Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

MANCHESTER -- Senior running back Cody Patch scored two touchdowns to help Lebanon defeat Trinity 14-6 Saturday night in what may have been the biggest victory in the program's history.

Lebanon completed the regular season with a 9-0 record and will be the top-seeded team in the Division IV playoffs. Lebanon will face fourth-seeded Monadnock (5-4) in the semifinals.

It's the second time Lebanon has finished a regular season unbeaten. The Raiders were also undefeated in 1987, but played in the Connecticut Valley League back then and didn't qualify for the NHIAA playoffs because many of its games were against Vermont opponents.

The loss ended Trinity's 19-game winning streak. The Pioneers (8-1) had scored at least 24 points in each of their eight previous games this season.

"Our defense had that bend-but-don't-break mentality," Lebanon coach Chris Childs said. "Our plan was to make Trinity drive the length of the field. We didn't want to five them any short fields."

Lebanon will be making the program's third playoff appearance in school history. The Raiders were the No. 4 seed in each of their two previous playoff appearances and failed to win a game either time.

After a scoreless first half, Patch gave Lebanon the lead when he scored on an 8-yard run with 10:07 left in the third quarter. The first of Phillip Hwang's two point-after kicks made it a 7-0 contest.

Trinity scored its only TD on a Josh Hughes 5-yard run with 4:03 to play. The Pioneers elected to go for the two-point conversion, but Hughes was stopped short of the goal line.

Patch's second TD came on a 20-yard run with 2:07 to play.

"He's unbelievable," Childs said. "We rode him at the end."

Trinity's final possession ended when Micah Morton intercepted a fourth-down pass near midfield with 1:14 to play.

Trinity will be the No. 2 seeded and will play third-seeded Laconia in the semifinals.