Trinity/Lebanon there can be only 1! Lebanon is 9-0!

**Edited after some sleep...**

It was a defensive struggle all night long. That sounds weird to say when both teams combined for almost 600 yards of offense, however, if you were there, you know what I mean. In the end, the Raiders improved to 9-0 in the Regular season finale for these 2 D IV heavyweights, outlasting the Pioneers in a big 14-6 victory at Gill stadium in Manchester.

But what a game. The first half of the game was a stalemate with neither team really able to get a whole lot going. Yardage-wise, initially it seemed as though the Pioneers had a slight edge offensively in the opening half, but would start getting the Offense moving and would shoot themselves in the foot with a costly penalty, killing the momentum. They did have one shot to get on the board early but came up empty as a 32 yard FG attempt fell short.


Now I don't want to make it seem as though they were moving with ease....the Raider defense was stingy tonight. In what has been their staple all year, then bent a bit but did not break. At halftime it was 0-0.

The second half was a bit different. The Raiders opened the second half with the ball. On the second play from scrimmage, Patch took off on what appeared to be a 20 plus yard gain ending as he hurtled (and yes that's the word) what looked like 4 feet over the defender. The officials flagged him for hurtling putting the Raiders in a deep hole. Not to be dismayed he followed that run with runs of 25 and then 30 yards ending it with a touchdown run 5 yards, up the middle in the 3rd quarter to give the Raiders the lead. After the PAT is good, it was 7-0 Raiders.

The Pioneers then put together an 8ish minute drive consisting of 16 plays and 90+ yards, taking them well into the 4th quarter. RB Josh Hughes (160 + yards and 1 TD) then answered with 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, punching in a 5 yard TD to get the home team on the board. However as they have done all year, they opted to go for 2 points and the lead with 4 minutes to go in the game. But the Lebanon D came up big, getting good penetration and stacked Hughes up, stuffing the attempted 2 point conversion and maintaining the lead for the visiting Raiders 7-6. 

The Raiders then took the ball 65 yards in 5 plays 4 runs by Patch and 1 by Drew and quickly answered as Patch found paydirt with his 2nd TD on an 18+ yard (2nd) TD run. After the PAT it was 14-6 Raiders with 3 minutes to go. The Raider D then shut the door on the Pioneers as Mica Morton picked off a Goldstein pass on 4th and long, allowing the Raiders to take a knee to end the game by running the clock out.

I'm not going to mention any names defensively. Suffice it to say this was truly a team effort from the defensive side of the ball for both teams. Every single player on both teams made plays this game. I would be willing to bet a lot of money that every players name was called out multiple times during this contest. It was a true defensive struggle between two heavyweight teams. If this was a preview of the championship game, I can't wait. Congratulations to both teams on outstanding seasons! And to the Lebanon Raiders for a perfect regular season of 9-0.

Interesting notes:

** FB/LB Ryan Carrier was helped off the field after a collision with (OL) Alexander Morril and did not return. We hope he is okay and wish him well.  

** One poster on the site had commented in an earlier thread, voicing concerns about how many of the Lebanon faithful would show up to support their team. If last night's contest was any indication, fear not. It's my  estimate that the visiting Raider fans numbered well over 400 plus in attendance. They were loud and rowdy and had I not known better, I would have thought this was a hometown, old-fashioned rival game...rather than a contest where the visiting team travelled 70 + miles.

**Trinity will host Laconia next weekend and Lebanon will host the Huskies in the first round of the D IV playoffs.