High School

Portsmouth’s Joe Sanderson Voted High School on SI’s Top Running Back in Rhode Island

Sanderson is a senior for the Patriots this season

Kevin L. Smith

Joe Sanderson, Portsmouth football
Joe Sanderson, Portsmouth football / Eric Rueb/Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Joe Sanderson, a senior at Portsmouth High School, has been voted High School on SI’s top running back in Rhode Island for the 2025 season.

Sanderson received 65.36% of the votes to take the top spot. Final poll results can be viewed here.

In 2024, Sanderson ran for 1,117 yards and 12 touchdowns on 132 carries for the Patriots in 2024. He finished with 1,428 all-purpose yards and also had a receiving TD.

Portsmouth, currently 3-0 so far, hosts Westerly at 7 p.m. Friday.

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Kevin L. Smith
KEVIN L. SMITH

Kevin L. Smith, a Rochester (NY) native and a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, has been covering high school sports for over a decade. He started out as a freelance sportswriter in 2013. Since then, he’s held sportswriter and editor positions for newspapers in Coudersport (PA), Sayre (PA) and Oswego (NY). Smith currently covers high school sports in the Greater Syracuse Area for syracuse.com | Post-Standard, a position he’s held since 2021. You can follow him on social media @KevLSmittie. Story ideas can be sent to KLSFreelancing@outlook.com.

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