The final boys lax power rankings are in - and here's what the rest need to do to make the playoffs
This is it. The last week of the regular season (minus some games next Monday that need to be played to tidy up playoff races).
Yes, that’s right. No longer will you be subjected to hot takes about who’s ranked where in each division. That will be replaced by games that prove what the rankings can’t – who is the best team in each division.
While the teams listed in the final power rankings of the season have qualified for the postseason, that’s not the case for a lot of teams. Playoff teams are fighting for seeding, but there are more teams fighting to extend their season by at least one more game.
Before you get to the power rankings, we’ve broken down the teams who are in, out and still trying to qualify for the playoffs. Check them out, check out the rankings and then get ready to check out postseason coverage.
Crazy that it’s already here.
DIVISION I
Teams play 14 league games, top six are automatically in, anyone else needs four wins.
IN: La Salle, Moses Brown, Hendricken, Barrington, North Kingstown
NOT YET: Portsmouth needs one win in final three games (at La Salle Tuesday, home vs. Barrington Thursday, home vs. Moses Brown next week); Mount St. Charles needs one win in final two games (at Hendricken Wednesday, home vs. East Greenwich Thursday); East Greenwich needs two wins in final two games (home vs. Moses Brown Monday, at Mount St. Charles Thursday; there is a home game vs. NK that needs to be scheduled).
DIVISION II
Teams play 14 league games, need five wins to qualify.
IN: Pilgrim, Cranston West, Cumberland, Prout, South Kingstown
OUT: Coventry
NOT YET: Chariho needs one win in final two games (home vs. Prout Monday, at South Kingstown Thursday); Middletown needs to win its final two games (at Cranston West Monday, home vs. Cumberland Thursday).
DIVISION III
Teams play 14 league games, need five wins to qualify
IN: Westerly, Smithfield, Narragansett, Mt. Hope, Toll Gate
OUT: Burrillville
NOT YET: Ponaganset needs to win final three games (home vs. Westerly Tuesday, at Mt. Hope Wednesday, at Providence Country Day Thursday); Providence Country Day needs to win final three games (at Smithfield Monday, at Narragansett Tuesday, home vs. Ponaganset Thursday);
DIVISION IV
Teams play 16 league games, need six wins to qualify.
IN: North Smithfield, Lincoln, Scituate, Tiverton, Rogers
OUT: Cranston East/Johnston, North Providence
NOT YET: Classical needs two wins in final six games (home vs. Tiverton Tuesday, at Tiverton Wednesday, home vs. North Smithfield Thursday, at Rogers Friday, home vs. Lincoln Saturday); East Providence needs to win its final two games (home vs. Rogers Monday, at Scituate Wednesday).
So that's what you need to know about the teams who still need to play their way into the playoffs. Now let's get on to the teams that are already there.
RIIL Boys Lacrosse Power Rankings – Division I
1. La Salle (12-0 Division I)
The Rams had a season-defining win Sunday, as Matt Hayes scored four goals and Brighton Gott, Ronan Peterson and Jake Wilson scored two goals apiece in their 12-11 overtime win against St. John’s Prep, the 11th ranked team in the country. La Salle’s going to win the state title and it still won’t compare to what this win means.
2. Moses Brown (9-2 Division I)
Yes, the Quakers lost to Hendricken on Friday, but it doesn’t really do much to change the fact that until they lose a game of substance to a team that’s not La Salle, they’re still the second-best team in RI by a large margin. MB has two games this week, playing at East Greenwich Monday and with the rivalry game against La Salle Thursday night.
3. Hendricken (7-5 Division I)
The Hawks’ win over Moses Brown is great for the program, but they’ll need to do it again in the semifinals to make it mean anything. Hendricken will need to beat Mount St. Charles at home Wednesday to secure the No. 3 seed, otherwise Friday’s game at North Kingstown could end up being the biggest game of the season.
4. Barrington (5-7 Division I)
The Eagles’ only losses the last two weeks have come to the top two teams, so putting them in the fourth slot seems just. Barrington has one game this week at Portsmouth on Thursday, where a win could set it up for a must-win game at home against NK for the No. 4 seed.
BROILING: North Kingstown (4-7 Division I)
RIIL Boys Lacrosse Power Rankings – Division II
1. Pilgrim (9-3 Division II)
Good news for the Patriots is last week’s two wins made it four in a row for the team and put them in the top spot. Bad news is teams who have been No. 1 haven’t been there for long. Pilgrim had two games left, at Coventry Monday and home vs. Cranston West Thursday and two wins guarantees it will be the No. 1 seed for the playoffs.
2. South Kingstown (8-4 Division II)
With two wins last week, the Rebels own the second-longest current win streak in Division II. Seriously. South Kingstown has an outside chance at earning the No. 1 seed, but will need the Patriots to falter and pick up two wins this week – at Cumberland Monday and home against Chariho on Thursday – and probably still need some help.
3. Cranston West (8-4 Division II)
Thursday’s win over Cumberland prevented their two losses from turning into a streak, but it also put them in the mix for a top seed for the Division II playoffs. Cranston West could turn the division upside down if it could sweep its final games – home against Middletown Monday and at Pilgrim Thursday.
4. Cumberland (8-4 Division II)
After having their six-game win streak snapped, the Clippers got back on the horse, righted the ship and took down Coventry. Now Cumberland will need to finish strong to help its playoff seeding, hosting South Kingstown Monday before traveling to play Middletown on Thursday.
BROILING: Prout (8-4 Division II)
RIIL Boys Lacrosse Power Rankings – Division III
1. Westerly (11-1 Division III)
The Bulldogs have two games left and to secure the No. 1 seed, they need to do two things. One, they need to win both; two, they need to score a boatload of goals. Westerly plays at Ponaganset Tuesday and hosts Burrillville Friday and its currently +90 in league goal differential gives it a 13-goal edge on Smithfield, which has three games. Could lead to fireworks on Friday.
2. Smithfield (10-1 Division III)
Dave Roderick is one of the state’s most underrated coaches, so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the final three games knowing his team needs to put up big numbers if it wants the No. 1 seed. Smithfield hosts Providence Country Day Monday and travels to play at Mt. Hope Tuesday and those numbers could be big, but the Sentinels will have to be careful going up against a playoff team in Narragansett on Thursday night.
3. Narragansett (7-5 Division III)
The Mariners’ playoff picture is pretty simple – two wins or one win and one Mt. Hope loss clinch the No. 3 seed. Narragansett will be locked in Tuesday when it hosts Providence Country Day and it should know what’s at stake before it hits the field to take on Smithfield Wednesday.
4. Mt. Hope (6-5 Division III)
If there’s a team that could make a major statement before the playoffs, it’s the Huskies. Mt. Hope needs to sweep the season if it wants to be the No. 3 seed and if it pulls it off, it would gain a lot of attention. The Huskies host Smithfield Tuesday and Ponaganset Wednesday and regardless of what happens in either, Friday’s game at Toll Gate is looking pretty important.
BROILING: Toll Gate (6-6 Division III)
RIIL Boys Lacrosse Power Rankings – Division IV
1. North Smithfield (11-1 Division IV)
While it looks like the Northmen are in control of the No. 1 seed, it’s really going to come down to Tuesday’s game at Lincoln. If North Smithfield wins, one seed; a loss would bring in a lot of math and the Northmen don’t want any of that. They’ll finish the season with three more games – at Cranston East/Johnston Wednesday, at Classical Thursday and Saturday’s home finale against North Providence.
2. Lincoln (8-2 Division IV)
The Lions could be the No. 1 seed – but if they’re not careful, could end up the No. 4 or five. Lincoln has six league games left with only four currently on the schedule. The Lions host North Smithfield Tuesday in a game that will determine a lot as far as seeding goes. Thursday they play at Rogers, Saturday they travel to Classical and still have Scituate next week with games against winless Cranston East/Johnston and Tiverton unscheduled as of Sunday night.
3. Scituate (9-3 Division IV)
Good luck trying to figure out where the Spartans could end up being seeded. All Scituate can do is focus on what’s left and that starts with wins at Cranston East/Johnston Monday and home vs. East Providence Wednesday. Saturday’s game at Tiverton will be big in determining playoff seeding, but next week’s matchup with Lincoln could end up being much bigger.
4. Tiverton (8-4 Division IV)
Numbers have been the downfall to the Tigers this season. When there are enough players, Tiverton has taken the field and won games; it sometimes hasn’t had enough to play, forcing postponements or playing shorthanded. The Tigers have four games left on the schedule – a home-and-home with Classical Tuesday and Wednesday, home against Cranston East/Johnston Thursday and home against Scituate Friday, but there’s still a matter of two missing games. Scituate still should have to play Lincoln and Rogers and both games would be huge in the D-IV playoff picture.
BROILING: Rogers (7-4 Division IV).
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island High School boys lacrosse power rankings heading to playoffs
