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Yukica Profile: Wade Rainey

NOTE: The 2020 Joe Yukica New Hampshire Chapter of the National Football Foundation Scholar/Athlete banquet was cancelled this year because of COVID-19. Each Scholar/Athlete will be recognized with a commemorative program, a plaque and a personal profile that will appear in the program, on the New Hampshire Football Report, the Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter web site (joeyukicafootballfoundation.org) and the Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter Facebook page. This is one in a series of 39 profiles. Once published, each profile can be accessed by clicking on the athlete’s name at the bottom of the page.

WADE RAINEY
Lebanon High School

Any doubt about Wade Rainey’s willingness to be a team player was erased during his sophomore season at Lebanon High School.

The Raiders had depth in their offensive backfield, but were thin on the offensive line. Rainey, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound running back/linebacker, was asked to change positions on the offensive side of the ball.

“As a sophomore we had a couple of running backs ahead of him so we went to him and said, “Hey, we need a center,’” Lebanon coach Chris Childs recalled. “He said, ‘I’ll do it. I don’t care.’ So he played center for us as a sophomore. As the season went on we had a couple of kids get hurt in the backfield, so he ended up moving back to fullback by the end of year. He’s one of those kids who will do anything. Whatever the team needs he does.”

Lebanon needed Rainey to provide rushing yards last season, and he didn’t disappoint. He finished his senior year with a team-high 1,237 yards on the ground. That includes a 122-yard effort in Lebanon’s 28-21 loss to Trinity in the 2019 Division III championship game. He rushed for a touchdown, caught a TD pass and made three point-after kicks in that contest. 

“He handled a lot of stuff for us on defense, but he was probably better on offense,” Childs said. “He’s not gifted with a great deal of speed, but he has quickness to him. He’s got those crazy legs where a lot of kids miss him in short space, even though he’s not gonna outrun you in a 40-yard dash.”

Rainey moved to West Lebanon from Iowa the summer before he entered seventh grade after his father was hired as Dartmouth’s women’s soccer coach. He was a two-year captain in football, and also served as a captain for Lebanon’s boys basketball team. 

Rainey is president of the Lebanon High School Literature Club and volunteers his time with the Leb 2 Leb mentorship program, which provides role models who interact with youth in the Lebanon area.

“He really caught my eye in junior high when I watched him play as an eighth-grader,” Childs said. “He knows where everyone is supposed to be, what everybody is supposed to do, and makes sure everybody’s lined up right — he’s that guy. He really is a student of the game.

“Just a solid kid. Works hard.”

Q and A with Wade Rainey

Q: Please describe the most memorable moment of your high school football career. 

A: Running for over 200 yards and scoring three touchdowns against Hillsboro-Deering/Hopkinton in the 2019 state semifinal.

Q: Tell us about someone who has had a significant influence on your life. 

A: My dad, a soccer coach, was never bitter about my decision to choose football over soccer and always made sure I balanced athletics and academics.

Q: What is your favorite subject in school and why? 

A: English, because I love to write.

Q: What life lessons have you learned from football? 

A: How to lead and work as a team.

Q: What is your dream job? 

A: Working as a nationally published or televised sports journalist.

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2020 Scholar/Athletes: Keith Albergo (Winnacunnet), Thatcher Allen (Exeter), Cole Ames (Lebanon), Mason Belsky (Windham), Patrick Brust (Bishop Brady), Jaedon Cliche (Exeter), Riley Desmarais (Windham), Bobby DiCicco (Windham), Jared Dyer (Merrimack), Casey Gladu (Portsmouth), Owen Gormley (Salem), Jack Grogan (Bedford), Steven Guerette (Bow), Evan Haskins (Pelham), Samson Hodges (Milford), Ethan Holt (Bishop Guertin), Jack Jones (Bedford), Charlie Kneissl-Williams (Bedford), Hunter Lassard (St. Thomas), Joseph Lupo (Bishop Guertin), Jake MacInnis (Pinkerton), Braden McDonnell (Nashua South), Will MacLean (St. Thomas), Hayden Moses (Bishop Guertin), Riley Mulvey (Salem), Kyle O’Connor (Nashua South), Nolan Pafford (Portsmouth), Wade Rainey (Lebanon), Ismael Rivera (Bishop Brady), Oceanne Skoog (Newfound), Caleb Smith (Lebanon), Rolando Sylvain-Stott (Newfound), John Thibault (Trinity), Zach Twardosky (Merrimack), Gavin Urda (Milford), Carter Vedrani (Campbell), Jacob Wenger (Trinity), Jon Willeman (Lebanon) and Devin Wood (Merrimack).

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