Editor’s Note: Each Monday, Coaches Aid will release Top 5 rankings for each football division, and Top 10 rankings for each boys and girls soccer divisions. The Rankings are compiled by Coaches Aid - Rhode Island Content Coordinator Joe Fagella. Agree or disagree with the rankings? Leave a comment, or start some chatter in one of the forums.
FOOTBALL
La Salle just keeps on ticking, surviving a scare from Bishop Hendricken to once again retain the top spot in Division I. The Hawks nearly handed the Rams their first loss since knocking them out of the '07 playoffs by jumping out to a 15-0 lead, before eventually falling 29-21. However, as a result of giving the No. 1-ranked team a run for its money, Hendricken remains in the rankings at No. 5.
Barrington vs. East Providence was the other marquee match-up on this past weekend's slate. Rain pushed Friday's game to Saturday, and the Eagles were the ones who came out fresh on their home turf, blanking the Townies 14-0 to take back the No. 2 spot from them, while EP slips to No. 3. The new No. 4 team this week is Cranston West, which swaps places with Hendricken following a 33-6 Homecoming win over North Kingstown.
West Warwick continues to get stronger with every game it plays, improving to 5-0 with a 24-13 win at Burrillville on Saturday to remain atop the D-II rankings. Aside from a slip-up two weeks ago, when it fell 14-0 to Shea in its Homecoming game, Cranston East has been dominating its opponents. The Thunderbolts had another impressive showing on Saturday with a 48-8 rout of winless Pilgrim, catapulting them from fourth back to second.
South Kingstown bounced back from its heartbreaking double-OT loss to Cumberland with a 22-0 blanking of Lincoln to remain at No. 3 this week. Woonsocket makes its debut in the D-II poll at No. 4, thanks to a 13-0 shutout of Mt. Hope, which drops from second to fifth as a result.
Spots one through three remained unchanged in this week's D-III poll. Ponaganset (15-14 win over Tiverton) and Johnston (16-14 win at Mount Pleasant) both collected wins to remain at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, while Mount Pleasant remains at No. 3, despite its two-point loss to the Panthers.
The new No. 4 team this week is Moses Brown, which edged Narragansett, 21-14, to re-enter the rankings at the same spot that it held during Week 3. Tiverton falls one spot to fifth due to its one-point loss to the top-ranked Chieftains.
It's been no contest in Division IV, where undefeated Middletown has held down the top spot since Week 2 with authority, averaging a state-high 38 points per game. Spots two and three stay the same, as both Hope (22-6 win at North Smithfield) and Classical (19-2 win over North Providence) added to their totals in the win column.
Central Falls is the new No. 4 team after being unranked last week. The Warriors took care of business against the winless Providence Country Day-Wheeler Knights, 44-12. Rounding out the D-IV poll is Scituate, which drops from fourth to fifth, following a 30-6 loss to Exeter-West Greenwich.
Check out the football rankings by either clicking on the rankings tab from the home page, or by going here: http://www.coachesaid.com/RI/Rankings/Football/View/2009/10/12
BOYS SOCCER
Barrington has been chasing La Salle for the top spot in Division I all season, and the Eagles finally passed the Rams this week, taking over the No. 1 ranking thanks to a 2-1 win in their meeting on Tuesday. La Salle drops down to second as a result, while spots three through six remain the same this time around. Chariho (No. 3), South Kingstown (No. 4), Central Falls (No. 5) and Bishop Hendricken (No. 6) all had strong weeks to stay right where they were.
North Kingstown and Portsmouth also stay put at eighth and ninth, respectively, but there's a new No. 7, and a new No. 10. Mount St. Charles climbs from 10th to seventh following a 1-1 week. Taking over for the Mounties at No. 10 is newcomer Hope (2-1 in last three games).
There's a new No. 1 in D-II and it's East Greenwich. The undefeated Avengers have been keeping pace with Shea all season long, and now they finally pass the Raiders, who fell for the first time on Friday. The Raiders drop to second following their 2-1 loss to Central. The Knights, meanwhile, use that big win over Shea to climb one spot up to fifth.
Westerly and Smithfield remain at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively after both posting solid weeks. Middletown trades places with Central, dropping down to sixth this week.
There were no changes to spots seven through nine, as Lincoln (No. 7), Narragansett (No. 8) and Pilgrim (No. 9) didn't really do anything to improve their positions this week, but they didn't really do anything to hurt them either. Taking over at No. 10 this week is newbie Tolman, which uses a current three-game win streak to enter the rankings.
Tiverton continues to hold strong in D-III's top spot, as three more wins last week helped to cushion its advantage a little more. Everyone else from spots two through six all followed suit, getting a little comfier in the same positions this week. West Warwick (No. 2), Prout (No. 3), Exeter-West Greenwich (No. 4), St. Raphael (No. 5) and Ponaganset (No. 6) all did their best to keep pace with the top-ranked Tigers. Johnston also stays put at No. 9.
Burrillville (1-1 week) and Davies swap places this week, with the Broncos moving up to seventh, while the Patriots, who lost both of their games, slip to eighth. Rogers is the new No. 10, thanks to collecting its first win of the season last Monday over Davies.
Check out the boys soccer rankings by either clicking on the rankings tab from the home page, or by going here: http://www.coachesaid.com/RI/Rankings/Boys%20Soccer/View/2009/10/12
GIRLS SOCCER
Spots one through five remain in tact in this week's D-I poll. No. 1 La Salle doesn't seem to be losing any steam as the season is progressing, posting totals of 71 goals scored and only six allowed in '09. South Kingstown is the leader in the South, jumping out to an 11-2 record to keep them at No. 2. East Greenwich (four-game win streak), Portsmouth (1-1 week) and Toll Gate (1-1-1 week) all stay put at third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
North Kingstown, Barrington and Warwick Veterans all make upward strides in this week's rankings. The Skippers move one spot from No. 7 to No. 6. Taking over for NK at No. 7 are the Eagles, who climb two spots. The Hurricanes jump from 10th to ninth following a 1-1 week.
Cumberland falls from sixth to eighth (current three-game losing streak), while Coventry drops from No. 8 to No. 10.
Onto Division II, where spots one through four are all the same faces. As long as Mount St. Charles keeps its unbeaten record (10-0-2) in tact, it will be holding down the top spot. But nipping on the Mounties' heels are No. 2 Prout, No. 3 Smithfield and No. 4 Exeter-West Greenwich, which are all ready and willing to capitalize if and when MSC slips up.
Cranston West (2-1 week) and Westerly (0-1-1 week) swap spots with the Falcons climbing from eighth to fifth, and the Bulldogs sliding to No. 8. Ponaganset stays put at No. 6, while Lincoln (0-2 week) drops from seventh to 10th. Pilgrim jumps from ninth to seventh, and defending champ St. Mary - Bay View uses a 1-0 win at Westerly to return to the D-II poll at No. 9.
There was plenty of movement in the D-III poll with only the front end, the caboose and one in the middle staying put. Tiverton remains on top thanks to its 12-1 start, while Moses Brown rounds out the tail end at No. 10 with an 0-1-1 week. Middletown remains in fourth thanks to a current three-game win streak.
Other than those three teams, everyone else is either new or in a new position. Jumping from fourth to second is Burrillville following a 2-0 week that included a 4-2 win over the previously-unbeaten and top-ranked Tigers. Due to the Broncos emergence as a team to not be taken lightly, North Smithfield slips one spot to No. 3. St. Raphael uses a current four-game win streak to settle in at No. 5, two spots higher than last week. West Warwick makes one of the biggest climbs of the week, going from 10th to sixth thanks to a pair of ties last week.
No. 7 this week is North Providence, which came in at No. 9 last time around. Johnston drops from sixth to eighth following a current four-game winless stretch (0-3-1). Narragansett takes a big tumble from fifth to ninth after going 0-2-1 last week.
No. 1 and No. 2 went in D-IV head-to-head on Friday, with the defending champs Woonsocket escaping 2-1 winners to hold onto the top ranking and take over first place in the North. Tolman stays put at No. 2 with its lone loss of the season coming on Friday to the aforementioned Villa Novans. Shea (four-game win streak) and Hope also get a little comfier in spots three and four, respectively.
Central Falls uses a 2-0 week to climb two spots to fifth. As a result of the Warriors' move upward, Rogers falls one spot to No. 6. Central slides into CF's old spot at No. 7 following a 1-1 week, while Mount Pleasant (0-3 week), which was in last week's six spot, comes in at No. 9 this time around.
Davies is the new No. 8 team after going 1-1 last week, while Masters doesn't go anywhere, staying put at No. 10.
Check out the girls soccer rankings by either clicking on the rankings tab from the home page, or by going here: http://www.coachesaid.com/RI/Rankings/Girls%20Soccer/View/2009/10/12
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