Eric's Rueb's power latest power poll: Reversals of fortune lead to leaps forward

The joy of heading to Wisconsin for my "brocation" was playing golf at Whistling Straits and seeing Football Mecca — Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

The downside is that after the travel day and recovery day, I have no idea what day of the week it is.

I'm not an excuse guy but that’s why we’re a little late with my weekly power poll. I tried my best to keep up with what went down on Saturday and Sunday in Rhode Island high school football, but cheese curds and the finest Miller Lite in the country distracted me a bit.

Since my return, I’ve looked it all over, punched numbers into my supercomputer and came up with what I think are the Top 20 teams in the state heading into Week 5.

Below you’ll find the ballot that I’ve sent to be included as part of the Rhode Island Sports Media Top 20 High School Football Poll. Because I’m the person who runs the poll, that is also running late.

Check out the rankings and be sure to let me know what I got wrong.

20. Smithfield

Last week, this spot was reserved for undefeated Central Falls, but with the Sentinels handing the Warriors their first loss, it now belongs to undefeated Smithfield. The Sentinels held Central Falls to one score, the lone offensive touchdown it has allowed all season.

19. Middletown

Talk about coming up with an answer. After getting shut out by Tolman, the Islanders responded last week with a win over a Coventry team in a manner that was surprising, to say the least. Middletown can continue to prove the doubters wrong this week with its matchup at Chariho.

18. Davies

The Patriots are undefeated and even have a signature win on their resumé. This week’s game will be more than that. If Davies takes care of Central Falls, that will tell us what I’ve been saying all season — the Patriots are the team to beat in Division IV.

17. Chariho

Play the song: The Super Chargers are undefeated in Division III-A and, while last week’s win over rebuilding Toll Gate wasn’t a surprise, we’ll find out who Chariho is in the next two weeks with games against Middletown and undefeated Lincoln.

16. Cranston West

The most eye-opening win over the weekend occurred when the Falcons jumped out early and held on late to take down East Providence a week after getting shut out by a St. Raphael team that lost to the Townies. Cranston West has lined itself up for a playoff spot and just needs to take care of business.

15. Westerly

Don’t count out the Bulldogs yet. Last weekend’s win over Shea was a must, and there are not going to be many others that are not crucial — minus this week’s nonleague contest against Central. If Westerly closes the season with three victories, it might ride that momentum to Cranston Stadium.

14. East Providence

Are the Townies still back? Probably, but now they’re going to have to prove it. Last week’s loss to Cranston West was a shocker and leaves East Providence with no room for error. They’ll wrap up league play over the next three weeks at Mount Pleasant, at East Greenwich and home against Burrillville and can’t lose any of them.

13. West Warwick

Defense won the first two league games for the Wizards, but last week’s win against Narragansett can be credited to the offense. What will this week’s game against Rogers bring? Two teams playing a similar style of football looking for a defining win. West Warwick wants to prove that it’s the best in Division III — this week is the time to do it.

12. Moses Brown

Another big week for Myles Craddock, another big win for the Quakers. These next three weeks will tell us what Moses Brown really is because with Ponaganset, Mt. Hope and West Warwick coming up, it’s going to be the most physically demanding portion of the Quakers’ season.

11. Lincoln

Credit to the Lions — they’ve been a force all season with their Wing-T offense, but we’re starting to see a trend in the teams they’ve beaten. Are they the best in Division III? If Lincoln wants to prove it, the coming games against Coventry, Chariho and Middletown would do it.

10. Portsmouth

If the Patriots can survive the injury bug, they’re going to be scary. Playing shorthanded hurt them last week against South Kingstown and Portsmouth hopes it can get healthy over the coming weeks when it will need to compile as many wins as possible to gain a postseason spot.

9. Barrington

Remember when the Eagles lost their first league game and it caused a minor panic? Seems like years ago. For the second straight week, Barrington’s offense looked unstoppable. It’ll have to remain that way if the defense can slow teams down, but all looks right heading into this week’s game against South Kingstown.

8. South Kingstown

I don’t honestly believe the Rebels should be ranked this high but it’s hard to argue with their results. There are plenty of teams in Division II with more talent but nobody is playing tougher as a unit than South Kingstown. What will this week’s game with Barrington bring? Probably another one-score game that the Rebels would be OK with.

7. St. Raphael

Last week’s loss to North Kingstown doesn’t matter. The Saints can send a message to the rest of Division II this week against Cumberland. With a winnable schedule to close the rest of the regular season, a victory could give St. Raphael the top seed out of II-A.

6. Woonsocket

Keeping an explosive Central offense under 30 points was impressive and really shows that the best offenses in Division II are going to have trouble with the Villa Novans. Woonsocket will have to be equally strong this week against Cranston East and will need its offense to grow.

5. Central

The Knights will own this spot until a) Cumberland loses or b) they beat one of their Division I foes. Central is on the road against Westerly and Burrillville, then go back-to-back against Hendricken and North Kingstown before the postseason begins.

4. La Salle

Other Division I teams should take note as to how the Rams are scheduling — last week’s nonleague loss to St. John’s Prep is only making them better for the D-I season. We’ll see how much they’ve grown since the ugly win over Central when they travel to take on North Kingstown Friday night.

3. Cumberland

I ranked the Clippers third last week and they didn’t do anything to show that they should be dropped. The win over Burrillville was expected, but this week’s matchup with St. Raphael’s gives the state what it wants — a potential Super Bowl preview.

2. North Kingstown

With how the Skippers have played, it wasn’t difficult to keep them at No. 2. North Kingstown has a chip on its shoulder about being overlooked in Division I, but now it gets a chance to prove it. A win over La Salle this week would send shockwaves throughout Rhode Island.

1. Hendricken

Until the Hawks are defeated by a team in Rhode Island, they own the No. 1 spot in my rankings. This week, it's Cranston West and then Hendricken finishes with a terrific two weeks of games — home against La Salle and at Central in a potential playoff preview.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Reversals for RI football teams lead to leaps forward in Top 20 poll