It’s playoff time.
Yes, I know some were underway last week, but this week is when we truly get into the thick of the postseason with nearly all sports in playoff action.
Here are some of the things that I am watching for in the coming weeks.
First off, the cross country class championships shed some light on what we can expect for this week’s state championship at Ponaganset.
First off, Pilgrim’s Keaney Bayha is a near lock to take first place on the girls side. She ran to the Class A title with relative ease and no runner in Class B or C would have been very close either. It’s Bayha’s to lose and Pilgrim is set up well to see its first-ever state champion cross the finish line on Saturday.
Hendricken is also well placed to win on the boys side as a team, as it also dominated the standings despite not having a runner truly threaten to take the top spot overall. The Hawks have found success in the last few years with depth and it seems like they are once again positioned to win with the same formula.
As for field hockey, Division III has been every bit as competitive as I expected and both Toll Gate and Cranston have championship aspirations. The two clubs were in semifinal action on Tuesday with the winner advancing to Sunday’s state championship.
The Titans earned an overtime win over Tiverton in the quarters which set them up for a meeting against first-place Classical. The Thunderbirds took on always-tough Smithfield. The front runner is Classical but Cranston has played the Purple tough in every meeting this fall. Toll Gate and Cranston have a real shot at this thing, don’t let Classical’s record fool you.
Hendricken soccer, despite being ranked second, is the favorite to win it all if you ask me.
The Hawks fell to La Salle in a tight battle then also dropped a 1-0 decision to first-place Cumberland. The team also tied Moses Brown 2-2. Point being, the only teams that matched them were their fellow elite clubs. Don’t get me wrong, the Hawks are far from a lock, but I’d consider them to be the most consistent team of the fall on both offense and defense. Brent Karpowich has been a force on offense while Jack Mefford and Tristan Boyns have also been stellar all around. Hendricken, La Salle, Cumberland, Moses Brown, North Kingstown, and heck, even Portsmouth all have realistic shots at the championship. I’ll take the Hawks to get it done, though.
The Cranston West girls soccer team has all the makings of a championship cast and has a shot to make it happen, but the Falcons will just need to figure out a way to beat the cream of the crop.
The good news for the Falcons is that they beat the teams they should have beaten and their losses came against the clubs positioned ahead of them in the standings. West takes the fifth seed into the playoffs.
West has an elite keeper in Oceanna Orlandi and one of the best weapons in the state in Saniyya Chase. Stalia Biosse, Jordan Costa and Sarah Pimental are all leaders and provide quality depth, it’ll just be a matter of them putting it all together against the teams like La Salle, Cumberland and North Kingstown.
As for the East girls, after a huge start to the fall, they came back down to earth in the second half of the season to settle into sixth place as the playoffs begin.
Although Saint Ray’s is 18-0 and Burrillville is nipping at its heels in second place, don’t count East out. The Bolts forced the Broncos to put together a last-second comeback win in their meeting in Burrillville. East also played the Saints to a 2-1 decision earlier in the year as well. Point being, it is fair to call East a dark horse in this race.
Another dark horse in our coverage area is the Toll Gate girls team.
Credit to the Titans, who were moved up to Division II after graduating a large senior class. Although it took a few early lumps for the Titans to catch fire, they did just that and became one of the most dangerous teams in DII down the stretch.
Sure, the record and eighth seed doesn’t wow you, but Toll Gate just can’t be slept on. Emma McIntyre has been the best freshman in the state this season while Shinyu Vega is one of the most underrated players in the state as well. Alanna Pereira is consistent in net while Madison Gautieri has been strong on the defensive end. Although Toll Gate is not a favorite to win a title, it would not be wise to think it can’t happen.
As for football, I will be diving into those playoffs next week as the regular season wraps up this weekend. Stay tuned.