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At face value, the La Salle Academy boys’ lacrosse team should have been devastated last spring by graduation when six All-State players – including All-Americans Ryan Poirier (midfield) and Cody O’Donnell (defender) - departed via the cap-and-gown route.

Not quite.

Through games of May 15, the Rams were sitting atop Division I with an 8-0 record and were leading in both goals scored (107) plus goals allowed (48).

Most importantly, the Rams have established themselves as the team to beat in their pursuit of the first state championship since the school added the sport.

Over the previous four seasons, coach Steve O’Donnell’s team posted a combined record of 44-3. But the Rams have lost three times in the finals – in 2008 to North Kingstown, in 2010 to Moses Brown and in 2011 to Hendricken.

But the returning veterans have keyed La Salle’s run to a possible undefeated season.

For example, All-American attack Brady O’Donnell scored five goals in this week’s 12-9 victory over North Kingstown. And in a 7-5 non-league victory over Bishop Guertin, a Division I school from Nashua, N.H., O’Donnell collected a hat trick.

Second Team All-State midfielder Jack Collins fired home seven goals and assisted on another in a 12-8 win over Hendricken.

Senior midfielder Dan Lucchetti scored three goals and assisted on one when La Salle beat the Hawks, 11-7, in the teams’ rematch.

Senior midfielder Sam Ricci added one goal plus four assists in the second win over the Hawks.

Sophomore Peter DeSimone has played well at attack and recorded four goals plus an assist in that 11-7 win over Hendricken.

TOLMAN CLINCHES PENNANT
With three games left in the regular season, Tolman clinched the Division II-Central title on May 15 by blanking Mount Pleasant, 3-0, as Andrew Larson and Carlos Sanabria combined on a six-hitter.

That was the latest in a string of impressive victories for the Tigers (13-3 in league play and 14-3 overall).

Against arch-rival Shea, Sanabria tossed a two-hitter replete with one walk and 12 strikeouts as the Tigers prevailed, 10-0. Sanabria also went 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBI.

Earlier, Tolman received another solid mound performance from Larson who went the distance on a five-hitter as the Tigers edged Classical, 2-1.

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Defending Division I state baseball champion Cranston West has picked up where it left off last season.

Through games of April 18, the Falcons (5-0) were tied for first place with Hendricken in Division 1 Central.

And like any good team, the Falcons are doing it with pitching and hitting.

Just check their last three games:

• Rich Reo pitched no-hit ball until the sixth inning – the second time this season he’s lost a no-hitter in the sixth – and Frank Pettinato and Tony Crudale each collected three hits and two RBI in a 7-1 victory over Pilgrim.
• Ryan Long scattered six hits and went the distance as the Falcons edged East Providence, 3-2.
• Rob DeCosta led the last of the seventh with a solo home run which snapped a tie and gave the Falcons a 3-2 triumph over Cranston East.

In other games of note:

• La Salle’s Caleb Gardner went the distance on a three-hitter, striking out 10 in the process, as the Rams beat Lincoln, 3-1. Frank D’Amato’s two-run homer and Jon Lapolla’s solo blast accounted for the Rams’ scoring.
• Kyle Tracey threw only 95 pitches and went nine innings as Cranston East nipped Warwick Vets, 3-2.
• Scituate’s Scott Iacobucci tossed a no-hitter, replete with 11 whiffs and only one walk, as the Spartans blanked Davies, 14-0, in a Division II-North game.

LAWSON TOPS ALL-STATE BASKETBALL TEAM
Senior forward Jarell Lawson led Central to the state basketball championship, the Knights’ first in 20 years.

Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise when he was named First Team All-State.

Lawson averaged 19 points and 10.9 rebounds for the 19-4 Knights.

Joining Lawson on the First Team are North Kingstown senior center Evan Scott (he averaged 16.7 ppg. and tied the school record with 69 blocked shots); West Warwick senior forward Ryan Lawton (20.1 ppg. and 1.35 rpg.); La Salle junior guard Tom Hunt (18.9 ppg.); and, for the second consecutive year, St. Raphael junior guard Charles Correa (20.4 ppg. and 7.5 assists per game).

Second Team honors were accorded to St. Raphael senior forward Cesar Mejia, Hope senior forward Emmanuel Kargbo, Mount Pleasant sophomore guard Kip Stewart, North Providence senior guard Austin Van Bemmelen, Westerly junior guard Austin Cilley and West Warwick senior guard John Morrison.

WAS SILVA PUSHED OUT THE DOOR?
As is the case with many schools, coaches must apply for their positions on an annual basis regardless of their tenure.

That was the case with Mount Hope head football coach Ron Silva. But in what was anything but a “harmonious meeting,” Silva exited his session with school administrators after confirming he would not apply to remain the Huskies’ coach for the 2012 season.

In five seasons at the helm, Silva compiled a 22-19 record in Division II games and guided the Huskies to the playoffs four times.

Mount Hope advanced to the 2009 Super Bowl where it was blanked, 19-0, by Woonsocket.

Silva indicated he would like to continue coaching and noted he’s already received a few offers.

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From 1968 through 1992, Central High dominated boys’ basketball in Rhode Island.

Under coaching legends Jim Adams and Don Pastine, the Knights captured 11 of 24 state championships including seven in a row from 1968-75.

Players like Rickey Santos, Marvin Barnes, Mike Hazard and current Providence College head coach Ed Cooley became household names.

But when parochial schools like Hendricken, St. Raphael and La Salle began capitalizing on their ability to draw student-athletes from all over the state, the scales titled in their favor to the point where they annexed 16 of the last 17 titles prior to this season.

Fifth-seeded Central turned the clock back earlier this month when it beat intra-city rival/14th-seeded Hope, 66-59 behind the stellar play of Jerelle Washington.

Washington, a sophomore, tossed in 28 points – 16 in the second half which enabled the Knights to overcome an 11-point deficit and clinch their 12th state title – in the first time they’ve played the Blue Wave for the championship since 1971.

The Knights finished the season with a 19-5 overall record and broke Hope’s eight-game winning streak in the process.

Central beat ninth-seeded Rogers, 54-46, in the semifinals as Daniel Mendez scored 16 points.

The Blue Wave (14-12) advanced to the finals for the first time since 2007 by defeating second-seeded La Salle, 69-65, in overtime.

Manny Kargbo scored five of his overall 24 points at the free throw line in OT to help clinch the victory.

THREE FOR THE COURT
La Salle Academy, Narragansett and Juanita Sanchez captured the Division 1, 2 and 3 girls’ state basketball championships, respectively. But while winning titles is old news for the Rams, it made front-page headlines for the Mariners and Cavaliers.

Narragansett beat Classical, 51-40, for the Division II title – the school’s first in 18 years.

Juanita Sanchez, meanwhile, claimed the Division III crown by defeating defending champion Middletown, 49-36 – the first in the eight-year history of the program.

La Salle, not surprisingly, walked off with its ninth Division I title since the 1998-99 season by outlasting Bay View, 53-49.

Narragansett’s Mercedes Harris earned MVP honors after posting a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds.

The Cavaliers (23-3 overall) won more than eight games for the first time in program history.

D’Asia Allen paced Juanita Sanchez with 18 points, which helped Tyrone Dale win a state title in his first season as the team’s head coach.

The “hook” in the La Salle-Bay View game was that each team finished 18-0 in its respective division (La Salle in I-South and Bay View in I-North).

Davida Dale paced La Salle with 13 points while Vandell Andrade led Bay View with 16.

RAMS CLIMB OVER MOUNT
Maybe Hendricken won’t win a gazillion state hockey championships like Mount St. Charles has over the decades. But the Hawks will cherish their most recent title moreso than most.

Why? One reason being it snapped Mount’s current run of consecutive State Championship Division crowns at four.

Secondly, the Hawks did something few teams have been able to do when they faced Mount in the third and deciding game of a best-of-three series – win that game, in this case, 5-2.

Invariably, when the Mounties drop Game 1, the running joke is they have their opponent just where they want them – in position to be swept over the final two games.

Junior Paul Filipone etched his name into Hendricken sports lore by not only scoring in overtime to give his team a 4-3 victory in Game 1 but he also scored two of the Hawks’ first four goals in Game 3.

Filipone scored once in each of the first two periods while Justin Finan drove a dagger into the Mounties’ collective hearts with a second-period goal which produced a 4-1 lead.

Mount forced a deciding game when Brian Larence made 32 saves to backstop a 3-2 victory.

ON OTHER ICE
Don’t ask why the smallest state in the country has four state hockey tournaments.

Actually, the reason is there’s such a gap between the various schools that it’s a virtual necessity.

Moses Brown copped the Division I crown by sweeping Barrington 6-4 and 4-2.

The Quakers thus ended their hockey affiliation with the Interscholastic League in style because they’ll be playing an independent schedule commencing next season.

Junior Nathan Farrington came up big in the third period of each game by twice scoring two goals. His short-handed goal in Game 2 gave the Quakers a 3-1 lead – a margin they didn’t relinquish.

Coventry retained its Division II championship by sweeping Prout 2-0 and 6-1.

Junior Mike Presola was voted tourney MVP honors after scoring three goals and assisting on two.

During their two-year championship run, the Oakers have compiled a 33-3-0 regular-season record.

“Townie Pride” has taken a blow over the last year as East Providence has been beset with serious financial problems. But the hockey team put those woes on the back burner for a while by nipping Mount Hope, 2-1, in the Game 3 of their Division III championship series.

As a result, the Townies earned their first state hockey title in seven years.

Ryan Barry was named the tournament’s MVP by scoring one goal and assisting on five others.

CHARIHO TRACKS DOWN NATIONAL RECORD
Another of the state’s smaller schools made major waves on the national track scene at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in The Big Apple.

The quartet of Dan Kilcoyne, Bryce Kelley, Jake Kilcoyne and Mike Marsella captured the 4-x-1-mile relay in a national-record time of 17:20.20 – breaking the previous mark by 1.38 seconds.

The Chargers, who’re coached by Bill Haberek, beat out such long-time powers as Shaker High (Latham, N.Y.) and Christian Brothers (Lincroft, N.J.).

Mike Scandura has been covering high school sports, college basketball, football and hockey plus minor league baseball in Rhode Island since the early 1970s. A native of Oswego, N.Y, he’s a member of the Words Unlimited Hall of Fame which is the statewide organization of sportswriters, sportscasters and sports publicists.

At the risk of using a horse-racing metaphor, Cranston West High recorded a “daily double” when Words Unlimited announced its award winners for the 2011 calendar year.

Jeff Diehl, who starred in basketball and baseball, was voted the Schoolboy Athlete of the Year while Falcons baseball coach Rob Malo was voted the Schoolboy Sports Coach of the Year.

Diehl, a senior, led the Falcons to the first-ever Division I basketball championship in school history.

Then, in the spring, he hit .537 with six home runs and 27 RBI as the Falcons compiled a 13-5 regular-season record. His production was a major reason why Cranston West won the Division I state championship.

When June rolled around, Diehl was selected in the 23rd round by the New York Mets.

Malo replaced veteran and eminently successful coach Chuck Jones in 2007 – two years after the Falcons won their first Division I state baseball title since 1975.

The Falcons finished the 2011 season on top of the Division I pile as they spotted North Kingstown a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three finals and won the next two games to capture the state championship.

On the distaff side, La Salle’s twin sisters Madison and McKenzie Meehan were voted co-Schoolgirl Athletes of the Year while Barrington cross-country coach Annmarie Marino was named the Schoolgirl Sports Coach of the Year.

Last fall, Madison Meehan led the country in assists with 44 while McKenzie led the nation in scoring with 80 goals as the Rams won their fourth consecutive Division I state soccer championship.

Each Meehan also earned All-State honors the previous winter as the Rams annexed their fifth straight state indoor title.

Marino guided the Eagles to both the Class A and State championships. The state title was the first in school history since 1994.

Words Unlimited is the statewide organization of sportswriters, sportscasters and sports publicists.

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Buried amidst the rubble in Central Falls, which long ago filed for bankruptcy and has been under the direction of a state-appointed receiver, has been the fate of the coaches of the city’s lone high school.

To be precise, they’ve given new meaning to the words “volunteer coaches.”

Because of a budget freeze and ongoing contract negotiations between the city and the union representing teachers, Warriors coaches have been guiding their teams sans compensation.

That was true in the fall; it’s carried over to the winter sports season; and barring any change in developments the status will remain quo come the spring.

Ironically, Warrior teams have enjoyed an inordinate amount of success.

Coach Mo Jackson led CF to the Division IV Super Bowl in December.

Coach Rich Sousa took his girls’ volleyball team to the Division II semifinals.

Coach Carl Africo guided the boys’ soccer team to the Division I quarterfinals.

The other falls sports for which coaches weren’t paid are boys’ and girls’ cross country, girls’ soccer and unified volleyball.

CF’s winter sports include boys’ and girls’ basketball, wrestling, boys’ and girls’ track and unified basketball.

The spring sports slate includes only baseball and softball.

The 63-year-old Jackson, who’s the dean of Warrior coaches, didn’t learn about the lack of funding until midway through the football season.

“I was a little upset,” Jackson was quoted in The Times of Pawtucket. “But I wasn’t going to abandon the kids halfway through the season.

“I don’t know if I had known before the season started if I would have coached. After being here 20 years, I’d like the opportunity to make that decision. But you don’t get into (coaching high school sports) to make a lot of money.”

North Kingstown, to a certain extent, is in a similar position as Central Falls – although the South County town is far from bankruptcy.

However, it has a projected $1.6 million deficit for fiscal year 2013.

As a result, Superintendent Phil Auger is working on proposals that could include cuts that would impact Skipper high school teams.

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And you thought the Rhode Island Interscholastic League “tweaked” boys’ basketball last season, when it decided to hold a 16-team tournament that would determine one – repeat, one – state champion?

The RIIL has “tweaked boys’ basketball in so many ways this season that it’s a wonder coaches’ heads don’t spin off their necks.

For starters, the league has eliminated the three division tournaments which had been in existence seemingly since Dr. James Naismith first hung up a peach basket at Springfield College.

Instead, the league will hold one 32-team tournament.

The league still will consist of Division I, II and III and each team will play 18 league games. But points will be awarded which will determine who gets to play in the state tournament.

For example:

• Each Division I victory is worth one point.
• Each Division II victory is worth .8 point.
• Each Division III victory is worth .6 point.

In addition teams in Divisions II and III with the most points will receive one more point as compensation for the disparity in the ratings formula.

Non-league games won’t result in the winning team earning points.

After the whistle blows in the final games of the regular season, the 32 teams with a winning percentage of at least .400 will qualify for the tournament.

Play-in games will be held should more than 32 teams win at least 40 percent of their games. But ties involving teams from different divisions will result in the team from the higher division receiving the higher seed.

Just as noteworthy is the change in venue for the Elite Eight – Providence College’s Alumni Hall - where Friar stars like Jimmy Walker, Ray Flynn, Lenny Wilkins and (when he was a freshman) Ernie DiGregorio lit up the scoreboard.

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Call it the calm before the storm – a weekend when all Rhode Island high school football teams are idle prior to their annual clashes on Thanksgiving Day.

La Salle enjoys the distinction of being the only team that’s undefeated in league play with a 7-0 record in Division I. As a result, the Rams have clinched the division title and the No. 1 seed in the Division I Tournament which begins on Nov. 29.

The Rams put themselves in that position by beating Cranston East, 35-14, with junior Josh Morris running for touchdowns of 64, 74, 63 and 38 yards.

Hendricken (6-2) clinched second place by beating Barrington, 21-13, as Ryan Brannigan threw a pair of touchdown passes to Lou Falcone and also ran for a third touchdown.

What other two teams will fill out the field is more complicated.

Currently, East Providence and South Kingstown are tied for third place with 4-3 records.

The Townies play arch-rival La Salle on Thanksgiving while the Rebels play winless North Kingstown.

Should EP and SK each win on Thanksgiving and finish 5-3, the Rebels would earn third place by virtue of their 40-12 victory over the Townies (i.e. the first tiebreaker is record in head-to-head competition).

But if the Townies lose and finish 4-4 and the Rebels win, EP would be tied for fourth with Portsmouth which plays a non-league game on Thanksgiving. However, EP defeated the Patriots 26-22 which would earn them fourth place and the last seed in the tournament.

Since Division II is split into two divisions, tournament play began last weekend with Cumberland, Central, Chariho and Westerly prevailing in the quarterfinals.

Cumberland beat Tolman, 13-9, as Ryan Gaumond scored on a one-yard run with 1:21 left on the clock.

Central whipped West Warwick, 27-12, with Mike Washington rushing for 171 yards and two touchdowns.

Chariho outlasted Mount Hope, 28-15, with quarterback Jansen Williamson rushing for two touchdowns and heaving a 70-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Cahoon.

Westerly trumped St. Raphael, 36-22, as Spencer Reed scored on runs of one yard and three yards.

As a result, Cumberland will play at Chariho and Central will play at Westerly in the Nov. 29 semifinals.

Rogers (6-1) has clinched the Division III title and the No. 1 seed in that tournament. The Vikings play a non-league game on Thanksgiving against winless North Kingstown.

Narragansett (5-2) must beat Tiverton on Thanksgiving to clinch second place while Classical (5-3) and Middletown (5-3) are tied for second. But because the Islanders edged the Purple, 27-26, they’ve earned the No. 2 seed for the tournament.

First-place Mount Pleasant has completed its Division IV schedule with a 6-2 record while North Smithfield and Smithfield are tied for second with 5-2 records. But if North Smithfield beats Scituate, the Northmen also would finish 6-2 – and would earn the No. 1 seed by virtue of their 14-12 win over the Kilties.

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Call it the calm before the proverbial storm as far as Rhode Island Division I football teams were concerned.

First-place La Salle (4-0, 5-1) absorbed its first loss of the season as the Rams bowed, 27-16 to Bridgewater-Raynham in a non-league game Saturday.

As for the three teams that are tied for second place, Hendricken (3-1) and Cranston West (3-1) were idle while East Providence (3-1, 5-1) beat Mount Hope, 36-20, in a non-league game.

That was a good news-bad news scenario as far as the Townies were concerned.

The good news was that quarterback Brandon Peters ran for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Moreover, it was the second straight impressive game for Peters who ran for two touchdowns and threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Victor Adewusi in a 27-19 win over Cranston East on Oct. 7.

The bad news was that the Townies were penalized an unbelievable 16 times for 128 yards against the Huskies.

But at the mid-point of the season, the best is yet to come.

Following is a list of games that could (should?) have a bearing on who wins the regular-season title and earns the No. 1 seed in November’s tournament:

• October 21 – East Providence at Hendricken.
• October 28 – Cranston West at La Salle and Barrington (3-2) at East Providence.
• November 4 – Cranston West at Hendricken.
• November 24 (Thanksgiving Day) – La Salle at East Providence.

The Hawks (4-1 overall) may have the division’s best running game led by Lou Falcone and Ryan Brannigan.

Heading into the East Providence game, Falcone has carried the ball 52 times for 386 yards (a 7.4-yard average) and eight touchdowns, while Brannigan has ran 55 times for 385 yards (7.0-yard average) and four scores.

Cranston West plays a non-league game Friday at Dennis-Yarmouth and the Dolphins may regret scheduling this contest because the Falcons are still seething after their first loss of the season – 40-7 to South Kingstown.

When all is said and done, that upset could wind up biting the Falcons where it hurts the most.

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Commencing with the 2011 fall sports season, any coach who emulates Bobby Knight on a bad day over the course of a season and “verbally abuses” an official in a “public forum” will be subject to more than a technical foul, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty or a bench minor.

The Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s Principals Committee on Athletics adopted a new policy at its June meeting that will give coaches reasons to think twice before launching into a tirade – specifically in the presence of media.

For example:

• A coach will be disqualified for one game and his school fined $100 for a first offense.
• A second offense will result in a two-game disqualification and a $150 fine for the school.
• If a coach is found guilty of a third offense, he or she will be disqualified for the remainder of the season and the school fined $250. In this case, if the season ends prior to its completion, the coach will be disqualified for a minimum five games and the remaining games will carry over to the following season.

As a means of explanation, disqualification means a coach may not be in attendance for any game or games while serving the suspension – and may not participate in any pre-game warm-ups at the game site.

While coaches will have the opportunity to raise “officiating concerns” through the school’s director of athletics and principal, they will not be entitled to an appeal.

DOUBLE DRIBBLES
When the Interscholastic League last season adopted an open tournament which allowed every boys’ basketball team to compete for the state championship (which made Rhode Island one of only two states in the country with this format), it proved to be successful beyond everybody’s wildest dreams.

The league tweaked that format also at its June meeting.

First, it eliminated the three divisional tournaments that have been played for at least 45 years.

Secondly, it adopted a format that will allow as many as 32 teams over Divisions I, II and III to compete for the state championship.

Criteria will be based on a team’s winning percentage which has yet to be determined. But according to a league official who spoke on condition of anonymity, that mark could be as low as 40 percent.

The tournament will consist of five rounds which would allow completion in approximately two weeks.

In the proposal passed by the league, reasons for this new format evolved around a season that was considered too long (i.e. more often than not; the end of tournament play coincided with the start of spring sports practices) and the tournament invariably conflicted with mid-semester exams

In addition, fewer three-game weeks would pop up on schedules and coaches would have more time for teaching in practices.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Boys’ hockey has long been the proverbial elephant in the room (or rink) because of the private school vs. public school issue.

In an attempt to address this contentious issue, the league adopted a format commencing with next season for Division I.

Division I will be split into two leagues: the Cimini League which will consist of private schools like perennial state champion Mount St. Charles, Hendricken, La Salle and Moses Brown, and the Eccleston League which will consist of Cranston West, Smithfield, Burrillville, Lincoln, Barrington and North Kingstown – each of which is a public school.

Cimini League teams will play each other four times and cross over once while Eccleston League teams will play each other three times and cross over once.

A power rating formula will be used to rank and seed teams for the playoffs, with the top four teams qualifying for the state championship and the next four teams qualifying for the Division I Tournament championship.

For example:

• A win against a Cimini team will earn a team two points.
• If two Cimini teams tie, each earns one point.
• A win against an Eccelston team will earn a team two points.
• If two Eccelston teams tie, each earns one point.

One reason for this change – although league officials were reluctant to go on the record – was that last season private schools posted a combined 55-0-1 record versus public schools.

THERE’S MORE
The league also adopted a cap on the number of games boys’ hockey teams can play which, at face value, was a result of the imbalance between private and public school team records.

The number of overall games a team can play has been reduced from 24 to 22.

“Essentially, when the committee originally approved 24 games, it was at the request of one school which requested it remain anonymous,” said RIIL Executive Director Tom Mezzanotte. “We wanted to bring it in line with the other sports. There isn’t a reason to play 24 games.

“From the survey we sent out, we found 22 was a good number. The issue was we felt that some schools, by playing to the cap, had an advantage over schools that only could play the regular-season games. That was an issue with a number of our schools.

“We felt that by eliminating the number of games beyond the regular season would create a more level playing field.”

READ THE LARGE PRINT
The league’s blue book (i.e. rules and regulations) states in Article 7, Section 6, Paragraph D states “A high school coach may not coach prospective members of a high school club, freshman, junior varsity or varsity team during the off-season.”

It would appear Hendricken freshman hockey coach Bob Fairbanks didn’t read that section because he also was coaching a Midget team that included his son plus six other Hawk skaters.

As a result, Hendricken was placed on a three-year probation, fined $800 and head coach Jim Creamer was suspended for a number of games yet to be determined for the 2011-12 season.

LAST KICKOFF
The annual Rhode Island-Connecticut Senior Governors’ Cup All-Star Football game ended as have most of the previous games – with Connecticut rolling to a victory, this time by a 37-6 score.

Connecticut now leads the series, 10-3.

Rhode Island’s only points came on field goals of 26 and 49 yards by Cumberland’s Chad Bacon.

St. Raphael’s Trevor Vasey was voted Rhode Island’s Offensive MVP while East Providence’s Dana Andrade (who led his team in tackles and had one sack) was voted the Defensive MVP.

Mike Scandura has been covering high school sports, college basketball, football and hockey, plus minor league baseball in Rhode Island since the early 1970s. A native of Oswego, N.Y. he’s a member of the Words Unlimited Hall of Fame which is the statewide organization of sportswriters, sportscasters and sports publicists.

Cranston West’s baseball team picked the right time to unleash an offensive explosion -- in the third and deciding game of the Division I tournament.

The fourth-seeded Falcons were held to three hits by top-seeded North Kingstown in Game 1 of the teams’ best-of-three series which the Skippers won, 5-3.

But in the next two games, the Falcons hung a total of 35 runs on the McCoy Stadium scoreboard to capture their third state championship in the last six years. In the process, Cranston West snapped Hendricken’s run of three consecutive titles.

West’s Matt Pagano, who was voted MVP honors, lit the spark in Game 2 as he homered and drove in a total of six runs as the Falcons prevailed, 17-13.

Then, in the deciding game, Pagano tossed 5 1/3 innings of one-run, seven-hit relief as the Falcons belted the Skippers, 18-7.

West’s triumph prevented the Skippers from winning their first Division I title in 44 years.

Mike Hayden also unloaded on North Kingstown pitching in Game 3 when he hit two homers which drove in four runs.

Among other things, the Falcons prevailed in a trio of deciding games during the tournament and became the only other public school to win a state Division I baseball championship since South Kingstown did so in 2002.

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Prodigy.

That’s the appropriate noun to use when referring to Smithfield High freshman Matt Kuhar – all five-feet, two-inches and 93 pounds of him. Kuhar became only the third freshman in Interscholastic League history to capture the state singles championship when he polished off North Kingstown senior and No. 2 seed Dan Hansen in straight sets – 6-3, 6-3.

The only other freshmen to win state titles are Gordie Ernst in 1982 (Ernst, who initially attended Hendricken before transferring to Cranston East in the fall of 1982, holds the state record with four singles championships) and South Kingstown’s Andy Singer in 2000.

In the process, top-seeded Kuhar extended his dual-match winning streak to 22-0 and beat the more experienced Hansen for a second time this season (albeit their first match was in April). And in that match, Hansen became one of only three players who would win one – repeat, one – set from Kuhar this season.

Kuhar’s combination of groundstrokes and backhands enabled him to win the first set in 30 minutes and break open the second set after building only a 2-1 lead.

The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Hansen – and not only because he lost in last year’s finals to Wheeler’s Jessie Frieder.

Hansen on April 20 underwent surgery after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. But after missing just seven matches, he went 8-1 heading into the qualifying round on May 6.

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All of a sudden, there’s a hole in the East Providence High boys’ hockey program that resembles the Grand Canyon.

Townie alumnus Gregg Amore, who revived a program that barely had a pulse, resigned his position earlier this month, along with his entire staff.

Ironically, his top assistant, Derek Borek, shortly thereafter was named the head coach at East Bay rival Barrington.

Granted, East Providence’s glory days of the 1970s (the Townies won the now-defunct New England championship and the Rhode Island Division I title in 1975) have been long gone. But Amore restored a great deal of respectability while playing in Division III/Met C.

Amore’s teams were 86-70-4 during the regular season and 101-78-4 overall (this includes a 15-8 record in post-season play which the Townies qualified for five times).

EP hit the jackpot in the 2004-05 season as it compiled a 26-0-0 record and captured the Division III state title – the school’s first in hockey in over 30 years.

Amore inherited a program that had only nine – repeat, nine – players. He dressed 25 last season and leaves the program in much better shape than it was when he first draped a whistle around his neck.

Borek, another Townie alumnus, replaces Ken Fogarty who resigned after three seasons on the bench. The Eagles were 14-4-0 in Division I in 2009-10 but fell to 5-12-1 last season.

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The quality of golfers produced in Rhode Island is completely out of proportion to the Ocean State’s population.

Witness the state’s two latest “phenoms” – Cumberland High senior Jamison Randall and La Salle Academy senior Juliet Vongphoumy.

Randall last summer won three tournaments: the World Series of Junior Golf, the Rhode Island Golfers Junior Championships and the New England Junior Championships which he captured in a sudden-death playoff.

Randall, who gained early acceptance to Old Dominion University (he’s receiving a partial athletic and academic scholarship), has one goal on his mind this season: Win the Rhode Island Interscholastic League State Tournament, after finishing second last year to Barrington’s Jared Adams.

At the recent 29th annual Challenge Cup Championship held at Cranston’s Alpine Country club, Randall finished second to Portsmouth junior Alex Grimes – whom he beat, 2-and-1, in the finals of the 2010 RIGA Juniors.

But in the opinion of Cumberland coach Jim Dickinson, Randall’s best days are ahead of him this season.

Dickinson stated that the fact Randall has been accepted at Old Dominion has allowed him to focus on “simply” playing golf instead of playing to gain admission to a college.

The last clipper to win the state championship was Chris Simmons in 1989.

Vongphoumy is a story all by herself since she’s the daughter of Laotian immigrants and because she stunned the state’s golfing community when, as a freshman in 2008, she captured the state’s 36-hole tournament by two strokes.

Just over a year ago, she became only the second player in who knows how many years to capture three consecutive American Junior Golf Association girls’ tournaments.

No wonder Vongphoumy was offered a full ride by Maryland. She also was recruited by other ACC schools like Duke and Boston College.

Vongphoumy honed her skills last year at Hilton Head Prep School in South Carolina before returning to La Salle for her senior year.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Randall and Vongphoumy could play against each other in the 2011 state tournament.

KNIGHTS CHARGING FORWARD
Unlike the Central High boys’ basketball team, which has won 11 state championships at the Division I level, the baseball team only has won a single state title – in 2006 when the Knights prevailed in the now-defunct Division III.

That drought may be about to change considering the Knights’ success as the Interscholastic League season nears the mid-way point. Coach Dave Hansen’s team leads Division II-Central with a 9-1 record due in large part to a senior-laden team. Central’s talent was on full display in a recent 10-0 romp over division rival Juanita Sanchez when Wailder Luna tossed a one-hit shutout and Manny Melo belted a three-run homer.

Luna entered this week with a 3-0 record in four starts plus a sub-2.00 ERA.

Melo, a senior, doubles as Central’s center fielder as well as the team’s closer.

Ironically, a junior, catcher Johnathan Salcedo is leading the team in batting with a .572 average.

According to Hansen, he wasn’t sure what his team was capable of doing entering this season. But the Knights have been out-hitting teams and have been even more difficult to beat when they play defense.

That was the case in a key 4-1 crossover victory against II-North Woonsocket when Central out-hit the Villa Novans 8-5 (behind Luna), and only committed a respectable two errors.

CLASH OF THE TITANS
Division I-Central leader Hendricken and I-North leader Lincoln hooked up on Monday and the Hawks, who’ve won 16 state championships, beat the Lions, 5-1, as Tom Pannone tossed a three-hitter and also stroked an RBI single.

Cranston West, who also is in contention for the I-Central title, posted a big crossover victory last week against Lincoln – 8-7 as catcher Jeff Diehl (who’s been the object of numerous college and pro scouts’ attention) scored the winning run in the seventh on Alex Moretti’s double.

LIONS, CHARGERS TOUGH IN SOFTBALL
Lincoln and Chariho could be on a collision course for the state Division I softball championship – especially in recent results are any indication.

The Lions, led by All-State pitcher Alyssa McCoart, and Chariho, led by senior co-captains Makalya Clarke and Becky Williams, remained undefeated entering this week in their respective divisions.

Lincoln moved to 9-0 in I-North due to a combination of solid pitching and explosive hitting.

McCoart, who will play here college softball at Central Connecticut State, is 6-0 on the mound and is hitting .654 at the plate.

As a result, Lincoln has outscored its opposition 71-13.

Chariho is 8-0 in I-South after outlasting North Kingstown, 12-10.

Freshman Brianna Cole belted a home run to help pace the Chargers.

LA SALLE STICKMEN PERFECT
La Salle Academy’s boys have staked their claim as the team to beat in Division I.

Coach Steve O’Donnell’s Rams are 4-0 after routing defending state champion Moses Brown, 19-11, and arch-rival Hendricken, 11-1.

The Quakers beat the Rams in overtime in the 2010 finals while the Hawks beat the Rams in the 2009 semifinals.

So, how do you spell La Salle has a score or two to settle?

Long-stick defensemen Vito Capuano, Will Sturgis, Cody O’Connell, Ryan Gallogly and Matt Powers have been keys to La Salle’s success.

LEYS BIDS ADIEU
Middletown, and the Interscholastic League as a whole, lost a superb football coach when Andy Leys announced his retirement effective immediately in order to devote more time to his family.

Under Leys’ guidance, the Islanders posted a combined 33-15 record in Divisions III and IV over the last six years and won the 2010 Division III Super Bowl.
Leys also coached Middletown to the 2006 Division IV Super Bowl crown.

Mike Scandura has been covering high school sports, college basketball, football and hockey, plus minor league baseball in Rhode Island since the early 1970s. A native of Oswego, N.Y. he’s a member of the Words Unlimited Hall of Fame which is the statewide organization of sportswriters, sportscasters and sports publicists.

Rhode Island’s unemployment numbers are still in double figures.

The state is grappling with a budget deficit in excess of $300 million.

But if bill No. S 0438, which was introduced by Senator Louis P. DiPalma (his district covers Little Compton, Middletown, Newport and Tiverton), is passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Lincoln Chaffee, student-athletes would be included in a group that would take a “hit.”

The bill is named the “Payment for and Participation in School Activities Act of 2011.” Or to put it another way, it’s a pay-to-play bill.

DiPalma’s bill states in part “In view of the current economic climate, it would be beneficial to institute a policy where students from families who are capable of paying user fees for participation in extracurricular activities, while allowing flexibility for students from those families who cannot afford such payments.”

Obviously, the aforementioned extracurricular activities include sports.

DiPalma’s bill does exempt “students eligible for USDA reimbursable school meals” and allows “a family to petition for relief from such assessments based upon financial and / or other hardships.”

The fees would authorize school committees and boards of directors for charter schools to “assess students a reasonable fee for participation by a student in extracurricular activities provided that the governing body must first make a determination that the assessment of such fees is in the best interests of the school districts.”

Among other things:

• The Rhode Island Department of Education’s interpretation of state law precludes assessment of a fee for participation in school programs like athletics. Its spokesperson expressed the opinion that activities like athletics are considered part of basic education and should be available to all – period.
• DiPalma’s bill fails to define what’s considered “a reasonable fee.” What might be considered “a reasonable fee” in one school district could be considered onerous in another district.
• The bill also doesn’t detail in what ways the fees would be spent. Would they go toward equipment? Would they go to paying coaches’ salaries? Etc., Etc.
• Both the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU and the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s Principals’ Committee on Athletics invariably have opposed user fees.

The bill is still under debate in the General Assembly but without question is likely to draw more opposition if it even nears the stage where it’s put to a vote.

END OF A TENNIS DYNASTY?
Don’t look now, but South Kingstown’s dominance of Division I boys’ tennis may be nearing an end – especially if Barrington has anything to say about it. First, the Eagles handed the 12-time defending state champions their first loss since the 2007 season when it posted a 5-2 victory.

Barrington followed that up, and improved its record to 6-0 in the process, by breaking Cumberland’s 39-match winning streak by romping to a 6-1 victory. Veteran coach Dick Ernst’s Eagles have reached the Division I finals in three of the last four years only to lose each time to South Kingstown. The team is led by a sextet of seniors: John Bogdanovic, Chris Ferro, Mitch Brosnan, John Volpe, Erik Weber and Riley Schwengel.

“CATCH” FALCONS’ DIEHL
The last Rhode Island high school catcher who appeared on the radar screen of college coaches and pro scouts was St. Raphael Academy’s Chris Iannetta who now plays for the Colorado Rockies.

Cranston West’s Jeff Diehl is doing his best so far to emulate Iannetta.

In the Falcons’ recent 5-3 victory over three-time defending Division I state champion Hendricken, approximately 10 college and pro scouts were in attendance in Cranston – and Diehl didn’t disappoint.

Diehl, a senior, belted a single and a solo home run; launched another shot that was caught on the warning track in right field; and also scored on a double steal.

LA SALLE STICKMEN MAKE THEIR POINT
La Salle Academy’s boys’ lacrosse team delivered a loud-and-clear message to two-time Division I state champion Moses Brown when the Rams belted the Quakers, 19-11.

Ironically, this was a rematch of the 2010 championship tilt won by the Rams.

Brad Carlson (five goals, one assist), Brady O’Donnell (five goals) and Ryan Poirier (three goals, two assists) paced La Salle to this key, early-season victory.

ODDS ‘N ENDS

• St. Andrew’s School’s Michael Carter-Williams, who’s already signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Syracuse University, has been selected to play in the Mary Kline Classic on May 28 at The Pennington School in Pennington, N.J. The Classic is an elite, 28-player game that features top high school players from the Mid-Atlantic Region. It’s a charitable event that raises money to fight cancer with all of the proceeds being donated to the American Cancer Society and the National Brain Tumor Foundation.
• Several student-athletes recently committed to play college sports commencing next fall. This latest group is highlighted by Exeter-West Greenwich running back Al Georgio who’ll be playing for Norwich University. Georgio, a two-time All-State selection, led the state in scoring last year with 49 touchdowns. Others include: Hendricken’s Ethan Ferreira, an All-State baseball player who’ll continue with that sport at Harvard; Portsmouth’s Tyler Oliveira who’ll be competing for the University of Rhode Island’s track and field team (Oliveira holds six indoor school records); Mount St. Charles’ Meryl Lawrence, a three-time All-Stater who’ll be playing tennis at Stonehill College; Prout’s Emily Caswell, who led the Crusaders to their first Division II basketball championship in 26 years, will be launching shots at Caldwell College; and Hendricken’s Mike Maloof who’ll be competing in track and field for Boston University.

Mike Scandura has been covering high school sports, college basketball, football and hockey, plus minor league baseball in Rhode Island since the early 1970s. A native of Oswego, N.Y. he’s a member of the Words Unlimited Hall of Fame which is the statewide organization of sportswriters, sportscasters and sports publicists.

After dominating Division I boys’ hockey for decades, Mount St. Charles now is taking a run at Division I baseball.

Mount won the last two Division II state championships but is moving up to Division I this season where it will take on the likes of long-time powers such as Hendricken, St. Raphael and La Salle.

Mount coach Tom Seaver (no relation to the Hall of Fame pitcher) stated the obvious when he said “It starts with pitching … pitching and defense.”

When it comes to pitching, Mount already has an ace in 6-6 lefthander Garrett Hayward who was 10-0 last season.

Hayward, who plays outfield when he’s not pitching, is one of six players who return from last year’s team that was 17-1.

The others include shortstop Mike Hagerman, center fielder Tim Doyle, catcher Derek Deschene, pitcher Collins Utterman and outfielders Danny O’Brien and Trevor Plante.

Seaver also will look for production from third baseman Tyler Eeffert, who will bat cleanup, and Bill Campbell who’ll bat third and play second base.

The Mounties will play in Division I-North which could be the toughest of the three divisions that comprise Division I.

“There aren’t any weak sisters in our division,” said Lincoln coach Ed Hunt. “I think we have the toughest division from top to bottom whereas in the other divisions, they’re more balanced this year.”

Here’s one reason why I-North could be brutal: it includes four private schools – La Salle, Moses Brown and St. Raphael besides Mount St. Charles.

“You can say what you want about Mount because they’ve played in Division II,” said Hunt. “But I think they’re as strong as any team in this division.”

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