Lebanon — Junior Wade Rainey rushed for 100 yards, scored three touchdowns and booted two extra points as the Lebanon High football team, in need of a win to stay in the NHIAA Division III playoff hunt, got it with a 26-16 win over Stevens on Saturday night at slick Henry Emerton Field.

Stevens and Lebanon, who have not played since 2007, have had some epic clashes over the years, including a memorable back-and-forth 48-36 win for Raiders during the old Connecticut Valley League days in a game played under the lights at Barnes Park in Claremont, with Jim Jette coaching Lebanon and Dale Perkins at Stevens.

Rainey scored on runs of 1, 6, and 2 yards as Lebanon coach Chris Childs said he mixed up the running and passing to deal with the field conditions.

“But most of all,” said Childs, “we needed a win. We hadn’t beaten a team with a winning record, so this was a good night for us.”

The win vaulted the Raiders to 4-3, with road games remaining at Inter-Lakes and unbeaten Campbell.

After starting the season 5-0, Stevens (5-2) dropped two straight and is looking at a good Trinity team coming to Barnes Park Friday night.

One cause for concern was a poor tackling effort and four personal fouls. One personal foul was particularly stinging. Stevens cut a 26-10 lead to 26-16 and could have cut it to a one-score game, but the Cardinals picked up their fourth personal fall following their TD. This meant the try for two points was pushed back to the 18, where the Cardinals fumbled the exchange.

“We have to keep our composure,” said Stevens coach Paul Silva, who was bummed about the tackling saying “tackling has a lot to do with desire. We have to get better at that.”

The final Stevens touchdown was scored by Keaghan McAllister was allowed to play in the second half, as his two-game suspension was reduced to a 1½ games. He had seven rushes for eight yards. He might have had an additional nine yards, but a direct snap to him went over his head and he was nailed for a big loss. High, floating snaps from center also were a big issue for Stevens all night.

The game took a quick Lebanon tone when Stevens, on its first play from scrimmage, turned the ball over on its 35-yard line. Lebanon took advantage of the gift, and seven plays later Rainey took it in from the 1 and added the point after.

Stevens responded with a quick score following a brave call. The Cards were faced with a fourth-and-3 from their own 43. They not only went for itm but Baylor Rozeell took it to the house and Gabe Spaulding’s point-after made it a 7-7 game.

A bad snap on a Lebanon punt attempt gave Stevens the ball on the Raiders’ 8. A penalty and failure to move the ball forced the Cardinals into a field-goal situation, which Spaulding converted from 29 yards away to give his team a 10-7 lead.

Those points, however, were last ones Stevens scored until late in the fourth quarter.

Lebanon regained the lead with 7:32 to go in the second quarter. It took almost nine minutes, but the Raiders finally pushed it in on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 with Rainey blasting over. His kick made it 14-10.

Lebanon added two more scores before the half. The first was aided by a 10-yard Stevens punt that gave the Raiders the ball on the Stevens 43. Two sweeps for 11 yards and a 15-yard personal foul put the Raiders in close, where Rainey took it in.

It got to be 26-10 on a quarterback keeper by Calvin Stone.