If it's Monday, you know what that means - time for Eric Rueb's updated girls lax power rankings

Normally for my softball and lacrosse power rankings, I try to have a unique intro with some sort of take for each so the reader isn’t getting the same recycled garbage.

Not going to happen this week – but it’s not my fault. A harsh reality hit this weekend, and that’s my weekends are no longer mine.

I try and write the power rankings Saturday evening or Sunday morning, depending on what my life schedule is like. This week, life kicked me in the teeth.

Thursday afternoon I covered tennis and happened upon East Providence’s Abigail Ellison. Friday morning I had to caddie and my boss wanted Ellison for Sunday’s paper, so that meant I had to write that Friday evening. Done.

Saturday and Sunday were spoken for. My daughter had soccer and basketball games and with my wife working, I was dadUber.

I slept in a little Saturday – in pain from the first loop of the year – and then decided to go to shoot Bay View-Smithfield softball. Got home, picked up Kid 2 and drove to Deerfield Park for soccer, then ripped north to Foxboro for basketball. Had dinner, got home, edited photos, missed David Pastrnak’s overtime goal because I decided to take my glasses off after the third period and fell asleep.

Sunday morning I posted my softball photos, wrote recaps on Saturday’s games, then realized that Wellsley, Mass., is farther away from Foster than I thought. Got in the car and got to the game on time, then had to jump in the car for another soccer game at Deerfield. Met my wife and oldest daughter out for dinner after the game and now I’m here, writing, instead of watching the Tom Brady roast like the rest of New England.

It was the fastest weekend in recorded history.

Sure, I would have loved to play 18 holes on Saturday morning. I could have answered the sports media group chat request for a meetup at Murphy’s Saturday night. Probably would have had a story or two to tell.

But instead I put a casual 200 miles or so on my car, talked all sorts of nonsense to my kid on the commute, pummeled through an O.A.R. live album and watched four games in two sports in two states without a single regret.

It was awesome.

Should be back on schedule next week. I’m not looking forward to the 6:30 wakeup call for our 8 a.m. lax game in North Kingstown Saturday, but the Allie’s Donuts should make it a Saturday to remember.

Here’s the spot where I remind coaches to send in scores and stats. It’s the home team’s responsibility, but if you win on the road and you want your kids to get a little publicity, you can guarantee coverage by emailing in yourself – PJSports@ProvidenceJournal.com.

Now that that’s done, let’s get on to the rankings:

Providence Journal Girls Lacrosse Power Rankings – Division I

1. Moses Brown (9-0 Division I)

Can anyone stop the Quakers? Feels like everyone except Moses Brown knows the answer, which is what makes it the team to beat. The Quakers are going to continue to attack the season like they’re very beatable even though their results say otherwise. Moses Brown has two league games, hosting Lincoln School Monday and playing at second-place La Salle Thursday.

2. La Salle (7-2 Division I)

If there’s a team that’s not afraid of the big, bad wolf, it’s the Rams. La Salle has an interesting history with Moses Brown and while it hasn’t beaten the Quakers in a game that matters, its put a heck of a scare into the Quakers on a few occasions. The Rams need to finish the season strong to lock up the No. 2 seed and Monday’s home game against East Greenwich will do the trick. La Salle finishes the week with Moses Brown in what could be a state title game preview.

3. East Greenwich (5-4 Division I)

The Avengers’ start of the season – where they lost four of their first five – is starting to make sense. EG graduated a huge senior class and chemistry takes time to build. The Avengers have come together and after three wins last week – over Barrington, Lincoln School and Portsmouth – EG is suddenly in the mix in D-I. The Avengers have three big ones this week, traveling to play La Salle Monday, hosting Prout Thursday and playing at Lincoln School Friday.

4. Portsmouth (5-5 Division I)

If the Patriots want to make the state title game, they’re going to have to be perfect down the stretch so they can earn the No. 3 seed. Last week’s loss to East Greenwich damaged the cause, but didn’t kill it. Portsmouth has some time to work on things this week with two well-spread games on the schedule – Monday at Prout and Friday at home against South Kingstown.

BAKING: Prout (4-5 Division I), Barrington (4-5 Division I)

Providence Journal Girls Lacrosse Power Rankings – Division II

1. North Kingstown (8-0 Division II-A)

Maybe the Skippers aren’t a lock for the title? Burrillville nearly caught the defending D-II champs last Friday in a game that should wake NK up in a hurry. The Skippers are still the favorite to repeat, but they need to finish strong heading to the postseason. NK. Has three games this week, hosting Mt. Hope Monday and Burrillville Friday with a road game at Cranston West Wednesday.

2. Chariho (8-1 Division II-B)

How did the Super Chargers rebound after losing to NK two weeks ago? By beasting Middletown and Pilgrim by a combined 34-7. Chariho knows who stands in its way in the chase for a title and appears to be willing to lay waste to anyone that tries to slow them down. The Chargers need to keep momentum on their side this week with home games against Toll Gate Wednesday and Cumberland Friday.

3. Burrillville (6-2 Division II-A)

Can the Broncos do this? It looked like way in last Friday’s 14-12 loss to North Kingstown, but Burrillville won’t have to wait long to see if it can get revenge against the Skippers. The Broncos host Smithfield in a trap game on Tuesday, setting up a big road game Thursday at North Kingstown. Burrillville closes the week Saturday morning at home against Cranston West.

4. Cumberland (6-3 Division II-B)

The Clippers have lost two of their last three, but those losses were to D-II’s best and one was in OT to North Kingstown and the other was last Wednesday’s two-goal loss to Burrillville. Cumberland will keep plugging along this week with three games – hosting Middletown Tuesday, playing at Chariho Friday and at Toll Gate Saturday morning.

BAKING: Smithfield (5-5 Division II-A), Toll Gate (4-3 Division II-B)

Providence Journal Girls Lacrosse Power Rankings – Division III

1. Westerly (9-0 Division III)

Forget about a trap game – this whole week is a trap for the Bulldogs, who have proven to be the class of D-III and want to put a stamp on the regular season with four wins to close. The finale at home against Bay View should be fun, but Westerly can’t look ahead and needs to take care of business this week with two road games at Providence Country Day Tuesday and Rogers Thursday with a home game against Ponaganset in between.

2. Narragansett (7-1 Division III)

Westerly’s the favorite in D-III, but here’s the thing about the Mariners – they lost to the Bulldogs in their first game of the season. They haven’t lost since. If the teams meet again that result won’t mean a thing. With a tough win over Bay View last Monday, Gansett is the other team to beat in D-III right now. The Mariners have two games this week, playing at a tough East Providence team Tuesday before hosting Mount St. Charles Friday.

3. Mount St. Charles (7-3 Division III)

The Mounties were in search of a win that proved they could beat a big-time D-III opponent and they got one Saturday, beating Bay View. What’s next? Trying to end up as a No. 2/3 seed and avoiding Westerly in the semifinals. To do that, Mount needs to finish strong and get wins in four of its final five games. The Mounties have two this week, traveling to play Narragansett Friday and hosting Ponaganset Saturday morning.

4. Bay View (6-4 Division III)

Is anyone falling for the Bengals opossum act? Last year, about this time, Bay View looked cooked and we know how that ended. Losing back-to-back games to East Providence and Narragansett was certainly a surprise, but Saturday’s loss to Mount St. Charles was a shock. At this point Bay View needs wins for confidence. It hosts Cranston East Monday and Rogers Wednesday before closing the regular season with games against the top two teams next week.

BAKING: East Providence (4-4 Division III)

Providence Journal Girls Lacrosse Power Rankings – Division IV

1. North Smithfield (8-0 Division IV)

The Northmen are putting on a clinic in how to be a championship favorite. Their stars have been showing up big, but its allowed North Smithfield to get others involve and build depth. That should set the Northmen up well for the playoffs, where anything can happen. Nrth Smithfield has a busy week with three games, hitting the road Monday at Johnston and Tuesday at Tiverton before hosting Classical Saturday.

2. Classical (8-1 Division IV)

As the season rolls on, the Purple are looking more and more ready to compete for the D-IV title. Focus is going to be key this week for Classical and it all has to be on Tuesday’s game at Lincoln. Yes, Saturday’s game at North Smithfield could decide the No. 1 seed, but if the Purple lose to the Lions, Saturday won’t matter a bit.

3. Tiverton (6-3 Division IV)

Last Thursday was a good day for the Tigers; last Friday could have been better. Beating Lincoln could end up being the difference between being the No. 3 or 4 seed, but the Tigers’ loss to North Smithfield didn’t help the matter. Tiverton has three games four days this week, hosting North Providence Monday and North Smithfield Tuesday before traveling to play Coventry on Thursday.

4. Lincoln (6-3 Division IV)

Here’s your darkhorse contender to make the title game – but it’s going to depend on how the Lions finish. Losing to Tiverton last week hurt, but if the Lions can bounce back and finish strong it might not matter. If Lincoln steals a win Tuesday at home against Classical, it makes that game a semifinal preview – and one it would have a lot of confidence for. The Lions close the week with a road game against Scituate Wednesday before hosting North Providence Friday night.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Power ranking Rhode Island girls lacrosse teams in RIIL May 6