By JAMES BESSETTE

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WEST WARWICK — The streak is over for the West Warwick girls’ volleyball team.

Kind of.

Although Cranston West became the first team in 26 sets to beat the Wizards in set play, the Falcons, however, would not become the first team in 2008 to topple West Warwick in a match. The Wizards are now 10-for-10 on the year after last night’s 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 24-26, 25-16) victory.

By JAMES BESSETTE

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So-called cowardice lasted just one week for the Wizards on the gridiron.

After what was a half-hearted effort against Woonsocket, prompting West Warwick head coach Shane Lagor to call out his team’s character following the 19-6 loss to the Villa Novans, the Wizards, although a little slow out of the gate, regained their will, composure and advantage on the scoreboard to top Chariho at Maznicki Field.

By BRANDEN MELLO

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WARWICK — The West Warwick High girls’ tennis team may have missed the playoffs for the third year in a row after winning the D-IV title in 2005, but that doesn’t mean this wasn’t a successful year for head coach Stephanie Gonsalves and her Wizards.

By BRANDEN MELLO

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WARWICK — The West Warwick High girls’ tennis team may have missed the playoffs for the third year in a row after winning the D-IV title in 2005, but that doesn’t mean this wasn’t a successful year for head coach Stephanie Gonsalves and her Wizards.

BRANDEN MELLO

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WOOD RIVER JUNCTION — The measure of a really good volleyball team is when it can make an opponent’s apparent strength turn into a weakness, just ask the Chariho High girls volleyball team.    

JAMES BESSETTE

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WEST WARWICK — The blinking of one’s eye was the only thing faster than the Wizards’ offense yesterday afternoon.

In just 21 minutes, the West Warwick boys’ soccer team put the pedal to the floor against a struggling Johnston team, scoring five times in that stretch en route to a 7-0 blowout win over the Panthers heading into a pivotal match against unbeaten Tiverton tomorrow afternoon.

Christian Medeiros got the scoring started for the Wizards in the fourth minute, scoring his first of two goals on the afternoon on a tight shot in close on the left side after a nice cross from Tim Parente, who recorded four assists in the match.

By BRANDEN MELLO

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WARWICK — If the Coventry High boys’ soccer team is going to make a run to the Division I playoffs, the Oakers were going to have to win three mini-playoff games over the last three weeks of the season against teams who are battling the Oakers for the last few playoff sports.    

The Oakers’ first six-point game came yesterday against Toll Gate High and for the first half it appeared the Oakers had no appetite to play a road playoff game. The one-win Titans dominated the first 30 minutes against the Oakers and grabbed a 1-0 lead on a tally by Jordan Paolissi.

By Jessica Selby

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COVENTRY — The Coventry School Department says it wants to provide a little “on-the-job training” to help improve relationships between parents and children.

Beginning tomorrow, the school district is offering the S.T.E.P. (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) program to interested parents.

S.T.E.P. is intended to offer parents an “understanding of their child’s behaviors, what motivates behavior and misbehavior and also provide them the skills they need to enhance their relationship with their child,” says Felix Sarubbi, one of the social workers in the Coventry School District who coordinates the program.

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Hopkins Hill Elementary School second-, third-, and fourth-graders participated in Sunday’s United Nation’s International Peace Day Monday by making pinwheels with messages and images of peace on them and then planting them in the school’s front garden

 BY HANNAH CLARKIN

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COVENTRY — Gusts of wind swept across the parking lot at Hopkins Hill Elementary School in Coventry on Monday as second-grade students filed out of the building. Carrying brightly colored pinwheels that stood out against the muted tones of the overcast day, the students listened as Lauren Burke, a student teacher from Rhode Island College, told them how to plant their pinwheels in the front garden.

By JAMES BESSETTE

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COVENTRY — Frustration has unexpectedly interrupted the good times on the tennis courts for the Oakers.

After a strong, promising start to the season, Coventry has hit a snag ever since its trip to Division IV-perennial Warwick Vets a little over a week ago. The Oakers have now lost four out of their last five matches, including yesterday’s 5-2 loss at home to Middletown, dropping to 5-4 on season after going their first four matches without a defeat.

“We started out really strong,” Coventry head coach Tiffany Risch said, “but of course if you lose three in a row, it’s really tough mentally. They just have to know that they need to continue to work hard and improve. Because, there’s always going to be another team out there that’s gunning for you.”

By BRANDEN MELLO

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WEST GREENWICH — The Exeter-West Greenwich High boys’ soccer team knew that the 2008 season would be a rebuilding one replete with freshmen and sophomores learning the varsity game on the fly.

   But, in yesterday’s III-South game with West Warwick, it was the Wizards who turned to two underclassmen to earn a point with the Scarlet Knights. After an injury to all-division goalie Matt DeBlois, the Wizards turned to freshman Nick Paolantonio, while sophomore Kyle Silva delivered a perfect squared pass for the Wizards only goal.