.
“Everybody plays with each other all the time,” Peress said. “In the summertime, we’ll sometimes call each other up and play. In the wintertime, we play sometimes. Everyone gets their time around the year to play. You obviously see that today, considering that we got a lot of points from the bottom of the lineup.
“I’m sort of the sacrificial lamb, (but) that’s only the second this season. Obviously, it’s not great for me, but the team pulls it out, so I don’t really care. It’s a team sport.”
Oyster River jumped to a 2-0 lead as Kahn blanked Didehbani at No. 3, 8-0, to follow Bulkley’s victory. Everything else went Lebanon’s way.
Ask got Lebanon its first point with an 8-1 defeat of the Bobcats’ Porter McManus at No. 5. Campbell followed moments later, once again riding his patient baseline game to put away Colin Runk, 8-4. The lanky Lebanon junior metronomically returned Runk’s shots, breaking his foe three times in building a 5-0 lead that the Oyster River senior couldn’t counter.
Johnstone put the Raiders ahead to stay with an 8-2 defeat of Stevens.
“I think it’s partly Coach, too, because I don’t think other teams focus as much on us,” Johnstone said of Lebanon’s deep lineup. “Everybody gets to play everyone. Noah Ryder, at (No.) 6, gets to play Jacob at No. 1. It’s perfect. Every guy’s in it.”
With the 3-2 lead, a loss in Ryder’s match could have turned the tide back toward Oyster River. With the eyes of both teams’ fans on him, Ryder closed out the Bobcats’ Shane Chinburg, 8-4, in gutsy fashion. The final game featured four deuces and three lost match points before Ryder forced a Chinburg return into the net.
“I kind of knew that if I didn’t win, it would be tied, 3-3, so I needed to get a victory,” Ryder admitted. “I just felt like I had to win. With everyone there, that helped me get the motivation I needed.”
The only debate that remained turned out to be who would earn the clincher, the Noahs at third doubles or Lebanon’s left-handed complement, southpaws Ask and Johnstone, at No. 2. The latter saluted the former from their court for locking down the championship moments before polishing off an 8-2 decision.
Peress grinned while holding the state championship plaque as Haxton draped medals over each of his tennis players. Peress then did his level best to dunk a medal over the head of his coach, who finally got to taste victory in a state final after 11 runner-up finishes in Rhode Island and last year’s one-point loss to Portsmouth.
“Coach is a funny guy, and we’ve kind of made fun of him in the past for losing all of his state championships, but of course we wanted to get one for him,” Peress said. “He’s a good coach, and we all pretty much like him. We’re proud for him as well as everybody.”
It’s a feeling that runs deep among the Raiders.
Only Lebanon’s lineup runs deeper.
Net Points: Bulkley and Runk accounted for Oyster River’s final point by topping Peress and Campbell at first doubles, 8-4, after Lebanon had already secured the championship. … Haxton stood netside during Ryder’s singles win and briefly locked fingers with his 2-year-old grandson, Bryce, through the fence late in the match. He also got a hug from 1-year-old granddaughter Sydney afterward. … Tuesday’s win brought Didehbani level in state titles with his father, Mherdad, who scored a goal in Lebanon’s defeat of Hanover in the 1991 NHIAA Class I boys soccer title game at Keene State College. “I’m glad I got to be a part of it; we’re going to get to hang up a banner,” the younger Didehbani remarked. “I never thought that, going to Lebanon High, I’d hang one up for tennis. Maybe I’ll compare it with (Dad) when I win one in soccer next year.” … Lebanon loses just one senior in Nick Haidari. Peress: “I hope we can get back here next year, but one day at a time.”
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.