Playoffs Begin Tonight for No. 12 Football Team

Playing at home tonight at 6 p.m., the No. 1 seeded Rogers Vikings will attempt to defeat No. 4 seed Classical for the first time this year. The Vikings lost 27-20 to Classical earlier this year. 

If Rogers wins, they take on the winner of the No. 2 seeded Narragansett Mariners and No. 3 seed Middletown. The Division III Super Bowl takes place 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Cranston Stadium. Rogers beat Narragansett and Middletown earlier this season.

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.