Crummy weather on tap for Rhode Island's Super Bowl Sunday

Last Sunday the Patriots played the Steelers in horrendous weather conditions at Gillette Stadium, and things might not be much better for the six Rhode Island high school teams that play Super Bowls this Sunday at Cranston Stadium. But even in the event of heavy rain, the Interscholastic League says the games will go ahead as scheduled. If the forecast changes, though, and substantial amounts of snow fall, that could be a different story.

The extended weekend forecast from the National Weather Service calls for rain and snow showers until about 2 Sunday afternoon, then a chance of rain showers for a while before a switch to snow showers after 3. The high is expected to be in the mid-30s, and winds could gust up to 33 mph. New precipitation amounts for the day are expected to reach a quarter inch -- not a real big deal, but certainly not ideal conditions for determining a state champion. Cranston Stadium is an artificial-turf field, though, so at least muddy conditions will not be a problem.

If a snowstorm emerges and forces the postponement of the Sunday games, the plan would be to play four games over four nights starting Monday -- when South Kingstown and Tolman are already scheduled to play for the Division II championship. (Fans of those teams can breathe easy -- it's supposed to be very cold, but clear, on Monday night.) The Division I champion would then be determined Tuesday, Division III would be determined Wednesday and Division IV would be determined Thursday.

If all goes as planned Sunday, as appears likely with the current forecast, it will be La Salle meeting Barrington for the Division I title at noon, followed by Tiverton vs. Johnston for the Division III crown at 4 p.m., and Exeter/West Greenwich vs. Middletown for the Division IV title at 7:30.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)