SPORTS

Midseason observations

Posted 1/25/22

I figured this week would be a good one to give some midseason thoughts on our high school teams considering we are right around the midway point of the regular season. It's crazy to think that we are already to this point. Between the holiday break and

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SPORTS

Midseason observations

Posted

I figured this week would be a good one to give some midseason thoughts on our high school teams considering we are right around the midway point of the regular season. It’s crazy to think that we are already to this point. Between the holiday break and teams missing portions of time due to the pandemic, it feels like we are just getting started.

Some teams and sports have played more than others, but I am confident enough in the sample size to at least give you some opinions and observations from what I have seen to this point. Here have been a few of my takeaways:

Although the Bishop Hendricken basketball team is still one of the top heavyweights in the state, the Hawks have gotten off to a slow start … for Hendricken standards, of course.

Between losses to powerhouses Classical and La Salle as well as another to East Providence, the Hawks have struggled to put it all together against the other elite teams. It’s early in the season and each game was close, but usually Hendricken wins those games.

The Hawks are unusually young this season and only have one starter, David Lynch, who has seen significant varsity minutes. Between that and the team missing six games due to postponements, I guess a slow start is not surprising.

As always, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and no team has been better at finishing in the past decade-plus than Hendricken. However, the climb to the top appears to be a little bit steeper than usual this winter.

Perhaps our top girls basketball team to this point has been Toll Gate, who entered this week with a 9-1 league record.

The Titans have been a playoff team for the past couple seasons but never really got over the hump to being a true contender. It always felt like they were just a player away.

Toll Gate got just that player in Woonsocket import Bri Simono, who has been stellar at the point guard position. Between her impact, along with the fast rise of Adeline Areson and the return of Sydnee Perreault and Amanda Preston, this team appears to be for real and will certainly be a factor come playoff time. We’ll see how the second half of the regular season plays out. Toll Gate won’t be sneaking up on anyone moving forward and the war of attrition is always tricky, but I have a feeling that Toll Gate is already primed for a big run.

I have been impressed with each of our girls teams from Cranston.

After making its unlikely run in 2020-21, the East girls returned strong and have put together a solid start this season. East entered the week with a 6-3 league record and sat comfortably in playoff position.

The West girls have had a bit of a roller coaster season to this point. The one encouraging sign, though, is that the Falcons have beaten the teams that they should be beating and have lost to the top clubs. Of course, that means West still has another step or two to take before we can call it a contender, but if it can take that step forward in its final few games, then I don’t hate the idea of calling it a dark horse.

As for hockey, I spent quite a bit of time breaking it down last week so I won’t go as far into depth but I will give a few thoughts.

Hendricken appears to be right in the championship mix, if not the favorite to win it all. The Hawks have been stellar to this point with only one loss, and got some big wins including a lopsided 5-2 decision over Mount recently.

I spoke about it last week, but between the Hawks, La Salle, Mount, and a couple other squads, this division will be a dog fight. To this point, Hendricken and La Salle have been the top two teams and it will not surprise me to see them as the final ones standing come championship time.

Overall, I like the Warwick co-op as well. Pilgrim and Toll Gate joined forces last season and then got bumped up to DI this winter. Although the team entered the week winless, all but maybe one or two games were tight contests. Even this past weekend against Hendricken, Warwick trailed by just one score in the third period before falling 3-1.

To be honest, the team has actually fared better than I thought it would early on. I figured by season’s end it would figure things out, but it is already holding its own against some of the top teams around. This is another club that appears to be just a step or two away from being a title contender.

As for the defending DII champion Cranston co-op, they have held steady in the middle of the standings. I have no doubt that it will be a factor come playoff time, but the road to the title is far from guaranteed.

One team that I believe is the favorite to win a title at this point is the Cranston West wrestling team … which entered this week unbeaten and only having been tied once on a night that it was short-handed.

The Falcons are deep, experienced, and have potential state champions in most weight divisions. Early in the winter coach Tom Lynch said that the goal was a top-5, maybe even top-3 finish at states. With some of the teams they have beaten, including Bishop Hendricken, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that they will be there in the end.

One last team I wanted to touch on is the Hendricken swim team. The Hawks have ruled the pool for the past three decades, and although I’d say they are still the favorite this winter, they did suffer a rare defeat to Barrington to start the season.

With the departure CJ Sheldon - who was one of the greatest swimmers in state history, Hendricken has some holes to fill. With guys like Nick and Tim Andrews, the Hawks will be fine. But, I do think the early season loss and the departure of Sheldon is something to consider when assessing the team’s ceiling. Again, I am sticking with Hendricken for the title, though.

sports, column, My Pitch

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