Schools
Villa Novans Get Shot To Move Up in RIHS Football Poll Saturday
Top seven remain unchanged, Woonsocket game against Titans offers chance at advancing.
Inaction is the new action, as the top seven remain unchanged in the Rhode Island Sports Media Football Poll, after a weekend of mostly winning.
Woonsocket (4-2, 2-2 Division II-A) slipped a spot in the polls, from No. 14 to No. 15. The Villa Novans didn’t play this past weekend, but the teams behind them won, forcing them down.
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However, they’ll have a good chance at moving up, since they play at Toll Gate 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The Titans are 0-4 in Division II-A play, 1-6 overall, and they’ve been outscored by 150 points in seven games.
No. 3 Cranston East lost, but it was to Hendricken, and while they lost a first place vote and about 25 points in the polls, it wasn’t enough to drop below No. 4 Portsmouth.
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No. 7 Barrington lost to Tolman, which caused the Tigers to jump two spots in the polls, up into a tie at No. 10 with East Greenwich. However, the loss of 30 poll points for the Eagles weren’t enough for No. 8 West Warwick to overtake them.
All 20 teams from last week’s poll stayed in this week. The biggest mover was Westerly, which dropped four spots to No. 12 after a loss to Division I East Providence. East Providence moved up four spots, from No. 18 to No. 14, with the win.
Note: One voter was unable to participate.
Dropped from the poll: None.
Also receiving votes: South Kingstown 24, Rogers 23, Hope 9, Narragansett 3, Classical 2, Mt. Hope 2, North Smithfield 2, Coventry 1 and Smithfield 1.
PATCH BALLOT
Rank Team Media Last Week 1 Hendricken 2 1 2 La Salle 1 2 3 Portsmouth 4 3 4 Cranston East 3 4 5 Johnston 5 5 6 West Warwick 8 7 7 Tolman t-10 8 8 Cranston West 13 9 9 Cumberland 6 11 10 Middletown 9 13 11 East Greenwich t-10 14 12 Westerly 12 6 13 Woonsocket 15 10 14 Barrington 7 12 15 East Providence 14 15 16 Moses Brown 19 17 17 St. Ray's 16 19 18 Central 18 20 19 Rogers NR 18 20 South Kingstown NR 16Looking at the difference between my ballot and the results, the biggest gaps come with the Division I teams – I’m much more bullish on Cranston West, and not as into Barrington.
In hindsight, the two teams should be closer in the rankings, but I probably let their most recent game results – A loss for the Eagles, a win for the Falcons – color my perception. Regardless, I think both are clearly in the bottom tier, as the playoff teams look set to me – Hendricken and La Salle would need to collapse to not qualify, and Cranston East and Portsmouth have the inside track on the final two spots.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the playoffs are an option for the two local teams, South Kingstown and Narragansett. Even if the Rebels won out, that would leave that at 4-4. The Mariners have a better shot, with 2-2 Division III record, but they need to take at least three of their last four, and they still have to play the two best teams in the Division, Middletown and East Greenwich.
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