Another busy week of high school playoffs

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t was another busy week of high school sports playoffs as some of our teams lived to see another round while others saw their season come to an end.

The Pilgrim boys fell to West Warwick in the Division II quarterfinals in a great game. The Pats roared in the fourth quarter as Dylan Vale drained a trio of 3-pointers to lead Pilgrim within inches of completing the late comeback. It was a disappointing end for the players, but it goes to show how competitive DII is this season.

Pilgrim was a very good team, maybe even great, and had all the pieces to make a deep run. Vale is arguably the best point guard in the division and Carter Clifton was a force this season after returning to full health. Jack Cirelli, Jack Bannon and Jayden Ames were great in their roles, providing Pilgrim with a little bit of everything on the court.

Had the Pats won on Saturday, they would have had every chance to reach the championship and maybe even win it. Sure, they’d probably be labeled the underdog the following two rounds, but the top eight or so teams in DII were virtually even. Pilgrim had championship aspirations heading into the season, and despite coming up short, this team proved to be one of the best in its division. 

The Cranston West boys and girls teams fell in their preliminary round matchups last week.

For the boys, although they were competitive and reached the postseason, it feels like they’re still a year or two away from being a contender due to inexperience. 

It’s a young roster overall, with the majority of the starters set to return next season. Noah Germain will be one of the best forwards in the state next year and Nate Conca is on his way to being an elite guard. Expect a step forward next year.

For the girls, their season ended earlier than it should have due to injuries. I try to avoid blaming injuries, but this is a team that lost its best overall player in Saniyya Chase. In basketball, one player can truly impact a team’s fortune and she was that level of athlete. She was their best rebounder, interior defender and scorer in the paint. To lose that much juice in those areas, it was inevitable that the team’s ceiling would be capped. She’ll also be back next year with much of the same roster. I have a feeling that West basketball will have a resurgence next winter. 

In Johnston, the girls fell in the DII prelims. One thing that I respect about coach Jhamal Diggs is that his teams are always confident. Whether it was back when he was at Cranston East or now up on Cherry Hill, his teams always ooze confidence which allows them to play to their full potential.

The Panthers had a tough test this year, graduating nearly its entire core from last year while being moved from DIV to DII. The team took its lumps at times but managed to earn a postseason berth.

Bella Gesualdi, Bella Rivas, Alanna Colon, among others will be back and the Ferri Jaguars just wrapped up another big season at the middle school level. The Panthers will be one of the most interesting teams next season and could emerge as a favorite by the time the 2026 postseason starts. 

For hockey, the Cranston boys co-op fell in a wild game against Lincoln in the first round on Monday. On a similar note to DII basketball, DII hockey is also very competitive and there are about three or four teams that could do well in DI.

Devin DeAngelis was electric on offense and Jack Fontaine was as steady as could be on the back end, while Bryce Crance had a breakout season between the pipes for the Falcons. The co-op will be right back in the fold next season, and its ceiling will be set by the progress of the youngsters that make up the back end of the roster. They’ll have enough returners to form a strong core, but the depth will need to be determined by the underclassmen. 

The Toll Gate boys basketball team completed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Central Falls in the DIII basketball quarters last week. The team will be taking on Times 2 Academy in Thursday’s semifinals.

The Titans have proven that their big regular season was not a fluke. After a few down seasons, the team made the move to DIII this year and has been hanging out toward the top of the standings all winter long.

Brayden Healey and Damola Oremosu have continued to surge up front while Jack Colvin and Liam Leahy have been dynamic in the back. They lost to Times 2 by just two points in the regular season, so Thursday’s game could be a thriller. With last week’s win, the Titans have proven to be bona fide contenders.

Hendricken worked past Portsmouth in a not-so-surprising result. The Hawks took on Classical on Wednesday night.

Also in action on Wednesday night were the Pilgrim girls, who beat Hope in a competitive quarterfinal matchup on Saturday as well.

This young roster, made up of a large sophomore class, will have its hands full against top-seeded Lincoln School. Should they pull off the upset, it’d be hard not to pencil them in as the favorites to win it all next week.