Which high school sports stories did readers want more of? 2022's 10 most popular stories

eric rueb, the providence journal

Fri, Dec 30, 2022, 4:49 PM·7 min read

Which high school sports stories were the most popular in 2022?

It’s complicated.

You can look at a variety of metrics to figure out which sports and which stories are read more frequently than others. Looking at total page views is nice, but sometimes those numbers can lie — like when repeated votes come in on one of our Player of the Week polls, boosting stats into the stratosphere.

You’ll hear some media outlets brag about having X amount of viewers or readers who participated in some sort of online poll, but the reality of those things is votes are unlimited and numbers are driven by a select few.

Want more high school sports?View all of The Providence Journal's sport coverage

The total of unique visitors is another interesting stat because it shows you the stories that are being visited by the most people. Stories are sometimes put behind a metered paywall vs. a subscriber paywall, however, in order to give nonsubscribers a chance to taste our work and see if they want to dive into full subscription mode.

So, in short, it’s really tough to gauge.

With this in mind, I took a peek at both lists and tried to combine them. While some would think championship stories are the most read, they are far from it. The 10 most popular stories were a blend of tragedy, controversy, previews and awards — plus one evergreen story that may end up on this list for years to come.

Below are the Top 10 Most Popular High School Sports Stories we had in 2022. Check out the links to the actual stories and if you can’t because you’ve reached your metered limit or they’re subscriber only, go ahead and start subscribing.

Let’s get to it.

The 10 Most Popular RI High School Sports Stories of 2022

10) Hendricken’s Troy Silvestri

We honored Silvestri as our Courage Award recipient at our annual All-State Awards Show and in the fall, ran a feature on the Hawks’ senior star before the start of the cross country season. Stories of perseverance have a way of reaching readers, regardless of their interests, and Silvestri’s was one that readers were more than happy to take in.

All State athlete:For Hendricken's Troy Silvestri, running cross country is more than just a sport

Troy Silvestri's uplifting story about overcoming educational challenges was one of the most-read high school sports stories of the year.

9) Gianna Papa, a team-first player

She was one of the favorites to win the RIIL Girls Golf State Championship, but oversight by several parties caused a scheduling issue that put Papa, a freshman at Ponaganset, in a predicament — play for individual glory in the morning or make sure she was ready to go as the Chieftains had a match to earn a spot in the state championship. Her story, which the Journal was first to report, was one of great interest as it brought light to how easily girls sports can be overlooked.

In Ponaganset:Gianna Papa put team first in skipping girls golf championship, but she shouldn't have to

Ponaganset freshman Gianna Papa had to make a decision that never should have had to be made. She chose team over individual glory and her story resonated with readers.

8) Awards, awards, awards

It shouldn’t be a surprise that people love to check out postseason awards. In 2022, The Providence Journal All-State Football Team defensive selections as well as the Boys Hockey Coaches’ Association All-Division selections were two of the Top 10 high school sports stories we posted as far as unique visitors were concerned.

Hendricken's Brandyn Durand (right) and the rest of The Providence Journal All-State defensive selections had their names read more than any other All-State team in Rhode Island in 2022.

This fall, we also unveiled a new sports feature with our Football Player of the Week as well as our Boys and Girls Soccer Player of the Week.

The award is less of an award than a point of community pride and the numbers were staggering. The first week of each poll we opened to public voting and participation numbers skyrocketed. We closed the poll down to make it a subscriber-only feature and readers continued to come back.

Want to give a belated Christmas present Vote for one of these five as many times as the internet will let you

A short week led to big performances:Which one should make one of these five the girls basketball player of the week?

Needless to say, we added a Boys and Girls Basketball Players of the Week to our arsenal and, in 2023, you can expect Baseball and Softball Players of the Week, and maybe more.

7) Charlotte and Marquis Buchanan

Marquis Buchanan was Rhode Island’s top athlete last fall, earning All-State honors in football, basketball and track. While the life of a star athlete sometimes looks easy, Buchanan’s didn’t come without trials and tribulations. At a young age, Buchanan’s father passed away in front of him, which led his mother, Charlotte, down a road of substance abuse and addiction. Charlotte shared her story of recovery and Marquis was open about the strain it put on the family before coming to a joyful ending.

Classical star:Marquis Buchanan and mother Charlotte overcome life's toughest challenges

The story of Classical All-Stater Marquis Buchanan and his mother, Charlotte, was a favorite for readers in 2022.

6) Ben Brutti, Rhode Island’s next pro ballplayer?

Rhode Island has had a solid number of players come through the ranks and find their way to the path of professional baseball. Bill Koch told the story of South Kingstown All-State pitcher Ben Brutti, who struck out 17 batters in a win over Portsmouth that a dozen major league scouts were in attendance to see.

In South Kingstown:Here's how Ben Brutti put on a show for pro baseball scouts

Bill Koch's story on Ben Brutti was one of the most read of the year.

5) Hazing allegations at North Smithfield

The high school football season was only a few weeks away from officially starting when news that the North Smithfield football team’s season was being put on pause so an investigation into hazing allegations could take place. Readers came to The Journal for coverage on the accusations and, when the program was cleared, it was allowed to officially start its season.

No football during hazing allegations:Controversy aside, North Smithfield players, coach thrilled to be back on the football field

The Providence Journal was there as North Smithfield got back to practice after hazing allegations put a temporary pause to the season.

4) Ghost Hunter returns

This story shows you the power of the internet — and the paranormal. For Halloween in 2021, The Journal wrote about the Exeter-West Greenwich brothers Austin, Connor and Logan and their dad, Jason — a.k.a "The Ghost Hunter." How did a year-old story become one of the most read in 2022? In what shouldn’t be much of a surprise, fans of the SYFY channel show hit Google hard during October and, thanks to some good internet optimization, our story pops up.

High school football:Sons of a ghost hunter, Hawes boys have been haunting their opponents all season

The story was written for Halloween 2021, but it didn't matter — fans of the SYFY television show, "The Ghost Hunter," took to Google and made the story on Jason Hawes, second from right, and his three sons one of the most read stories of 2022.

3) The stars of the spring

Our “Players to Watch” stories have become a popular feature each season but three from last spring were far and away the most read of 2022. The Nine Players to Watch in Baseball and Softball were both in the top 10 for unique visitors and our five golfers to watch were in the Top 20. The large majority of the players featured went on to All-State seasons, so it appears the audience was being fed both interesting and accurate information.

We listed La Salle's Max Jackson as one of our Five Players to Watch heading into the 2022 season and the sophomore made us look smart, winning his second straight state title.

2) Coaches behaving badly

Reports on two football coaches — one investigated, one charged — stealing funds from their programs also drew plenty of attention in 2022.

Scituate head coach Derek DeSousa resigned after two seasons and, in May, it was discovered why as the Scituate police investigated DeSousa after funds went missing from a booster club account. DeSousa was never charged and the matter was deemed closed after funds were returned.

A lot happened in 2022: Rhode Island's 10 biggest off-the-field high school sports stories

In September, Ponaganset assistant coach Cliff Fortin, who had resigned as head coach at Exeter-West Greenwich earlier in the year, was charged with embezzlement in a case of missing funds from the Exeter-West Greenwich booster club.

Both stories were among the most visited and most read high school sports on The Journal website.

1) Tragedy strikes West Warwick hockey

The most difficult part of covering high school sports is when tragedy strikes.

West Warwick/Exeter-West Greenwich hockey players meet at center ice for a pregame prayer after hearing the news about two teammates who were injured in a car crash.

Covering the car accident involving West Warwick/Exeter-West Greenwich hockey players Matthew Dennison and Kevin MacDonald in February, followed by Dennison’s passing three weeks later, was one of the toughest high school sports stories of the year to cover.

Reporting and writing the story was never about the clicks, views or subscriptions. It was figuring out how to tell the story that is tough to tell. The Dennison and MacDonald families, as well as the team's coach, Justin Lake, and his players trusted The Journal with their stories and it made our coverage what it was.