The boys lacrosse midseason ranks tell the story of the first half. What will the second half bring?

About this time last year, the introduction to my weekly rankings column was all about about the behavior problem in boys lacrosse .

One year later, it seems things have changed.

I’m going to preface this by saying I’m obviously not at every game, but the games I’ve attended have been pretty mild. The games have been intense, but the fans have showed up to games doing exactly what fans are supposed to do — ride the emotional roller coaster that sports provide and enjoy the trek.

The closest thing I’ve seen to unruly was a Moses Brown parent who was mouthing off during the Quakers’ home game against Barrington. The official walked over, chastised the entitled dad and told all the fans to look at the guy who was creating the problem and, unsurprisingly, publicly embarrassing the guy who shouldn’t be allowed at games ever again worked.

(There was an obnoxious Westerly mom at the Westerly-Smithfield game who started berating a ref and screamed he “must have a short drive home,” only stopping when her daughter informed her I was taking her picture. I put it more on the mother’s ignorance — clearly she doesn’t realize North Smithfield, which is where the game was being played, is not the same place as Smithfield. That’ll happen.)

It’s good to see people going to games and realizing that the point is to enjoy the emotions that come with watching their kids play a sport. Maybe people are starting to realize that watching a sport they don’t actually know or understand doesn’t give them a free pass to insult officials or challenge their integrity.

I just hope it continues. We’ll see what the second half brings.

As the games get bigger, it’s incredibly important to remind coaches — we need scores and results. Athletes are constantly in my DMs asking me to “pop out” to Game X or Game Y. We’ve made it clear we don’t discriminate sport, region or division, so we can’t we can’t be everywhere.

We still want to give the kids some shine when they play in and win these games and we’ve been trying in our daily roundups. We need coaches to send in scores and results, and for lacrosse, it’s easy — email us at PJSports@ProvidenceJournal.com with the final score, the three top goal scorers for the winning team and one or two top scorers from the losing team. If a goalie had a great game, throw in save numbers. If there was a big play, such as a game-winning goal, note it so we can write it up.

We need these stats and information by 10 p.m. on the day of the games — not 11:15, not 6:30 a.m. the next day, not on the weekend with the other games you didn’t send during the week.

Reporting scores is supposed to be the responsibility of the home-team coach, but if you’re playing on the road and win and want to ensure your kids get to see their names online, that’s the best way to guarantee it.

So, who are the best teams at the midway point? Here are this week’s rankings:

ProJo Boys Lacrosse Power Rankings — Division I

1. La Salle (8-0, Division I)

Just your average week for the Rams with two games, two wins, total domination. There are only three teams in the state that can compete with them — Bryant, Brown and Providence College. La Salle has two games this week, with double-digit wins coming at North Kingstown on Tuesday and at Barrington on Friday.

2. Moses Brown (6-1, Division I)

Losing to La Salle almost didn’t matter ; that was more of a test for the Quakers, who are going to put together something fun between now and the State Championship final to try to challenge the Rams. They’ll keep working this week at Mount St. Charles on Tuesday and finishing Friday at home against North Kingstown.

3. Hendricken (5-3, Division I)

4. North Kingstown (4-3, Division I)

I’d like to tell you more about these teams and the players on them but neither has been particularly great about sending in results from their home games this season, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see if that changes. The Hawks travel to play Portsmouth Monday and host East Greenwich Friday while the Skippers host La Salle Tuesday and close the week at Moses Brown Friday.

Sauteing : Barrington (2-5, Division I)

ProJo Boys Lacrosse Power Rankings — Division II

1. Prout (6-1, Division II)

After taking their first loss of the season during spring break, the Crusaders have responded the way champions want to and two convincing wins last week give them the top spot. We’re at the midway point of the season and it’s tough to find a reason why Prout won’t be in the final. The Crusaders have three games this week to prove as much — hosting Cumberland Monday, at Middletown Thursday and hosting Cranston West Saturday.

2. Cumberland (4-3, Division II)

I don’t know whether the Clippers are the second-best team in the division but right now only one team is playing better. Cumberland grabbed a win over a tough Middletown team, then beat Pilgrim last week, setting the stage for a big game Monday at Prout. The Clippers will finish the week hosting Chariho Thursday and two wins would make them the favorites in Division II.

3. Pilgrim (5-3, Division II)

It seems as if the Patriots are either going to win the Division II title or not make the final. Pilgrim is just as good as everyone in this division, but last week’s loss to Cumberland shows that it's far from a runaway favorite. The Patriots have two tough ones this week in Warwick, hosting Middletown on Monday before welcoming South Kingstown on Thursday.

4. Cranston West (5-2, Division II)

Figuring out what to do with the Falcons was tough but losing back-to-back games to Pilgrim and Prout made this seem like the right spot. Cranston West followed with a win over Chariho and it will need to have clean wins at Chariho Monday and at home against Coventry before Saturday’s big road rematch with Prout.

Sauteing : South Kingstown (5-3, Division II)

ProJo Boys Lacrosse Power Rankings — Division III

1. Westerly (7-1, Division III)

This might be controversial after the Bulldogs lost to Smithfield on Thursday night , but how the teams reacted after the game said a lot. Westerly looked like a team that knew it cost itself the game and it was scary how calm the sideline was. That’s how you act when you’re the big dog, and the Bulldogs certainly are. Westerly has a non-leaguer Monday against Stonington before hosting Mt. Hope Wednesday and Ponaganset on Saturday.

2. Smithfield (7-1, Division III)

The Sentinels celebrated their win over Westerly as if it was a championship but that’s who they are. This team has confidence and has that swagger that coaches hate but have to embrace because it makes the team's players who they are. Smithfield is good but it has to know it lit a fire under Westerly. The Sentinels will try to show they’re championship-worthy this week with a home matchup against Burrillville Wednesday in its only game of the week.

3. Narragansett (4-4, Division III)

The loss to Smithfield early in the week was the Mariners' fourth in five games but they followed it with an overtime win over Toll Gate that they desperately needed. Narragansett can contend with the top teams but it needed to prove it could win a game first. The Mariners will continue to try to build its stature this week with two road games — at Mt. Hope Monday and at Burrillville Tuesday.

4. Toll Gate (4-4, Division III)

After losing three of their first four, the Titans have won three of their last four with the lone loss coming in overtime to Narragansett last week. This team is putting it together and needs a strong second half to avoid getting stuck as the No. 4 seed. Toll Gate will try to grab a home win Tuesday against Ponaganset before looking for revenge Friday at Providence Country Day.

Sauteing : Mt. Hope (3-3, Division III)

ProJo Boys Lacrosse Power Rankings — Division IV

1. Scituate (7-1, Division IV)

Things couldn’t be going better for the Spartans, who followed their victory over North Smithfield with two wins last week and now sit atop the Division IV standings. This week is going to be a tester, as Scituate plays three tough games — at North Smithfield Monday, at Lincoln Wednesday and at home against Rogers on Thursday. Three wins would set a tone for the rest of the season.

2. North Smithfield (7-1, Division IV)

After taking their first loss of the season, the Northmen followed with two victories last week and now can focus on the rematch. North Smithfield hosts Scituate Monday night in a game that should determine the top seed in Division IV, so, yeah, I guess you can say it’s a pretty big game. The Northmen have two more on the schedule — traveling to play a tough Tiverton team on Wednesday before hosting East Providence on Friday night.

3. Tiverton (4-2, Division IV)

Is the team with the smallest roster in the division going to win the title? Tiverton might. It closed last week with a win over Lincoln and is now officially the team everyone should be afraid of — having the best player in Division IV in Miles Cormier certainly helps. Tiverton hosts North Providence Monday before a potentially huge game Wednesday at home against North Smithfield.

4. Lincoln (5-2, Division IV)

The Lions have lost two of their last three, ending last week with an 8-7 loss to Tiverton, but they’re closer to No. 1 than No. 5. Lincoln needs to come up with resumé-building wins and this week will have a chance to get two. Monday’s home game is against a tricky Classical team but Wednesday's contest is the big one when they host Scituate.

Sauteing : Rogers (3-3, Division IV), Classical (4-2, Division IV)

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The boys lacrosse midseason ranks tell the story of the first half. What will the second half bring?