The Middletown High School football team is the Division III champion.
Despite dealing with some off-field issues and facing a team that beat them badly during the regular season, the Islanders defeated Moses Brown 21-0 on Saturday at Cranston Stadium in the D-III title game.
Portsmouth was not as fortunate in the Division I Super Bowl, losing to Bishop Hendricken 20-17.
Missing four key players because of disciplinary reasons, Middletown avenged a 34-8 regular-season loss to the Quakers and won the Super Bowl after losing the D-IV title game the past two seasons. Senior running back Rico McCray earned MVP honors after rushing for 173 yards on 27 carries. He scored all 21 Middletown points - two touchdowns on runs, one on an interception return and all three extra points.
Portsmouth led 17-6 at halftime, despite totaling just 62 yards of offense in the first half, compared to Hendricken's 174. Barry Gaines returned a punt 71 yards for Portsmouth's first score, and Dan Thorpe banged home a 48-yard field goal before Ben Willett ran 44 yards to set up his 4-yard touchdown run. But that was the end of the scoring for Portsmouth.
Hendricken quarterback Mike Maloof was named MVP after rushing for 83 yards and passing for 98 yards and two touchdowns. It was Hendricken's first state title since 1996.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Middletown football team addressing off-field issue
Some Middletown High School football players may not be able to play in Saturday’s Division III Super Bowl against Moses Brown, according to a student who called The Daily News on Friday morning. The student said multiple players, as well as some cheerleaders, were dismissed from the team in the wake of an off-campus incident.
Football coach Andy Leys and athletic director Eric Godin said they were not authorized to speak about the issue.
As of yet, neither principal Steven S. Ruscito nor Superintendent Rosemarie K. Kraeger have returned phone calls seeking comment. A person answering the phone at the high school said Ruscito met with football players this afternoon. Students later attended a pep rally for the football team in the gym.
Middletown defeated Rogers in the semifinals on Tuesday night for the right to face Moses Brown on Saturday at Cranston Stadium. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
Check back later, and in the Saturday edition of The Daily News for more details.
Football coach Andy Leys and athletic director Eric Godin said they were not authorized to speak about the issue.
As of yet, neither principal Steven S. Ruscito nor Superintendent Rosemarie K. Kraeger have returned phone calls seeking comment. A person answering the phone at the high school said Ruscito met with football players this afternoon. Students later attended a pep rally for the football team in the gym.
Middletown defeated Rogers in the semifinals on Tuesday night for the right to face Moses Brown on Saturday at Cranston Stadium. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
Check back later, and in the Saturday edition of The Daily News for more details.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Why I hate LeBron James
Our intern, Cheyenne Perry, who last week told you why Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose should be the Most Valuable Player in the NBA, now shows his distaste for Miami Heat forward LeBron James:
I was once a huge LeBron James fan.
He WAS my favorite player, but it all changed this summer. I am not a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. I am a Chicago Bulls fan, for the record. LeBron is one of the most disloyal and egotistical people. I mean, really, who but LeBron would have an hour-long special on ESPN to slap his hometown in the face? Not to mention he went to Dwyane Wade’s team with Chris Bosh. I repeat … Wade’s team.
LeBron, you will never be considered the greatest. He won’t even be the best sidekick. Who decided LeBron was King? What has he done? And what kind of “King” joins someone else’s team? LeBron should be called The Peasant.
If LeBron wanted a championship, he should have stayed in Cleveland or went to Chicago. There he could have been like Mike. Well guess what LeBron? You are not King, not the best and you will not get a ring because you and the Miami Heat are straight garbage.
You are not a man. You need personal security just to go back to Cleveland. I HATE LEBRON “THE PEASANT” JAMES!!!
I was once a huge LeBron James fan.
He WAS my favorite player, but it all changed this summer. I am not a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. I am a Chicago Bulls fan, for the record. LeBron is one of the most disloyal and egotistical people. I mean, really, who but LeBron would have an hour-long special on ESPN to slap his hometown in the face? Not to mention he went to Dwyane Wade’s team with Chris Bosh. I repeat … Wade’s team.
LeBron, you will never be considered the greatest. He won’t even be the best sidekick. Who decided LeBron was King? What has he done? And what kind of “King” joins someone else’s team? LeBron should be called The Peasant.
If LeBron wanted a championship, he should have stayed in Cleveland or went to Chicago. There he could have been like Mike. Well guess what LeBron? You are not King, not the best and you will not get a ring because you and the Miami Heat are straight garbage.
You are not a man. You need personal security just to go back to Cleveland. I HATE LEBRON “THE PEASANT” JAMES!!!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Playoff results
Portsmouth and Middletown are Super Bowl bound.
Portsmouth will play Bishop Hendricken in the Division I title game after beating La Salle 23-6 on Tuesday night in Portsmouth. Ben Willett rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown and passed for 65 and a score to lead the Patriots. Austin Szczepaniak gained 87 yards on 22 carries and scored a late touchdown that sealed the win.
While the offense impressed, it was the defense that put Portsmouth in the Super Bowl. The Patriots came up with three interceptions (two by Dan Serina and one by Nick Martens) and likely would have shut out the Rams had it not been for a bad snap on a punt that gave La Salle the ball at the Portsmouth 2-yard line.
Middletown handed Rogers its first league loss of the season, 20-14, at Toppa Field in Newport. Rico McCray didn't put up huge numbers, but he gained close to 100 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground. Dylan Gracia had the other. Christian Savage had a big second half, finishing with more than 100 yards, and helped Rogers come back and make it close at the end. But Middletown's ball-hawking defensive back, Dylan Atibagos, picked off a Rogers pass in the end zone to send Middletown to its third straight Super Bowl.
Check out Wednesday's Daily News for full results, reaction and photos from both games.
Portsmouth will play Bishop Hendricken in the Division I title game after beating La Salle 23-6 on Tuesday night in Portsmouth. Ben Willett rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown and passed for 65 and a score to lead the Patriots. Austin Szczepaniak gained 87 yards on 22 carries and scored a late touchdown that sealed the win.
While the offense impressed, it was the defense that put Portsmouth in the Super Bowl. The Patriots came up with three interceptions (two by Dan Serina and one by Nick Martens) and likely would have shut out the Rams had it not been for a bad snap on a punt that gave La Salle the ball at the Portsmouth 2-yard line.
Middletown handed Rogers its first league loss of the season, 20-14, at Toppa Field in Newport. Rico McCray didn't put up huge numbers, but he gained close to 100 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground. Dylan Gracia had the other. Christian Savage had a big second half, finishing with more than 100 yards, and helped Rogers come back and make it close at the end. But Middletown's ball-hawking defensive back, Dylan Atibagos, picked off a Rogers pass in the end zone to send Middletown to its third straight Super Bowl.
Check out Wednesday's Daily News for full results, reaction and photos from both games.
Playoff predictions
All three Aquidneck Island high school football teams have playoff games tonight. Who’s winning and why?
It’s nothing personal, but based on what I’ve seen from Rogers and Middletown this season, I like Rogers to beat Middletown for the second time this season and advance to the Division III Super Bowl. The Vikings’ balanced offense — with Cody Platt throwing the ball and Christian Savage and Christian Cancel (among others) running it — is pretty potent. And during the regular-season game against the Islanders, the Vikings showed that they’re one of the few teams that has the defensive fortitude to slow down Middletown’s rushing game — led by Rico McCray and Dylan Gracia.
And, on Saturday in Cranston, Rogers takes down Moses Brown again, this time for its first state championship since 1990.
As for the local Division I game, tonight will be the first time since 1999 that Portsmouth beats La Salle on the football field. I must admit, I haven’t seen La Salle play this year, but from what I’ve heard and read, it seems like the Rams aren’t the powerhouse they have been in years past. They have a pretty young team that had to sneak into the playoffs with a win on Thanksgiving. They did beat Portsmouth once this season, but the Patriots — who, I must confess, I wasn’t sold on earlier in the year — look pretty darn good lately, and they’ll be too much for La Salle to handle tonight.
As for a possible Portsmouth-Hendricken matchup in the Division I Super Bowl, I’ll reserve judgment on that until it comes to fruition. But having the No. 1 and 2 teams in the state media poll in the D-I title game would be a perfect ending to a fun season.
It’s nothing personal, but based on what I’ve seen from Rogers and Middletown this season, I like Rogers to beat Middletown for the second time this season and advance to the Division III Super Bowl. The Vikings’ balanced offense — with Cody Platt throwing the ball and Christian Savage and Christian Cancel (among others) running it — is pretty potent. And during the regular-season game against the Islanders, the Vikings showed that they’re one of the few teams that has the defensive fortitude to slow down Middletown’s rushing game — led by Rico McCray and Dylan Gracia.
And, on Saturday in Cranston, Rogers takes down Moses Brown again, this time for its first state championship since 1990.
As for the local Division I game, tonight will be the first time since 1999 that Portsmouth beats La Salle on the football field. I must admit, I haven’t seen La Salle play this year, but from what I’ve heard and read, it seems like the Rams aren’t the powerhouse they have been in years past. They have a pretty young team that had to sneak into the playoffs with a win on Thanksgiving. They did beat Portsmouth once this season, but the Patriots — who, I must confess, I wasn’t sold on earlier in the year — look pretty darn good lately, and they’ll be too much for La Salle to handle tonight.
As for a possible Portsmouth-Hendricken matchup in the Division I Super Bowl, I’ll reserve judgment on that until it comes to fruition. But having the No. 1 and 2 teams in the state media poll in the D-I title game would be a perfect ending to a fun season.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Source: Journalism is going down the tubes
Call me old-fashioned, but I loathe where we - and by we, I mean in the media - are in our news gathering techniques. I went to ESPN.com today because I was going to write a blog entry about a Brazilian soccer fan who was beaten to death, only to see that three of the top stories began with the word "Source."
Now of course we've seen this obligatory phrase a million times: "According to sources close to the situation ..." or "A person with knowledge of the deal ..." But that person never is named because he or she doesn't have authorization, or that deal hasn't been announced. Most of the time the information coming from the source is right.
But there are instances when it seems a bit fishy. For example, in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, there's a story about how Pac-10 teams have faked injuries during a game to slow the Oregon no-huddle offense. School officials and coaches have denied such claims, but a sportswriter for the Oregonian, citing "a person within the Cal Bears program" said that was part of the game plan.
Now why would a person within in the Cal Bears program tell that to a reporter from the opponent's home newspaper? I mean, is it possible that this writer could, you know, just have made this up? Why not? It makes for a juicy story and sells newspapers.
Washington Post sportswriter Mike Wise last summer was suspended for deliberately tweeting something false. He wrote that "Ben Roethlisberger will get (suspended for) five games, I'm told." His source was "a casino employee outside Lake Tahoe." Wise did this as an experiment to see what the media world was coming to. When he fessed up and said it was a hoax, readers, fellow media members and his bosses didn't take kindly.
Personally, I don't see much of a difference between that and real "news." Maybe he should have just stuck to his guns. Nobody seems to push the issue too much when you're wrong. See, the problem with today's media is that the person who gets it first (not always the person who gets it right) wins.
Now of course we've seen this obligatory phrase a million times: "According to sources close to the situation ..." or "A person with knowledge of the deal ..." But that person never is named because he or she doesn't have authorization, or that deal hasn't been announced. Most of the time the information coming from the source is right.
But there are instances when it seems a bit fishy. For example, in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, there's a story about how Pac-10 teams have faked injuries during a game to slow the Oregon no-huddle offense. School officials and coaches have denied such claims, but a sportswriter for the Oregonian, citing "a person within the Cal Bears program" said that was part of the game plan.
Now why would a person within in the Cal Bears program tell that to a reporter from the opponent's home newspaper? I mean, is it possible that this writer could, you know, just have made this up? Why not? It makes for a juicy story and sells newspapers.
Washington Post sportswriter Mike Wise last summer was suspended for deliberately tweeting something false. He wrote that "Ben Roethlisberger will get (suspended for) five games, I'm told." His source was "a casino employee outside Lake Tahoe." Wise did this as an experiment to see what the media world was coming to. When he fessed up and said it was a hoax, readers, fellow media members and his bosses didn't take kindly.
Personally, I don't see much of a difference between that and real "news." Maybe he should have just stuck to his guns. Nobody seems to push the issue too much when you're wrong. See, the problem with today's media is that the person who gets it first (not always the person who gets it right) wins.
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