Rogers ranked in football Top 20 for the first time this season. See where Vikings landed

The end is near — of the high school football regular season, that is.

Entering the final week before playoffs, Middletown and Portsmouth are riding high, each atop their division standings with a chance to secure a No. 1 seed on Friday night. The Patriots pinned a 21-7 loss on Barrington last week to remain at No. 6 in the statewide media poll, while Middletown took care of business against Lincoln and, in the process, moved up one spot to No. 14 — its highest placement of the year.

While not in position for a home playoff game, Rogers continues to make strides and entered the rankings for the first time this season, grabbing the 20th and final spot.

Bishop Hendricken, La Salle, North Kingstown, Central — all Division I teams — hold the top four slots, while Division II St. Raphael is No. 5. Here's a look at the rest of the Top 20 after Week 7 results (first-place votes in parentheses):

Rank    Team                           Points  Last week

1.         Hendricken (10)          200      1

2.         La Salle                       190      2

3.         North Kingstown        178      3

4.         Central                        172      4

5.         St. Raphael                 158      5

6.         Portsmouth                  148      6

7.         Cranston West            140      7

8.         Westerly                     127      11

9.         Moses Brown              103      13

10.       Cumberland                102      9

11.       Woonsocket                100      8

12.       South Kingstown        99        10

13.       West Warwick            74        12

14.       Middletown                60        15

15.       Shea                            49        19

16.       Chariho                       44        17

17.       East Providence          40        20

18.       Barrington                   39        14

19.       Lincoln                        20        16

20.       Rogers                         18        NR

Dropped from poll: Mount Pleasant (18)

Also receiving votes: Mount Pleasant 16, Smithfield 13, Ponaganset 6, Davies 2, Tolman 1, Central Falls 1.

How The Daily News voted

1. Bishop Hendricken, 2. La Salle, 3. North Kingstown, 4. Central, 5. Portsmouth, 6. St. Raphael, 7. Cranston West, 8. Moses Brown, 9. Westerly, 10. Cumberland, 11. South Kingstown, 12. Middletown, 13. Woonsocket, 14. West Warwick, 15. Rogers, 16. Chariho, 17. Shea, 18. Barrington, 19. Smithfield, 20. Lincoln.

My poll didn't look much different than how the rest of the state's media members voted, though I certainly had Rogers positioned the highest — at No. 15. The Vikings had No. 8 Moses Brown and No. 14 West Warwick each on the ropes before suffering slim road losses, by a combined five points.

John Horsman's team, if it can clean up the mistakes, will be a dark horse in the playoffs.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI high school football rankings Week 8: Rogers enters the poll