Keeping the regular season local

I’ve got to admit, I am not a fan of out-of-state football games at the high school level.

Sure, there is certainly a level of intrigue watching our teams square off against other teams that we are often unfamiliar with. I am not saying it’s all bad. But, it’s becoming more prevalent each passing season and I am not thrilled with it.

Now, Hendricken and La Salle always play out-of-state opponents, but this year, each of their schedules is a near 50-50 mix of Rhode Island and other states. Some of it from my understanding is a push to level out the playing field in Rhode Island, which I believe is utterly ridiculous.

It is an old topic that I have discussed in several of my columns, but I still roll my eyes when hearing people try to remove these two teams from the RIIL. I was totally against the state championship division that the league came up with a few years back, and I was thrilled this fall when the new alignment opened up Division I from the 4-team layout it assumed in the previous alignment. I hate small divisions, to be frank.

Look at Central last season. Although the Knights were unable to seal the deal against the champion Hawks, they played them tight in each game and were a bounce or two away from pulling off the upsets, including the state semifinals where they took them to overtime. North Kingstown also played the Hawks tough in their regular season meeting which required a fourth-quarter push from Hendricken to get the job done.

I am not denying the advantages that private schools possess, it’s obvious, but the gap between these schools and the best public schools in the state is not that large.

But, back to my original point, I don’t like out-of-state matchups.

If schools from the Northeast are looking to scratch that itch, then schedule preseason exhibitions. Either way, these are non-league games that do not count toward the standings. Instead of interrupting the regular season, why not just get it out of the way and also provide a great opportunity for teams to prepare?

In the case of Hendricken and La Salle, playing four teams outside of RI is just a tough sell for me. I’d like to size up our teams against other local clubs where information is readily available. Researching high school teams across multiple states is an unnecessary hurdle.

If we really want to get wacky here, I am totally for a New England championship tournament.

At the conclusion of the year, I would be for a four-team tournament across two weeks to establish the region’s best team. Six teams would require a double-elimination bracket which would eat up way too much time with the quick turnaround between fall and winter, but two weeks is manageable.

The only issue would be establishing a formula for the top four teams. Massachusetts and Connecticut have the numbers to always have a seat at the table, so what does that mean for the remaining four states? That would require an entire other column to dig into the details, but again, instead of complicating the regular season slate, why can’t we come up some alternatives to see these inter-state matchups?

In other football news, it looks like the Cranston East Bolts are going to be one of the exciting rising teams in the state this year.

Sure, it was just the injury fund, but the Bolts were electric in beating Moses Brown 14-0. It wasn’t perfect or pretty, but the Bolts have a spark that I have not seen since Tom Centore’s days as head coach. I was a huge Isaiah McDaniel fan and he did well guiding a total rebuild in a tough DII, but now, in DIII and with James Cook, it feels like this is going to be the year that the Bolts break through.

I don’t think school size should count toward making divisions. OK, maybe numbers should be taken into account a little, but I am for 2-year stints where team records and class sizes matter the most.

We see it all the time. A team dominates with a senior-heavy lineup, it gets bumped up the next year, and then a big crop of underclassmen are in a tougher division and get their doors blown off.

Let’s get wacky again. Team should have to submit early numbers indicating how many projected seniors they will have the following season during realignments. If a team had a big season but is projected to return no seniors, they should be allowed to stay put.

But, back to the Bolts.

Last year’s issues were largely thanks to the division in which they played. Half of the teams in Division II were capable of playing in DI. How can a rebuilding team made up of underclassmen possibly compete with those clubs? They were never able to settle in, and that was the case throughout McDaniel’s tenure as well.

Now, in DIII, this team can put the pieces together without being overwhelmed on a weekly basis. DIII is tough in its own right, but the bottom half of the division drops off a bit and the Bolts should be able to really see what they have against those teams and work their way up to the best teams by season’s end. The Bolts may not be winning the Super Bowl this fall, but don’t be surprised if they’re a factor come November. East may wind up being the team that no one wants to face.

DionAndre Brown and Saqari Monroe are two of the best players in the division and give East what could be the most imposing defensive line in DIII. Quarterback Jovany Gonzalez had a nice outing against the Quakers and seems to be firmly under the wing of the coaching staff as he develops. Angel Figueroa is back on offense after a strong 2023, and Amias Reed looks like he’s ready to explode as a freshman.

This East team is finally in the right division with a ton of young talent to mold. There was a buzz on the sideline last Friday throughout Cranston Stadium.