Trinity claims Division III title

By rbrown
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Updated: November 24, 2019

DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Trinity 28, Lebanon 21

Lebanon bottled up the Trinity offense during a 14-point regular season victory, but the Pioneers turned the tables in Sunday’s Division III championship game.

Trinity running back John Thibault ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns to lead Trinity to a 28-21 triumph at the University of New Hampshire’s Wildcat Stadium.

NHIAA 2019 DIII Final

Thibault was limited to 67 yards on 15 carries in the first meeting, a 21-7 Lebanon victory that came in Week 2.

“Our offensive line, our running backs, our passing game — everything has been improving all season, so we felt really good about coming out here knowing we could win and execute,” Thibault said. “(Lebanon) came out ready to hit (in the regular season meeting) and set the tone from the beginning of the game.”

Trinity was held to 137 yards of offense in the regular season loss, and it was the only regular season game in which the Pioneers were held to fewer than 31 points.

Second-seeded Trinity (11-1) also received a 5-yard TD run from quarterback Peter Alisandro and a 3-yard TD run from James Thibault (John’s younger brother) in Sunday’s victory.

Trinity led 6-0 after one quarter, 21-7 at halftime and 28-21 entering the fourth.

Running back Wade Rainey scored twice for Lebanon. He caught a 20-yard TD pass in the second quarter, and had a 1-yard TD run in the third. Rainey also kicked three PATs.

Lebanon other TD came on Philip Mellish’s 2-yard run. Rainey’s PAT made it a 28-21 with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter. Rainey gained 122 yards on 27 carries in the loss.

Despite the wet conditions at the University of New Hampshire’s Wildcat Stadium, Trinity didn’t have a turnover in Sunday’s win.

“When we played them in the regular season it was early, so we knew we were a different team then and that if we played well we could hang with them, so we were confident,” Trinity coach Rob Cathcart said. “The big thing was to make sure we didn’t do anything to hurt ourselves and to try and play clean. For the most part we did that.”