Following two early-season non-league shutouts, the Johnston High School Panthers secured a spot in the top 10 of the Rhode Island High School Football Media Poll, moving up from number 12 last week.

Johnston is scheduled to host Division II-A rival Woonsocket, also 2-0, on Friday night at 7 pm.

La Salle remains at the top, although their margin has narrowed to just two points over Bishop Hendricken thanks to an increased electorate.

After just nine ballots were cast for the preseason poll, the ranks have swollen to 13 voters for week two. As a result, La Salle’s point margin for first has shrunk from nine points to just two.

The No. 3 team, Portsmouth, remains the same. After that, well, the first week of league and non-league games sure has made a mess of the poll. Expect a lot of turbulence in the next few weeks though, before things settle down after five games or so.

The poll is compiled thanks to the hard work of Eric Rueb, a sports editor with Southern Rhode Island Newspapers. Patch’s ballot is cast by Stephen Greenwell, the local editor of the South Kingstown and Narragansett site.

MEDIA BALLOT

Dropped from poll: Rogers (14), Central (15), Toll Gate (20). Also receiving votes: Central 20, North Smithfield 14, North Kingstown 13, Toll Gate 9, Mount Hope 6, North Providence 5, Rogers 5, Smithfield 5, Warwick Veterans 4, Exeter-West Greenwich 2, Mount Pleasant 1, Burrillville 1.

The Rhode Island Sports Media football poll is voted on by 13 local media members who regularly cover Rhode Island high school football. The poll is administrated and compiled by Eric Rueb of Southern Rhode Island Newspapers.

PATCH BALLOT

The same caveat I had following last week’s ballot still applies – The sample size for most of these teams is so small that it’s hard for me to accurately rank them. With a few more weeks, I imagine things will sort themselves out.

The most eye-opening result to me came from the Division I vs. Division II results. South Kingstown was shutout by West Warwick, 20-0, and Woonsocket shutout East Providence, 21-0.

Both were non-league games, so coaches will sometimes play all backups, but even still, shutouts are impressive to me. In high school football, injuries are frequent, so a backup is always a snap or two away from starting.

My ballot differed the most from others at the bottom, where it usually does. I kept Exeter-West Greenwich in despite the loss to East Greenwich, and Burrillville also snuck into my ballot. I also kept Rogers in, at No. 17, instead of dropping them after a 46-0 drubbing at the hands of Portsmouth.

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