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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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And you wonder why coaches become prematurely gray and develop ulcers?

Just ask Hendricken coach Keith Croft and Chariho coach Mike Kelly.

Each coach reached for something to soothe their stomachs after his team won its respective Super Bowl.

Hendricken retained its Division I title by upsetting previously-undefeated La Salle, 17-14, while Chariho won the Division II title – the first state football championship in school history – by edging Central, 26-25.

How each team won was the stuff of legend.

La Salle led 14-10 with 55 seconds left in regulation when Laionel Cintron caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Brannigan which helped avenge a 39-14 pasting the Hawks suffered at the hands of the Rams in September.

The championship was the eighth in school history for the Hawks. And, ironically, the reception only was Cintron’s 13th of the season for the run-oriented Hawks.

Chariho trailed 25-20 with four minutes left on the clock thanks to a second touchdown run by Central’s Mike Washington. But on the ensuing kickoff, Colton place caught the ball on his two and sprinted 98 yards for arguably the biggest touchdown in Chariho history – one that produced the 26-25 victory.

The other two Super Bowls had less dramatic finishes but were just as important to the respective victors.

Rogers, which at one time dominated Division I, beat Middletown 27-7 for the Division III title while Mount Pleasant captured its second consecutive Division IV Super Bowl title by outlasting Central Falls, 22-13.

Senior Reeyon Watts helped the Vikings avenge a loss in the 2010 Super Bowl to the Islanders by rushing for 170 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries.

The title was the first as a coach for Rogers’ alumnus Frank Newsome who played on three Division I Super Bowl teams from 1988-90.

Emmanuel Marsh caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Dunlap and scored on a four-yard run to pace the Kilties.

In addition, Marsh played a solid game at safety – a position he had not played before the Super Bowl because coach Paul Rao felt he would best fit in a Cover-3 defense.

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It didn’t require the second coming of Bill Belichick to foresee that two best teams in Division I would meet in the Super Bowl.

After all, La Salle was the only team in the state to finish with an undefeated league record. And Hendricken’s only loss was to the Rams by a 39-14 score way back on Sept. 16.

This dream – and unique – matchup was determined when La Salle routed East Providence, 41-14 and Hendricken emulated the Rams by hanging a 42-14 loss on South Kingstown in the semifinals.

Ironically, in the 39 years that the Rhode Island Interscholastic League has held Super Bowls, the Rams and Hawks have yet to meet in the championship game.

The Hawks will be making their third consecutive trip to the Super Bowl and will get a chance to defend their title due in large part to the play of their defense against the Rebels and the play of quarterback Ryan Brannigan.

After spotting the Rebels a 7-0 lead, on Garrett O’Dowd’s 72-yard punt return, Hendricken slammed the door and held South Kingstown to a paltry four years in total offense in the team’s first four possessions.

Brannigan, meanwhile, scored on a pair of one-yard runs and threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Webb.

The Rams hardly broke a sweat while dispatching the Townies for the second time in six days.

After romping to a 34-13 victory in their annual Thanksgiving Day clash, the Rams bolted to a 34-0 halftime lead which rendered the remaining 24 minutes as football’s equivalent of garbage time.

Josh Morris, who may be the best back in the state, accounted for 117 yards and one touchdown on eight carries, and also caught five passes for 92 yards and three more scores.

Now, check this out.

Since dropping a non-league game to Bridgewater-Raynham, the Rams have reeled off five consecutive victories during which they’ve outscored their opponents by combined margin of 181-61.

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Is there any sports fan who hasn’t heard that cliché’ “picking up the slack?”

That’s exactly what Division I leader La Salle Academy did on October 28 when the Rams overcame the loss of quarterback Anthony Francis, who was sidelined with an ankle injury, and still throttled playoff contender Cranston West, 30-6.

Junior running back Josh Morris certainly picked up the slack in his teammate’s absence by scoring on touchdown runs of 22 and 51 yards in the first half as the Rams remained on top with a 6-0 record.

La Salle also received a lift from backup quarterback Jack Collins who came off the bench and scored on runs of two yards and one yard.

As a result, La Salle has outscored its six division opponents by a hefty margin of 234-86 and is in position to run the table which would enable coach Geoff Marcone’s team to clinch the division title and the top seed in the upcoming playoffs.

But as is frequently the case, the title and the No. 1 seed won’t be decided until Thanksgiving Day when the Rams play arch-rival East Providence (4-1) in the state’s longest-running series on that holiday.

The Townies ventured to Massachusetts last weekend and were blanked, 26-0, by Foxborough in a non-league game – due in large part to the fact they committed seven turnovers. But the previous weekend, East Providence moved into title contention by beating third-place Hendricken (4-2), 35-14, as quarterback Brandon Peters threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Victor Adewoski and ran for a pair of touchdowns.

Should East Providence and La Salle enter their Thanksgiving game still ranked 1-2 in the standings and if the Townies win which would force a tie, they would earn the No. 1 seed based on the first tiebreaker (record in head-to-head competition).

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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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Invariably, post-season play is carved in cement before the football teams from Shea High and Central Falls High commence their respective seasons. But that hasn’t been the case for the last three seasons.

From 1998-2007, Shea qualified for the playoffs (in Division II or Division III) nine times and advanced to the Super Bowl five times. And twice the Raiders rode home with the Super Bowl championship trophy.

The Warriors, meanwhile, have made five post-season appearances during the same time frame and won the Division IV championship in 2005.

Despite each team’s respective drought, both Shea coach Dino Campopiano and Central Falls’ Mo Jackson are optimistic that a reversal of fortune is realistic.

Shea missed qualifying for the 2010 playoffs by one game due to a combination of close losses, ill-timed penalties and costly turnovers. But fortunately for Campopiano, he returns a host of players from last year’s team who could (should?) help the Raiders return to their accustomed spot in the post-season.

Topping the list of key returnees are three seniors who line up at important skill positions: quarterback Adilson Silva plus running backs Jamal Tucker and Travis Gray.

Another senior, Adem Okubanjo, also will see action at running back as will junior Dennis Lloyd – who also can play linebacker and defensive back.

The Warriors, meanwhile, return eight players who saw significant minutes on each side of the ball led by All-Division senior lineman Sension Jimenez and classmate Joel Peralta, who earned All-Division honors at tight end.

Jiminez along with fellow seniors Nico Danielson and Cristian Romero give the Warriors three experienced linemen.

Central Falls also could have one of the more impressive wide receivers in Division IV in Steven Vazquez, who played quarterback and safety each of the last two years – and who is the defending state outdoor track and field champion in the high jump.

Jackson has indicated that he may alternate junior Brandon Canuto and sophomore Tyshon Ashe at quarterback – at least until one wins the position outright.

Senior Amado Gonzalez could be the Warriors’ top back when he lines up at fullback. He’ll be joined in the backfield by Warriors like Jevon Jimenez, Josh Brandon, Julien Rivera and Kenual Lopez.

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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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Instead of calling it the Rhode Island interscholastic League Boys’ State Swimming Championships, perhaps the event should be re-named “The Hendricken Invitational.”

Coach Dave Hansen’s Hawks splashed their way to a mind-boggling 21st consecutive state title on February 20 – and it wasn’t even close. The Hawks amassed 314 points as compared with second-place Barrington who swam home with 194 at the University of Rhode Island.

What made this latest championship even more noteworthy was the fact Hendricken failed to win a single individual event. Hansen needed points from only eight swimmers to cop the school’s latest title. And the Hawks did their most damage by winning two relays. Ian Dinwoodie and Andrew Robinson swam in the meet’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, while Mike Fedorenko, Alex Powers, Dave Evans and Jack Kilpatrick each were on one championship relay (the other was the 200-yard medley).

Hendricken earned 40 points by winning the 200 medley relay and recorded 54 points in the first individual event, the 200-yard freestyle. By the time the latter ended, the Hawks had a commanding lead.

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For those of a certain age, it was the equivalent of the U.S. Calvary coming to the rescue in an old John Wayne movie. But there wasn’t anything “entertaining” about the facts leading up to the crisis.

As February dawned on the calendar, the Cranston School Committee was on the verge of eliminating all sports at the city’s two high schools – Cranston East and Cranston West. The move would have been part of an attempt to eliminate a projected $3.7-million deficit in the proposed school budget for the 2011-12 academic year.

But nearly at the last moment, the New England Laborers/Cranston Public Schools Construction Career Academy’s board of directors opted to transfer a $79,928 surplus from its budget to restore all varsity sports. (The latter is a joint effort of the New England Laborers Union and the Cranston Public Schools). Otherwise, the School Committee would have been left with few options and varsity sports like football, basketball, hockey and baseball would have become a distant memory.

As it is, funding is still lacking for freshman football, basketball and baseball. That was the case last year at this time but private donations enabled the School Committee to restore freshman football. But at the moment, any word of similar donations is still lacking.

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Realistically, Rhode Island and Kentucky have very little in common.

But that changed dramatically a few days ago when the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s Principals Committee on Athletics voted that one – repeat, only one – boys’ basketball team will wear the title of state champion next March.

The Bluegrass state is the only other state in the country with a similar format, since Indiana several years ago went the way of the multi-state champion (or to put it another way, forget about the Hickory High Huskers and coach Norman Dale).

“I would say it’s a pilot program,” said RIIL Executive Director Tom Mezzanotte. “At the end of the season, we’ll sit down as a committee and ask if it met our expectations and if it was good for the sport. Based on the feedback from our member schools, we’ll either go forward or not.

“But, obviously, it’s not a one-shot seal. That’s the bottom line. This is a four-year alignment. We will reassess the teams in each division after two years.”

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