Editor's Note: Every Thursday, CA's GameTracker will highlight the top games throughout the state for the upcoming week. If applicable, each team's current CA ranking is in parentheses for its respective division.
FOOTBALL
Division I
(2) East Providence at (3) Barrington, Friday 7 p.m.
Barrington is coming off its first defeat of the season, a 28-7 non-league road loss to Bishop Feehan, while East Providence seems to be getting stronger with every game that it plays. The Townies continued their early-season dominance with a 42-12 rout of St. Raphael in their last contest. Quarterback Rob Delgado did it all, tossing two touchdowns, in addition to rushing in a pair. But don't count the Eagles out in this one, as they always have the dangerous Mike Read, who is a major scoring threat both in the backfield and returning kicks and punts.
CA's pick: Barrington 23, East Providence 20
(4) Bishop Hendricken at (1) La Salle
Bishop Hendricken is trying all that it can this year to get back to the level it was at two years ago, when it made it to the D-I Super Bowl for the second year in a row. After missing out on the postseason party altogether last season, the Hawks hope to attain the consistent excellence that has been a staple of La Salle's program over the last decade. The two teams go head-to-head on Friday night in a match-up that could cause a major shakeup in the standings, depending on how the EP-Barrington game plays out. Will BH play the spoiler to La Salle's pursuit of perfection, or will the Rams hold on to their No. 1 ranking despite the Hawks' clawing at them?
CA's pick: La Salle 18, Bishop Hendricken 6
BOYS SOCCER
Division II
(2) East Greenwich at (3) Westerly, Tuesday 6 p.m.
The Avengers have stormed out of the gate to a perfect record (11-0-0), all the while boasting the No. 1 offense (64 goals scored) and No. 1 defense (only two goals against) in the state. Barring a loss to Cranston West on Friday, EG will take over the No. 1 CA ranking from La Salle on Monday, just in time for their match-up here with No. 3 Westerly, which also is playing extremely well this season. The Bulldogs are just two back in the loss column of the Avengers, and could be in position to take over first in D-II South with a win over Middletown on Friday, coupled with a Cranston West upset of EG in their game.
CA's pick: East Greenwich 3, Westerly 1
Division III
(3) Prout at (2) West Warwick, Wednesday 3:30 p.m.
Everyone has been chasing unbeaten Tiverton atop D-III this year, but Prout and West Warwick have been staging their own battle for second place in the South. The Wizards enter this head-to-head match-up holding a slight advantage in the win column, in addition to winning 3-0 in their first meeting earlier this season. The Crusaders, however, have showed signs of brilliance this season, taking the top-ranked Tigers to the brink but falling just short in a 2-1 decision. They also had a stretch of three games (all wins) in late Sept., when they outscored their opponents 17-2.
CA's pick: West Warwick 4, Prout 2
GIRLS SOCCER
Division IV
(1) Woonsocket at (2) Tolman, Friday 6 p.m.
Last year's D-IV championship game participants, the Villa Novans and Tigers are back at it again on a crash course for the '09 title tilt as well. Woonsocket emerged victorious last year to hoist the trophy, leaving Tolman bitter and hungry for another chance at the championship. The teams battled to a 1-1 tie in their first meeting of the season, but look for Tolman to represent in front of its home crowd in the rematch.
CA's pick: Tolman 3, Woonsocket 1
Division II
(1) Mount St. Charles at (3) Smithfield, Tuesday 7 p.m.
Two very evenly-matched teams, the Mounties and Sentinels, naturally, played to a 2-2 deadlock in their first meeting of the '09 season. Unless MSC loses to East Providence on Friday, it will enter this match-up with its unbeaten record on the line. Smithfield will be doing everything in its power to not only hand the Mounties their first loss of the season, but also to knock them out of the top spot in the standings and the CA rankings.
CA's pick: Mount St. Charles 1, Smithfield 0
FIELD HOCKEY
St. Mary - Bay View at North Kingstown, Friday 7 p.m.
This match-up is a battle between the seasoned veteran in North Kingstown, and the up-and-coming new kids on the block in Bay View. The Skippers are the two-time defending D-I champions, and have won a state-high 11 field hockey titles overall (including seven of the last 12). The Bengals, meanwhile, have only just begun to peak at the highest level of competition in field hockey, after moving up from D-II to D-I last year. They fell to NK in last year's title game, but are currently in first place this season, while the Skippers sit in third.
CA's pick: St. Mary - Bay View 5, North Kingstown 2
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Cranston West at Mount St. Charles, Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
The Falcons and Mounties are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in Division II North for a reason --- they both have very solid programs. With Prout moving up to D-I this year, the door is now open for one of these squads to take over as the dominant D-II force. Will it be MSC, which bowed out in the semis last year? Or will it be CW, which fell to the aforementioned and eventual champ Prout in the quarterfinals? Look for the Falcons to escape with the victory in this one, and hang on to first place in the process.
CA's pick: Cranston West 3, Mount St. Charles 2
GIRLS TENNIS
Mt. Hope at Providence Country Day, Today (Thursday) 3:30 p.m.
The Knights have been on cruise control all season, only losing a total of seven games out of a possible 84 throughout their 12 victorious matches. The Huskies, meanwhile, haven't been quite so dominant, but they've been just as consistent. PCD won rather convincingly in their first meeting of the season, taking a 6-1 decision. So Mt. Hope will be hungry for some payback this time around.
CA's pick: Providence Country Day 4, Mt. Hope 2
Have a game that you think should be featured next week? Leave it in the comments section below, start a conversation in the GameTracker forum, or e-mail joefagella@coachesaid.com
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