Playoffs Begin Tonight for No. 16 Football Team

Playing under the lights at Curtis Corner Middle School tonight, the No. 2 seeded Narragansett Mariners will attempt to defeat No. 3 seed Middletown for a second time this year.

Kickoff is at 6 p.m. The game was moved from Narragansett High School to Curtis Corner to accommodate a larger crowd, and because it is a night game. South Kingstown High School is in the Division I playoffs, but they travel to Bishop Hendricken tonight.

In a defensive struggle, the in late September. School vs. school, Narragansett has been a thorn in Middletown’s side, beating them for and .

If Narragansett wins, they take on the winner of No. 1 Rogers and No. 4 Classical. The Division III Super Bowl takes place 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Cranston Stadium. Narragansett beat Classical earlier this month, to clinch a playoff seed, and played Rogers tough at home.

Football Poll: Mariners Up to No. 16

In the Rhode Island Sports Media football poll, Narragansett improved one spot, from No. 17 to No. 16. Their opponent, Middletown, improved from being not ranked to a tie for No. 19, following a Thanksgiving Day game with Portsmouth.

Rogers is the highest-ranked Division III team, at No. 12. Classical, the No. 4 playoff seed, is ranked No. 18.

Undefeated in Rhode Island high school play, La Salle remains at No. 1, capturing all 12 first place votes. Hendricken and South Kingstown are ranked No. 2 and 3, with Chariho the first Division II team at No. 4.

Other ranked Patch coverage areas: East Providence (5), Portsmouth (7), Cranston West (9), Barrington (10), Mt. Hope (17), Cranston East (t-19).

Also receiving votes: North Smithfield 19, Johnston 8, Central Falls 7, Smithfield 6, Mount Pleasant 3. The Rhode Island Sports Media football poll is voted upon by 12 members of the media. Patch's ballot is cast by Narragansett Local Editor Stephen Greenwell. The poll is run by Eric Rueb of Southern Rhode Island Newspapers.

Patch Ballot: Mariners Stay at No. 16; Small Change Amongst D-I Teams

For my own ballot, I kept the Mariners at No. 16. Their Thanksgiving game against East Greenwich didn’t reveal anything we didn’t already know – Talented, intense on defense, but questions about special team play and keeping their emotions in check.

Likewise, there seems to be consensus about the top four teams in the state – the top three Division I playoff seeds, then Chariho, the top team in Division II. To me, East Providence, Cranston West, Portsmouth and Barrington are all around the same quality level, followed by the Division II playoff teams, and then Division III.

I snuck Cranston East back into my ballot, toward the bottom, at the expense of Johnston and Mt. Hope (unranked this week). All three teams are somewhat interchangeable to me, in that they’re weaker teams in tough divisions, making them hard to rank.