EAST PROVIDENCE — In the most dramatic shift to its membership in recent memory, Division I Rhode Island Interscholastic League football has been realigned into a 14-team grouping in time for the upcoming 2016 season.

All nine members of the existing D-I ranks remain in the state's top tier, including East Providence High School. Five teams, based on years' worth of winning percentage and male enrollment, have been added in the recent shake-up.

Last year's Division II runner-up and past long-time D-I member St. Raphael Academy has been moved up as has its Pawtucket neighbor and rival Tolman. Rogers, once a then Class A power in the 1980s, returns to the state's upper echelon of football as does Woonsocket. And Central, a Class A championship team back when the RIIL was in its formative stages in the 1930s, opted to move up to D-I this time around.

The 14 teams will be broken up into two seven-team subgroups. They'll play six games within their pod then crossover against one team from the other side.

East Providence has been grouped with current D-I teams that include six-time reigning state champion Bishop Hendricken, Portsmouth, Cranston West and South Kingstown. Woonsocket, which has spent the better part of the last two decades in D-II, and St. Ray's, which last played in D-I in 2009, are new to the league.

"I think we got a tough draw. Well, maybe not so much a tough draw, but the way it worked if you look at the winning percentages I think our side is a little bit stronger," said EPHS head coach Jay Monteiro. "I mean, Hendricken is Hendricken. We have another private school in St. Ray's. People say they're small, but they're always good. Coach Mike Sassi does a good job over there. And Portsmouth is always good, too. Cranston West has struggled the last couple of years, but they always have good players. And South Kingstown has been good since they came back to D-I, so I think our side is really strong."

On the other side of the ledger, current D-I members LaSalle, Cumberland, Cranston East and Barrington are joined by newcomers Rogers, Tolman and Central.

For the Townies, their upcoming league season schedule consists of games against the six others in their subgroup and a crossover against Cranston East. E.P. will open the year by playing Tolman in its preseason Injury Fund scrimmage and against D-II Mt. Hope in a non-league game.

Another change of significance comes with the expansion of the league playoffs. Mirroring what has happened for years in D-II, eight teams will now make the Division I postseason tournament. The top four teams in the regular season standings on each side qualify and will crossover against their counterparts in the quarterfinals: 1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3, etc. The winners advance to the semifinals then the D-I Super Bowl.

The Townies' traditional Thanksgiving Day game against LaSalle remains on the schedule, but as it has been the last few years it will be a non-league game played after the playoff semifinals.

"We'll play who they put in front of us. That's all we can do," Coach Monteiro added. "We're going to be really young. I lost about 20 seniors. I have a bunch of young guys who work hard. I've had about 20 or 30 in the weight room on a regular basis all spring. All we can do is work hard and let the chips fall where they will."