It’s prediction time.
Back in September I put my prognostication skills to the test and performed better than I did in any of my classes at East Providence High School. I nailed all six playoff teams in Division I, hit 5 of 6 in Division III and 5 of 6 in Division IV. I hit 3 of 6 in Division II, but got the important ones right and I’m choosing to have a goldfish mentality with the playoffs now here.
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Matchups play a key role in every division. There are good matchups and bad matchups, whether its vastly different styles of play or strength vs. strength matchups that could cause games to swing drastically one way or the next.
Health plays a factor. Coaching plays a factor. Eligibility plays a factor. Don’t forget the weather or just about a million other things that are going on.
In short – this isn’t an exact science. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut and since I’ve got plenty of it, let’s go for a ride
This is going to spoil my playoff picks below, but in a monsoon I’m not picking against Nick Stafford and North Kingstown and while I would have taken St. Raphael in the rain on Friday night, I’ll ride with Cranston West with their last-minute schedule swap of the game to Saturday.
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The semifinals are disastrous matchups for both underdogs. Hendricken is more favorable for North Kingstown, only because the Skippers can neutralize the Hawks’ pass rush by handing it off 55 times. La Salle has weapons everywhere, has fared well against the run and should be able to light up the scoreboard in similar fashion to its Week 0 win over NK.
West would prefer to play La Salle in the semifinals. The Falcons can match the Rams up front, but Hendricken will grind them down. I expect a rematch to play out similarly to how it did in the regular season – close for a half before Hendricken pulls away in the final two quarters. That’s why the Hawks don’t want to see St. Raphael win on Saturday night. The Saints’ size creates issues and now, with a new-look on offense than what it saw in the regular season, Hendricken will be Falcons’ fans on Saturday.
I made my preseason Super Bowl pick. I’m not changing it.
RUEB’S STATE CHAMP: Hendricken
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The matchup gods didn’t do No. 1 East Providence or No. 2 Westerly any favors.
Both quarterfinal games have the potential to be terrific. Burrillville struggled to close the season and Woonsocket is playing its best football. The Villa Novans will make Saturday interesting, but I can’t pick against my preseason pick (at least in this round), so we’ll stick with the Broncos.
Not sure I’ve ever been right when Pawtucket football is involved, so I’m going to apologize now to the Johnston faithful and pick the Panthers.
An East Providence-Johnston matchup is intriguing. The teams played a tough regular-season game to open the year, where the Townies made Ethan Archambeault look like a sophomore quarterback. The Panthers have gotten significantly better, but so have the Townies. While I love teams that throw it all over the field, I know what wins in the postseason. East Providence runs the ball and that’s what sends it to the Super Bowl.
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Burrillville-Westerly is pure theatre, with two football crazy communities that will show up in a big way for this game. I believe the Broncos are more talented. I don’t know how the Bulldogs are having the success they’ve had. Westerly is the common sense pick, but Burrillville is my choice because I picked them to get to this year’s Super Bowl in the middle of the 2025 season.
Burrillville was my preseason pick, but at this point of the season I think the lack of depth becomes a factor. East Providence has better athletes, is better on defense and will run, run and run some more and ‘The Horse’ will be played.
RUEB’S D-II CHAMP: East Providence
There’s one team in this division nobody wants to play right now and it’s not No. 1 Davies or No. 2 Cranston East.
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Everyone in this division is sleeping on Mt. Hope and why wouldn’t you after the way it played late in the season. The Huskies are still big, strong and tough and that translates in the postseason. Chariho playing on its home grass is an advantage against every other team except the Huskies, who are the pick. East Greenwich should have little trouble with North Providence in the other quarterfinal.
Here’s the thing about the semifinals – if both teams play their best football, Mt. Hope beats Davies 99 times out of a 100. The problem with the Patriots is that their worst performance is still going to be good, whereas the Huskies’ worst performance could be monumentally bad. Mt. Hope could very well win the Division III Super Bowl but it’s hard to trust them against a Davies team that’s the best coached team in the tournament.
We saw what can happen to East Greenwich when Cranston East shows up focused and ready to play. If the Thunderbolts are good to go, this game should play out similarly. If not, the Avengers will win. We’ll take Cranston East, knowing full well EG could win this game.
Davies can’t win another Super Bowl, can it? If EG gets there, I’d take the Patriots. If Cranston East gets there? Different story.
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RUEB’S D-III CHAMP: Cranston East
Here’s a prediction – the Super Bowl champion will be decided in the semifinal round.
Having seen more D-IV football than I’ve seen in a while, it’s not hard to see the strengths and weaknesses of all the team. Ultimately, the teams who win are the teams who remain focused and don’t get caught up in trying to put on a show for Instagram likes.
Having said that, I’m still picking Juanita Sanchez over North Smithfield. I like the Northmen’s chances, but the Cavaliers talent and ability to run the football is too tough to ignore. Throw in a veteran presence under center and it should get a win. The other quarterfinal isn’t a fair matchup, with an injured Smithfield playing against Scituate. If the Sentinels were at full health, they’re the pick, so we’ll move the Spartans on to the next round.
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No. 1 Central Falls should breeze to the final, provided it shows up ready to play and understands the possibility of losing exists. The Warriors need to understand they have the talent, but can hardly just show up and go through to the motions if they want to beat Juanita Sanchez (or North Smithfield). CF would also be wise to schedule this game for Saturday night.
The other semifinal is the Division IV Super Bowl. Narragansett and Scituate are two small schools playing small school football the way it’s supposed to be played. Smart, tough and doing the little things that matter. Neither team will take anything for granted. The Mariners are the pick and I’m hoping they schedule smart and play on Saturday afternoon.
Central Falls has more talent, but that doesn’t win football games. Narragansett’s big-game experience matters and it’s hard to pick against that.
RUEB’S D-IV CHAMP: Narragansett
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That’s how I see things playing out. Now let’s get on to this week’s picks.
The rain favors the team who runs the football, but since both do, it might not favor anyone. It’s going to be the Nick Stafford show for the Skippers, but their biggest issue will be on defense. NK needs to tackle, because the Knights are one miss away from a score. One thing to keep in mind – the last time Central played in a downpour, they had ball control issues. NK has Stafford, and he’s been rock solid.
THE PICK: North Kingstown Skippers
Do not let the Huskies win this game because if they do, they’re going to the Super Bowl and they could’t be happier than to play on a sloppy, muddy field on Friday. Wouldn’t be shocked to see Davies and Cranston East make the trip to Wood River Junction to root for the Super Chargers.
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THE PICK: Mt. Hope Huskies
Injuries have been a thorn in the Cougars’ paw this season and completely changed what they’ve hoped to accomplish. North Providence gave the Avengers a battle in their regular-season matchup, but East Greenwich should come in ready to go after getting throttled by Cranston East last week.
THE PICK: East Greenwich Avengers
The Cavaliers have more talent. The Northmen play better football. This is a Division IV football at its best and could end up being the night’s craziest game.
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THE PICK: Juanita Sanchez Cavaliers
Kudos to the Sentinels for surviving the season and getting into the playoffs. This year helped build a foundation that will set up a big 2027. Kudos to the Spartans for scheduling smart with an 11 a.m. kick and guaranteeing media coverage on a Championship Saturday across the state.
THE PICK: Scituate Spartans
The Saints are like my golf game. There are moments of absolute greatness – the first three quarters vs. Hendricken, the win over Cranston West – and times when they look like they shouldn’t be out there – ugly win vs. Westerly, last week’s loss to Barrington. They might win this game by two touchdowns, but giving away a home game might be the difference in this one.
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THE PICK: Cranston West Falcons
After beating the Villa Novans, 41-18, on October 2, the Broncos were rolling. Things haven’t looked the same since and Burrillville has gone from Super Bowl contender to potential first-round upset victim. Woonsocket’s 0-3 in its last three games, but it’s playing better and has a chance to win this.
THE PICK: Burrillville Broncos
While the Panthers benefit from moving the game from a rainy Friday to a normal Saturday night, the move could backfire. Pawtucket played in a rainstorm against East Providence and the second the drops started falling – coincidentally on Pawtucket’s first drive of the game – there was no
THE PICK: Johnston Panthers
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Who will win Super Bowl titles? Here are Eric Rueb’s postseason predictions
