Townies Jump 4 Spots in Grid Poll With 1st Win

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.

East Providence jumped four spots in the poll to No. 14 with their first win, 21-7, over previously 8th-ranked Westerly last week. The win makes the Townies 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the league. Tolman is the opponent tonight, Oct. 19, in Pawtucket at 7 pm.

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.

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

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.

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