Rhode Island high school football media poll: Now 2-0, Middletown moves into the Top 20
After opening the season with two impressive victories, Middletown is now a ranked high school football team in Rhode Island.
The Islanders came in tied with Mount Pleasant for No. 18 in the Week 2 poll as voted on by media members from across the state, including The Daily News. Middletown jumped out to a 26-0 lead on Classical last week before settling for a 26-14 win, and the Islanders trumped Rogers 27-7 in their opener.
Portsmouth remained the highest-ranked local team and jumped four spots to No. 7 after dismantling Westerly in the second half of a 26-10 triumph.
Week 3 preview: Can Newport County football teams build off last week's victories? Here are the matchups.
There was no movement at the top of the poll as Bishop Hendricken, La Salle, Central and North Kingstown retained the first four spots. East Providence, which is 2-0 after a 29-22 win over St. Raphael, continues to be the team turning heads. The Townies moved up three spots to No. 6 this week.
Here’s the statewide Top 20 and those receiving votes (first-place votes in parentheses):
Points Last Week
1. Hendricken (12) 240 1
2. La Salle 224 2
3. Central 214 3
4. North Kingstown 207 4
5. Cumberland 189 6
6. East Providence 175 9
7. Portsmouth 171 11
8. St. Raphael 148 5
9. Woonsocket 144 12
10. Westerly 109 7
11. South Kingstown 96 10
12. Moses Brown 87 t-15
13. Barrington 65 8
14. Shea 63 NR
15. Coventry 61 t-15
16. Cranston West 60 NR
17. West Warwick 47 19
t-18. Middletown 46 NR
t-18. Mount Pleasant 46 13
20. Lincoln 29 NR
Also receiving votes: Burrillville 28, Narragansett 23, Classical 21, Davies 7, Ponaganset 5, Central Falls 3, Chariho 3, Smithfield 3, Tolman 3, Pilgrim 2, Rogers 1.
Dropped from poll: Narragansett (14), Burrillville (17), Classical (18), Ponaganset (20).
Week 2 recap: For the first time in years, all Newport County football teams won. Here's how they did it.
How The Daily News voted
1. Bishop Hendricken, 2. La Salle, 3. North Kingstown, 4. Central, 5. Cumberland, 6. Portsmouth, 7. East Providence, 8. Woonsocket, 9. Middletown, 10. Shea, 11. St. Raphael, 12. Westerly, 13. Cranston West, 14. Moses Brown, 15. South Kingstown, 16. Barrington, 17. Narragansett, 18. Coventry, 19. Chariho, 20. Rogers.
Middletown junior quarterback Julian Delacruz continues to make huge strides under center, and he's got a lot of pieces around him. While I had the Islanders positioned inside the top 10, it shouldn't be long before the rest of the state starts to notice.
Speaking of quarterbacks, Neal Tullson looked solid in replacing injured starter Luke Brennan, who is out for the season, and he'll only get better as the Patriots get deeper into their Division II schedule.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI high school football media poll: Middletown moves into Top 20
