DURHAM, N.H. — To call the weather inclement during Sunday’s NHIAA Division III football final doesn’t do Mother Nature justice. Top-seeded Lebanon and second-seeded Trinity endured conditions better suited for fishing in the North Atlantic than attempting passes, handoffs and kick returns.
The toughest student-athletes on Wildcat Stadium’s water-logged artificial turf? Perhaps the gridiron reserves and cheerleaders who stood mostly in place while nonstop rain ranging from drizzle to a downpour descended on their helmets and hair. At one point, the goal posts’ uprights swayed in wind gusts and a merchandise tent tipped over.
“The first half wasn’t too bad, but the rain got really hard and it got colder in the second half,” said former Newport High standout John Thibault, who rushed 13 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns for Trinity during its 28-21 victory. “I’m still shivering right now.”
Said Lebanon’s Wade Rainey: “It was a grind, going out there and the rain’s driving and freezing. It affected our passing game, which was a pretty big blow.”
There were no fumbles in the contest but Raiders quarterback Jon Willeman had three passes intercepted. The senior explained that he couldn’t grip the ball as well as needed to throw with his usual velocity and accuracy.
Trinity’s defense did its best to keep Willeman, a dangerous scrambler, contained on the edges and then laid back in a zone. The Pioneers used a man-to-man scheme during Lebanon’s victory over them early in the season. Willeman might beat them, but it would have to be with his arm, not his legs.
“They rushed three and dropped eight back so that made it very tough to pass,” said Willeman, who was picked off for the last time with 1 minute, 39 seconds remaining and Lebanon at midfield. “On the last (interception), I waited too long. Usually, I can throw it farther and hit him on the run, but the ball slipped out and went straight up in the air.”
That interception was made by Trinity’s Peter Alisandro, who completed 2 of 4 passes for 42 yards as the Pioneers’ signal-caller.
Quotes from Lebanon coach Chris Childs:
“That first kickoff (return) was a key that got them going. That was one of the things I didn’t want, was to let them start fast and we have to play the catchup game.”
“In that second half, (Rainey) took it over for us for a while. It was coming down hard there, rain-wise, and we didn’t have much choice but to run the football.”
“We controlled the second half’s time of possession and that made a big difference. We won that part of the game.”
On Thibault: “He’s got speed, he’s got strength and he’s elusive, so he’s hard to defend. He had a crazy (third-quarter) punt that went 60 yards or whatever. That was key and it pinned us back deep. That was crucial. To me, that was the game.”
The unofficial injury list for Lebanon most significantly included senior Jack Chamley, a starting wingback and linebacker who said he pulled a hamstring during last week’s rout of Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton. Chamley is the grandson of former Lebanon football coach Chuck Chamley.
Others out for the contest included former starting receiver and defensive back Jack Stone, who broke his leg early in the campaign. An impact player both figuratively and literally, the sophomore said he hopes to be fully healed in time to start basketball practice in another two weeks.
The home side’s ball boys were senior kicker Josh Roebuck, who broke his ankle playing basketball last month, and sophomore lineman Connor Brown, who broke his arm during the second game’s initial kickoff.
Notes: Lebanon is 23-16 the last four years and 34-24 the last six… The Raiders and Pioneers both dropped from Division II to Division III after the 2017 season, the year that Trinity played only a JV schedule because of low participation numbers. … The Raiders lost for the first time in five games away from Henry Emerton Field this season. … Trinity has won five of the teams’ last six meetings and five of the last eight, dating back to the 2010 regular season. … Rainey, kicking for Lebanon, and Liam McCoy, doing the booting for Trinity, are both left-footed. … The Wildcat Stadium scoreboard began to count down 15 minutes as the fourth quarter began. Operators forgot that high school games use 12-minute stanzas. … The official championship logo shown on the scoreboard featured a white Lebanon helmet. The Raiders wear maroon lids. … Trinity entered the game having won previous state titles at the Division I (1988), Division IV (2012) and Division V (2009) levels. … Spotted twirling a black-and-gold University of Iowa umbrella in the front row was Lebanon junior Sally Rainey. Her father, Ron, is the Dartmouth College women’s soccer coach and previously held the same job with the Hawkeyes. … Lebanon was supported by a busload of students, chaperoned by math teacher Thomas Moore. … Raiders senior running back and linebacker Philip Mellish, who scored a third-quarter touchdown, hopes to enter the military after graduation, Childs said. … The stadium lights, scheduled to be turned on for the Division II title game at 2 p.m., were deployed at 12:50 as the afternoon darkened and weather conditions worsened.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.