Photos
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.
Barrington High School remained in the No. 7 spot despite a 33-21 loss to Tolman High on the road in Pawtucket, which dropped the Eagles' record to 2-2 in the league and 3-4 overall.
The Eagles head to South County tonight, Oct 19, to tangle with South Kingstown at 7 pm at Curtis Corner Middle School. South Kingstown sits in the 21st spot well out of the top 20.
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.
The win over Barrington helped the Tigers 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 wasn'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.
| Rank | Team | Points | Last Week | Patch # |
| 1 | La Salle | 255 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Hendricken | 252 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Cranston East | 228 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Portsmouth | 222 | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Johnston | 204 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Cumberland | 194 | 6 | 9 |
| 7 | Barrington | 164 | 7 | 14 |
| 8 | West Warwick | 158 | 10 | 6 |
| 9 | Middletown | 157 | 9 | 10 |
| t-10 | Tolman | 138 | 12 | 7 |
| t-10 | East Greenwich | 138 | 11 | 11 |
| 12 | Westerly | 108 | 8 | 12 |
| 13 | Cranston West | 78 | 13 | 8 |
| 14 | East Providence | 75 | 18 | 15 |
| 15 | Woonsocket | 56 | 14 | 13 |
| 16 | St. Ray's | 49 | 15 | 17 |
| 17 | Mt. Pleasant | 47 | 16 | NR |
| 18 | Central | 45 | 20 | 18 |
| 19 | Moses Brown | 41 | 19 | 16 |
| 20 | Shea | 39 | 17 | NR |
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 | 16 |
Looking 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.
Want to be e-mailed when we post a new poll? Click the “keep me posted!” button below.
