Patriots Return to No. 2 in RISM Football Poll

After a , the Portsmouth Patriots are back to being the second-ranked team in the 10^th week of the Rhode Island Sports Media high school football poll.

The Patriots move into the spot vacated by the Barrington Eagles, who dropped to No. 4. The Eagles lost to the new No. 3, the East Providence Townies, 28-21, last Friday. Bishop Hendricken stayed atop the rankings with a 38-28 win against No. 9 Cranston West.

Portsmouth hosts Cranston West 7 p.m. tonight. The Patriots close out the regular season 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving at Middletown. They have already clinched a berth in the Division I playoffs.

Sports staffers at Southern Rhode Island Newspapers run the RISM football poll. Voting publications are The Chariho Times, Coventry Courier, The Cranston Herald, East Greenwich Pendulum, The Narragansett Times, The Newport Daily News, The North-East Independent, The South County Independent, The Standard-Times, The Warwick Beacon and The Westerly Sun. The full standings:

Team--Points--Last week

1. Hendricken (11)--220--1

2. Portsmouth--186--3

3. East Providence--182--t-4

4. Barrington--170--2

5. La Salle--162--t-4

6. Tolman--144--7

7. Woonsocket--141--6

8. Rogers--131--8

t-9. Cranston West--95--9

t-9. Exeter-West Greenwich--95--11

11. Central--93--17

12. St. Raphael--82--13

13. Cranston East--80--12

14. Johnston--74--t-14

15. Chariho--69--10

16. Moses Brown--60--t-14

17. Mount Pleasant--31--20

t-18. Westerly--27--NR

t-18. Mount Hope--27--19

t-20. Lincoln--21--NR

t-20. Burrillville--21--16

Dropped from poll: Middletown 18.

Also receiving votes: South Kingstown 7, Middletown 2.