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Sports in RI: High School Football Thanksgiving rivalries set. Super Bowl results – John Cardullo
Rhode Island Super Bowl winners get crowned, now all that’s left for the door to be closed on the 2024 football season is the traditional Thanksgiving Day rivalries.
The Rhode Island Interscholastic League ended its championship season by crowning five Super Bowl champions. It took a span of three days for the high school championship season to be finalized with 5 championship games going from the State Championship level to the Division IV to take home the championship trophy.
Kicking off the championship season was the number 1 seeded team, Bishop Hendricken Hawks, playing what is becoming an annual traditional game against the number 2 seeded team, the LaSalle Rams. The game was played on Friday, November 22nd, a wet and cold Friday evening at Cranston Stadium. Cranston Stadium has become the unofficial site of all super bowl championships over the past several years. Although both teams had their share of ups and downs over the past season, both teams emerged through playing against their usual local teams and an aggressive out of state opponents. In front of a capacity crowd, it was Hendricken holding onto a 3-point win for another State Championship over the Rams 24-21.
Play resumed on Saturday, November 23rd when the number 5 seeded North Kingstown Skippers beat the number 7 seed Burrillville Broncos, 31-7, to claim the Division I championship. The Skippers who suffered the loss of their former head coach in a boating accident, earlier in the season, dedicated the remainder of their season to his honor. The Broncos who were moved up to Division I had an incredible season for any team, but especially for a team moving into the spotlight of Division I where teams must prepare to compete every game. Their impressive string of wins was halted, however, their message to the rest of Division I was that they have arrived, and they will be a team to contend with for the foreseeable future.
The second game of the second days double header was a clash between the Division IV finalists, Davies Career and Tech School who entered the tournament as the number 3 seed squared off against the number 1 seeded team, the Narragansett Mariners. The game was a back-and-forth battle with Davies holding onto a 28-25 upset win. Both schools’ programs have been on the upswing over the last few years. Capping the season with the Division IV Championship was rewarding for the Davies Patriots as they hope to make this an annual event.
The third and final day began with the number 3 seeded Wizards of West Warwick taking on the number one seed South Kingston Rebels for the division II Super Bowl Championship. The Rebels showed the crowd at historic Stebbins field at Cranston Stadium why they were seeded number I when they shut down the West Warwick offense and scored again and again on the Wizards defense en route to a 29-0 championship victory.
In the Division III match up you had a number 1 seed going up against a number 3 seed. The Purple of Classical came into the day as the number 1 seed and the Chieftains of Ponaganset were seeded in the number 3 slot. But it was Ponaganset who upset the Purple 28-13 as the sun set on the 2024 Super Bowl season. The three day football extravaganza crowned 5 champions from all over the state of Rhode Island, covering virtually every geographically area the state had to offer.
On to High School Thanksgiving Football Games
Now that the championship season is over, the high school football community will turn their attention to the annual Thanksgiving Day football games. For those teams that didn’t walk away with any championship hardware, the Thanksgiving Day game is almost as important to each team. I said – ALMOST! Now the teams play for bragging rights that will last throughout the winter, into the spring, and all summer until they start all over again in the Fall of 2025.
The Thanksgiving Day game line ups will go as follows.
Kicking off on Tuesday, November 26th will be:
Tolman Tigers hosting the Shea Raiders at 5:00 pm
Juanita Sanchez Cavaliers will host the Hope Blue Wave at 6:00 pm
The Classical Purple will host the Kilties of Mt. Pleasant at 6:00 pm
The Mariners of Narragansett will host the Scarlet Knights of Exeter/West Greenwich at 5:00 pm
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The line up on Wednesday, November 27th will be:
The Knights of Central hosting Somerset/Berkley at 5:00 pm
North Smithfield’s Northmen hosting the Davies Career Tech Patriots at 5:00 pm
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The line up for those playing that traditional Thanksgiving Day game, November 28th will be:
Mt. Hope will host the Barrington Eagles at 10:00 am
The Ponaganset Chieftains will host the Burriliville Broncos at 10:00 am
East Greenwich Avengers host the Chariho Chargers at 10:00 am
The West Warwick Wizards will host the Coventry Oakers at 10:00 am
The Cranston East Thunderbolts will host the Cranston West Falcons at 10:00 am
The Cumberland Clippers will host the Woonsocket Villa Novans at 10:00 am
The Scituate Spartans will host the Panthers of Johnston at 10:00 am
The East Providence Townies will host the LaSalle Rams at 10:30 am
Portsmouth Patriots will host Middletown at 10:00 am
Smithfield will host the North Providence Cougars at 10:00 am
The Pilgrim Patriots will host the Titans of Tollgate at 10:00 am
Rogers will host the Tiverton Tigers at 10:15
That’s it, folks – and here is wishing everyone a Happy and safe Thanksgiving, and as a grumpy former coach of the New England Patriots used to say, “We’re onto the Winter sports schedule!”
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John Cardullo, sportswriter. John is a lifelong Rhode Islander. His sports experience is extensive, as a player, coach and sponsor of youth and high school sports. He has been the Public Address Announcer for the CCRI Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams. Both the Cranston East and Cranston West football, Cranston East Boys and Girls basketball for 12 years before moving onto the Central, Juanita Sanchez and Mt. Pleasant football teams. Also, Central HS Boys and Girls Basketball, Scituate High School Boys and Girls Basketball, Johnston High School Girls Basketball, Boys Volleyball, Girls Softball, Boys and Girls Soccer teams, and CLCF football.
John has been involved in Men’s softball for 61 years, starting as a batboy for his father’s team in 1964. He moved to the teams scorekeeper then became a player in 1975, and created the men’s team, Players Corner Pub, that went on to win 20 State Championships in their 35 year history. In the 1990’s he published the statewide softball magazine “The Fielders Choice” which was dedicated to all topics related to adult softball. As a feature writer, John and the publication won several media awards. In 2019 he was elected and inducted into the Rhode Island Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame which he also helped create. John is a softball umpire in Warwick, Rhode Island.
In his spare time John golfs with his life long friends on a weekly basis in season. After retiring from the printing Industry after a 45-year career, he now writes specialty sports columns for RINewsToday.com.