The Prep Zone

Eastside Boys Lacrosse – 2018

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February 12, 2018

Date: Mon 02/12/2018
Title: The Prep Zone
Guest: Eastside Boys’ Lacrosse

Event Details: Join Mike Ridaught and Marty Pallman as they talk high school sports from Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville. Guests for this episode include Eastside boys’ lacrosse coach Brian Mooney and members of the Rams’ lacrosse team. The show will also air on 92.1 FM & 1230 AM in Gainesville, as well as 100.1 FM & 900 AM in Ocala. #ThePrepZone.com

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2018 Miracle Sports state softball rankings – PRESEASON POLL

Mike Ridaught

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February 10, 2018

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This is the first Miracle Sports High School Softball Poll conducted by Miracle Sports for the 2018 season. The Miracle Sports state softball poll is produced weekly utilizing former and current high school and college coaches from across the state. Area teams in bold.

CLASS 9A
1. Winter Garden West Orange
2. Palm Harbor University
3. Jupiter
4. Port Orange Spruce Creek
5. Parkland Stoneman Douglas
6. Vero Beach
7. Miami Palmetto
8. Palm Beach Gardens
9. Kissimmee Osceola
10. Apopka
Honorable mention: Jacksonville Mandarin, Orlando Timber Creek, Port St. Lucie Treasure Coast, Coral Gables, Orange City University.

CLASS 8A
1. Orange Park Oakleaf
2. Bradenton Lakewood Ranch
3. Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas
4. Winter Park Lake Howell
5. Wellington
6. Cooper City
7. Plant City
8. Jacksonville Atlantic Coast
9. Oviedo Hagerty
10. Bartow
Honorable mention: Royal Palm Beach, St. Cloud, Lutz Steinbrenner, Tarpon Springs East Lake, Tampa Wharton.

CLASS 7A
1. Fort Myers
2. Bradenton Braden River
3. Niceville
4. Eagle Lake Lake Region
5. Viera
6. Lake City Columbia
7. Daytona Beach Seabreeze
8. Estero
9. St. Johns Bartram Trail
10. Tate
Honorable mention: Gainesville, Sunlake, St. Johns Creekside, Tampa Chamberlain, Stuart South Fork.

CLASS 6A
1. Plantation American Heritage
2. Spring Hill Springstead
3. Land O’Lakes
4. North Fort Myers
5. Rockledge
6. Green Cove Springs Clay
7. Ponte Vedra
8. Pensacola West Florida
9. Jacksonville Paxon
10. Gulf Breeze
Honorable mention: Belleview, Orange Park Ridgeview, Wesley Chapel, Tampa Robinson, Crystal River.

CLASS 5A
1. Coral Springs Charter
2. Eustis
3. Miami Gulliver Prep
4. Keystone Heights
5. Callahan West Nassau
6. Wauchula Hardee
7. Defuniak Springs Walton
8. Glen St. Mary Baker County
9. Brooksville Hernando
10. Key West
Honorable mention: Alachua Santa Fe, Yulee, Marianna, Bradenton Bayshore, Brooksville Nature Coast.

CLASS 4A
1. West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy
2. Tampa Academy of the Holy Names
3. Westminster Christian
4. Jacksonville Trinity Christian
5. Bishop Verot
6. Chaminade-Madonna
7. Tampa Catholic
8. Tallahassee Florida High
9. Jacksonville Providence
10. Montverde Academy
Honorable mention: Jacksonville Episcopal, Panama City North Bay Haven, Clearwater Calvary Christian.

CLASS 3A
1. Fort Pierce John Carroll
2. Lakeland Christian
3. Moore Haven
4. Tallahassee Maclay
5. St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut
6. Tallahassee North Florida Christian
7. Orange Park St. Johns Country Day
8. Marathon
9. Tampa Carrollwood Day
10. Belle Island Cornerstone Charter
Honorable mention: Niceville Rocky Bayou Christian, St. Petersburg Northside Christian, Orlando Faith Christian.

CLASS 2A
1. Monticello Aucilla Christian
2. St. Petersburg Canterbury
3. Land O’Lakes Academy of the Lakes
4. Mount Dora Christian
5. Belle Glade Glades Day
6. Lake Worth Christian
7. Jacksonville Eagle’s View
8. Lecanto Seven Rivers Christian
9. Sarasota Christian
10. Vero Beach Master’s Academy
Honorable mention: Palatka Peniel Baptist Academy, Homestead Colonial Christian.

CLASS 1A
1. Lake Butler Union County
2. Trenton
3. Wewahitchka
4. Chipley
5. Chiefland
6. Eastpoint Franklin County
7. Mayo Lafayette
8. Williston
9. Sneads
10. Pierson Taylor
Honorable mention: Milton Central, Fort Meade, Baldwin, Frostproof, Santa Rosa South Walton.

Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Feb. 9 – Christian Miller-Cardwell (GHS)

Mike Ridaught

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February 10, 2018

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Our Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Friday, February 9, is Christian Miller-Cardwell of the Gainesville boys’ basketball team.

In his final game against rival Eastside, the senior didn’t disappoint.

Miller-Cardwell scored a game-high 21 points as Gainesville defeated Eastside, 61-52, to split the regular season series against the Rams. The senior was consistent throughout, scoring at least five points in each quarter.

Christian Miller-Cardwell vs. Eastside 020918 The senior scored five points in the first quarter as the Hurricanes built a 17-9 lead after the first quarter. He added five more in the second quarter, including his second shot behind the arc, as the ‘Canes extended it to a 33-20 lead at the half.

Miller-Cardwell scored 11 of his 21 in the second half as GHS (20-5) secured its fourth consecutive 20-win season. It was the sixth consecutive victory for the ‘Canes and their 10th in the past 11 games.

Gainesville will host next week’s Class 7A-District 4 tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing 8-0 in league play this season. GHS will play in the district semifinals on Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday night’s game between Forest (Ocala) and Lake Weir (Ocala).

Eastside (20-5) will play in the Class 6A-District 6 semifinals as the No. 2 seed against #3 Santa Fe (Alachua) on Tuesday at North Marion. The Rams tied North Marion at 7-1 in the district, but the Colts won the coin toss to secure the top seed.

Every game The Prep Zone will recognize a Player-of-the-Game. The recipient receives a $10 gift certificate courtesy of Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville & Ocala.

The Prep Zone Power Poll powered by Strive Fitness – 2017-18 Boys Basketball Poll #8

Mike Ridaught

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February 9, 2018

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Strive Fitness - George Koziara352-339-1230 — Strive Fitness – George Koziara
352-339-1230

Top five of regional rankings remain unchanged as Leesburg still unanimous top-ranked team

GAINESVILLE — It’s district tournament time for boys basketball teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll.

But as the regular season wraps up this week, the teams in the top five of the poll just keep on winning.

Remaining #1 again this week in the all-classification rankings is defending 6A state champion Leesburg.

The Yellow Jackets (21-1) rolled through #17 Wildwood on the road, 95-68, on Monday night for their 18th straight win. Leesburg received all six first place votes to once again be the unanimous top team.

Remaining 2nd is Palatka.

The Panthers (23-1) beat #15 Bartram Trail (St. Johns), 55-45, last Saturday to win the St. Johns River Conference Tournament title. Palatka’s only loss this season came to Ponte Vedra. Leesburg Yellow Jackets

Providence (Jacksonville) remains 3rd. The Stallions (18-5) defeated Master’s Academy (Oviedo) and then-#17 Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) to keep the #3 ranking for another week.

Eastside (Gainesville) stays 4th for another week.

The Rams (20-4) had a 3-0 week with wins over Dunnellon, Saint Francis Catholic (Gainesville), and at Buchholz (Gainesville) and have won eight in a row overall.

Eastside puts its winning streak on the line Friday night against #6 Gainesville in the city rivalry game at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. The Rams broke a six-game losing streak to the Hurricanes with a 73-53 romp in the first meeting three weeks ago.

Creekside (St. Johns) also stays put and rounds out the top five. The Knights (20-4) won both their games a week ago, 51-38 at #13 Bolles (Jacksonville), and 50-43 over Oakleaf (Orange Park).

Gainesville (19-5) moves up three spots to lead off the second five. The Hurricanes had wins against Santa Fe (Alachua) and at 8A Buchholz (Gainesville) and have won five in a row since the loss to Eastside.

The Villages (18-6) dropped a spot to 7th after an 86-75 loss at Eustis last week. That win helped move the Panthers (16-6) into the poll for the first time this season at #18.

Nature Coast (Brooksville), Hawthorne, and First Coast (Jacksonville) round out the top 10. The Bucs (17-4) didn’t play last week, but moved up two spots to 10th.

Madison County, which was 10th in last week’s poll, drops four spots to 14th after having an 18-game winning streak come to an end. The Cowboys (20-4) lost back-to-back games to Taylor County (Perry) and at Crossroad Academy (Quincy).

Besides Eustis, #20 DeLand is also new to the poll this week.

Dropping out this week is Andrew Jackson and Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), which was 20th a week ago.

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball & softball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters. It is powered by Strive Fitness.

THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2017-18 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #8
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 2/6, and total voting points)
1. Leesburg (6A) (6) (21-1) – 120
2. Palatka (6A) (23-1) – 114
3. Providence (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-5) – 108
4. Eastside (Gainesville) (6A) (20-4) – 100
5. Creekside (St. Johns) (8A) (20-4) – 97
6. Gainesville (7A) (19-5) – 88
7. The Villages (5A) (18-6) – 82
8. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (6A) (22-2) – 70
9. Hawthorne (1A) (20-5) – 67
10. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (17-4) – 56
11. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (7A) (16-6) – 54
12. Englewood (Jacksonville) (7A) (20-4) – 53
13. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (19-5) – 44
14. Madison County (1A) (20-4) – 41
15. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (17-6) – 35
16. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (17-7) – 26
17. Wildwood (1A) (16-6) – 25
18. Eustis (6A) (15-6) – 20
19. Atlantic (Port Orange) (7A) (17-7) – 14
20. DeLand (9A) (18-6) – 13
Also receiving votes: Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (16-7) – 9; Bradford (Starke) (5A) (16-8) – 7; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (5A) (16-7) – 5; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (4A) (14-8) – 4; Orange Park (6A) (15-8) – 3; East Ridge (Clermont) (8A) (16-6); University Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (15-7) -2; Deltona (7A) (14-7) – 1.

ThePrepZone.com Sports Report Presented by SunState Federal Credit Union (Feb. 8)

Mike Ridaught

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February 8, 2018

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In case you missed it on Thursday, Feb. 8, Mike Ridaught joined Zach Alboverdi & Pat Dooley on “The Tailgate” on WRUF-98.1 FM & 850 AM at 4:05 p.m to talk high school sports. Here are the things they discussed on ThePrepZone.com Sports Report Presented by SunState Federal Credit Union:

National Signing Day – it wasn’t just a big day for the Gators. Several area players inked deals, including a few D-I signees

The area was down a bit as far as star players, but it was still an opportunity for a lot of these kids to sign with colleges and get an opportunity to play at the next level, so whether it be at a major D-I school, or a DIII school, or a JUCO, it was a big day for the locals. We’ll start with the top 300 players in Florida because if you can make the top 300, at least according to 247 Sports, you’re a 3-star player. So based on that, the highest ranked player in the area is Charles Strong of Union County. He just cracked the top 100 list in Florida and he had some good choices like Florida, FSU, Ole Miss and Alabama, but he chose to sign with Texas A&M. He was an FSU commit before Jimbo Fisher left, then de-committed from FSU after Fisher left. However, when Fisher got to A&M, he called Strong and told him he needed him so Strong signed with A&M yesterday. The next highest rated guy is Doug Johnson of Fort White. He signed with FAU and will play offensive left tackle for Lane Kiffin. He was a 4-year starter at Columbia and Fort White and he didn’t allow a sack in his two years at Fort White. He’s 6-5, 320, and has a chance to be a good player for the Owls. Defensive lineman Ike Walker of St. Francis Catholic signed with UCF. He also considered Kentucky and Auburn. He’s another guy, at 6-foot-4, 345 pounds, who has a chance to play early. Those three guys were the top guys who signed yesterday, but Buchholz had three sign to play at the next level, Eastside had a couple, with more expected to sign later; I mentioned St. Francis Catholic – they had two. In addition to Ike Walker, Damari Turner is going the JUCO route in hopes he can earn a D-I scholarship. Williston had a player sign with Bethune-Cookman. Newberry had a couple of guys sign. Gainesville had a couple of guys sign. So all in all, it was a big day around the area.

Girls basketball district tournaments are concluding today, tomorrow and Saturday. How many area teams have punched their ticket to the state playoffs?

A total of five Alachua County teams are in – Gainesville, Eastside, P.K. Yonge, Newberry and Hawthorne. Buchholz will play in the district semifinals tonight in 8A-District 4 as the 4-seed against top-seeded Fleming Island (Orange Park). If they win, they’re in. If they lose, the season is over. Same situation for St. Francis Catholic tomorrow in 3A-District 2 against St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) in their district semifinal. Also, Trenton has potential final four team. They are playing Bronson tonight in the 1A-District 7 semifinals, which they should win. But coaches will tell you that they have restless nights the night before a district semifinal because it’s a must-win game. The top two teams from each district make the state playoffs so you have to reach your district championship game in order to clinch a state playoff spot. Now, you can lose the district championship game, even though you would still like to win it and be called district champions. Plus, you get to a host a first-round playoff game as district champion, while the district runner-up has to travel. But the pressure is off somewhat after you get that district semifinal win. GHS will play Ocala Forest for the 7A-District 4 title tomorrow night, Eastside will play Belleview for the 6A-District 6 title in a rematch of last year’s district championship game. The Lady Rams had a 16-point lead and lost the game by one so they’ve been waiting a year on a chance for revenge. Newberry will play at Bradford (Starke) for the 5A-District 4 title. There’s a good example right there of the madness. Bradford is a .500 ballclub and they beat a 19-4 Interlachen team to advance. P.K. Yonge just lost another player to injury but they are playing in Tallahassee against Maclay for the 4A-District 1 title, so they’re in. So again, you’ve got no less than a half dozen area teams who will be in the state playoffs, which starts next Thursday.

Tomorrow night, it’s Gainesville & Eastside part 2 in boys’ basketball. Eastside has a chance to claim the mythical city title

It’s been a great season so far for Pop Williams and the Rams. They kind of grinded out a defensive win at Buchholz on Tuesday night. Trent Whittemore got hurt in the fourth quarter for Buchholz, which had a double-digit lead against the Rams in the 3rd. Anthony Richardson helped bring Eastside back with some big 3s. He finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Eastside won the game, 39-35, for their 8th straight win. Last Friday night, they beat Dunnellon to earn a 1st-place tie in their district, finishing 7-1 in 6A-District 6. Unfortunately, they lost the coin toss and will be the No. 2 seed in next week’s district tournament. They are 20-4 overall and having a really nice season. They’ve beaten all the city teams this year – Buchholz twice, St. Francis Catholic twice, P.K. Yonge, and they upset Gainesville by 20 in the first meeting. Now, Gainesville is 19-5 so you might ask yourself why would that be considered an upset. Well, at the time, Eastside was without two offensive starters. Anthony Wright, who is lost for the season with an ACL, and James Pope, who actually has returned since from his injury. But that night, Eastside came out on fire. They led 22-10 at the end of the first quarter. Senior Jimmy Johnson finished with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, senior Noah Richardson had 16, 10 from the free throw line, and sophomore Anthony Richardson had 14 as Eastside snapped a 6-game losing streak to GHS. It will take another big effort to beat the Hurricanes. GHS has won nine of its last 10 and hasn’t loss since that game, winning five in a row. Gainesville is the No. 1 seed in next week’s 7A-District 4 tournament. They are ranked 3rd in the state in Class 7A, according to MaxPreps. Eastside is ranked 6th in the state in Class 6A. The rivalry is back on after GHS had pretty much dominated it the past five years, and I expect a 4th-quarter game tomorrow night at 7:30, and a packed house at Santa Fe College. We’ll have audio and video coverage of this one.

For the latest in high school sports in Gainesville, check out our daily reports on 106.9 FM every weekday around 7:50 a.m. Here is a link to the archives.

The Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week – Kursten Bakken (Union County)

Mike Ridaught

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February 8, 2018

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The Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week for the week of January 29 is KURSTEN BAKKEN* of the Union County (Lake Butler) girls’ weightlifting team.

Kursten Bakken Union County girls weightlifting

*Bakken set a new Florida record as the Tigers won their first-ever FHSAA championship in girls weightlifting. The senior was one of four individual state champions for Union County. She bettered her fifth-place showing at state last year as a junior by setting a new state record in the bench press in the unlimited class at 300 pounds. She lifted a combined 525 pounds in the bench press and clean-and-jerk, breaking a Florida high school record that had stood since 2009.

Nominate an Athlete of the Week each week no later than Sunday at 6 p.m. Email your nominations to mike@ThePrepZone.com

Previous 2017-18 winners:

Jan. 22 – Devin King-Porter (Buchholz girls’ soccer)
The sophomore midfielder helped lead the Lady Bobcats to the Class 5A-District 1 title. King-Porter led all scorers with three goals in an 8-0 win against Sandalwood (Jacksonville) in the district semifinals. She followed that up with a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win against Forest (Ocala) in the district championship.

Jan. 15 – Zack Martin (Santa Fe boys’ soccer)
Martin had eight goals during the week to help lead Santa Fe to a 3-0 record, with all three wins coming in Class 2A-District 5 competition. He began the week with a hat trick in an 8-0 win at Interlachen. Two days later, the senior forward scored two goals for Santa Fe in a 3-0 win against second-place Crescent City, which gave the Raiders the No. 1 seed in the upcoming district tournament. Martin finished the week with a hat trick in an 8-0 win at P.K. Yonge (Gainesville).

Jan. 8 – Ayanna Rollins (Oak Hall girls’ basketball)
The senior forward helped lead Oak Hall to a couple of wins during the week. Rollins led the Eagles with 30 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in a 65-33 win against Florida School for the Deaf (St. Augustine). She followed that up with a monster effort two nights later in a 39-31 win at Eastside (Gainesville). Rollins scored 24 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and had six steals.

Jan. 1 – No award due to holiday and cancelled school

Dec. 25 – Jimmy Johnson (Eastside boys’ basketball)
Johnson helped lead the Rams to a third-place finish at the Hitchcock’s Challenge in Alachua. The senior guard scored in double figures in every game as Eastside went 3-1 in the tournament. He scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-3 behind the arc, in a 70-36 win against Columbia (Lake City) in the 3rd-place game.

Dec. 18 – Christian Miller-Cardwell (Gainesville boys’ basketball)
Miller-Cardwell led Gainesville to the Kiwanis Christmas Tournament title at Bradford High School (Starke), Dec. 21-23, by scoring 70 points in three games. The tournament MVP led the Hurricanes (8-2) with 22 points in a 75-55 win against host Bradford in the championship game. He scored a game-high 26 points in a 69-58 win against 8A No. 2 Creekside (St. Johns). The senior also scored a game-high 22 points in a 62-44 win against Madison County.

Dec. 11 – Sierra Millinor (Eastside girls’ soccer)
Millinor helped lead the Lady Rams to a pair of Class 3A-District 5 wins. The junior forward scored five goals in a 7-3 win against Crystal River. Two days later against Vanguard (Ocala), she scored three goals and assisted on another in a 5-1 win.

Dec. 4 – Lee Ducharme (P.K. Yonge girls’ soccer)
The senior forward scored seven goals, giving her 300 on her career, as the Blue Wave remained undefeated with a dominating 8-1 win at Santa Fe (Alachua). The win snapped a 5-game losing streak to the Lady Raiders. Two days later, the West Florida commit scored five goals in an 8-0 win against Interlachen. The 12 goals gave Ducharme 32 goals in eight games.

Nov. 27 – Anthony Allen (Newberry boys’ soccer)
Allen helped the Panthers bounce back from its first defeat of the season, a 6-0 loss at Crescent City on Monday, by scoring five goals in their next two games to lead Newberry to a 2-1 week. The senior scored both of his team’s goals in a 2-0 win at Interlachen on Thursday, followed by the first hat trick of his career in a 5-0 win at Oak Hall on Friday. He also added an assist in the win against the Eagles.

Nov. 20 – No award due to Thanksgiving holiday

Nov. 13 – Zion Barber (Bradford football)
The senior helped lead the Tornadoes to their first state semifinal appearance since 2004 with a 24-14 win against Dunnellon in the Class 4A Region 2 Final. Barber had a rushing touchdown on a 4th-and-goal, threw two TD passes, kicked three extra points and made a 20-yard field goal as Bradford (10-1) won its 10th straight game.

Nov. 6 – Isabel Ivey (Buchholz girls’ swimming)
Ivey helped lead Buchholz to its third straight state title. She set a state record in the 100 breast stroke (1:00.99), and she beat Stanford commit Morgan Tankersley of Plant (Tampa) to win the 200 freestyle (1:44.68), in winning two individual state titles. The junior was also a part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team which set a school record, and a state record, with a time of 1:31.66, less than a second from the national mark, and she helped lead the Lady Bobcats to a state record in the 400-freestyle relay.

Oct. 30 – Austin Montini (Oak Hall boys’ cross country)
The freshman helped lead the Eagles to a third-place finish at the high school cross country regional championships. Montini finished third with a time of 16:48.86 to lead the Eagles to a third-place finish. The Oak Hall boys were ranked sixth but finished third.

Oct. 23 – Brandis Smith (St. Francis Catholic Academy volleyball)
Smith helped lead the Wolves (8-9) to an upset of previously unbeaten North Florida Christian (Tallahassee) in the FHSAA Class 3A Regional Semifinals. The senior had 50 kills, 7 blocks, and 12 digs for the defending state champions. St. Francis Catholic Academy d. North Florida Christian 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-14.

Oct. 16 – Heather Pedrick (Santa Fe volleyball)
The junior setter helped lead the top-seeded Lady Raiders to the Class 6A-District 6 title. Pedrick had 14 kills, eight digs, 14 assists and six service points to lead the Raiders to a sweep of North Marion (Citra) in the district semifinals. In the championship against No. 2 seed Belleview, she led the way with 17 kills, 20 digs and five blocks as Santa Fe swept the Rattlers.

Oct. 9 – Amelia Williams (Buchholz girls’ golf)
Williams helped the Lady Bobcats capture their fifth straight Jill Darr Invitational title. The sophomore was the low medalist with a 3-under 69. She had a bogey-free round. The Jill Darr Invitational, named after the late Jill Darr Rowell, represents the Alachua County championship.

Oct. 2 – Charles Strong (Union County football)
The FSU commit rushed for 262 yards and scored three touchdowns as Union County (6-1) defeated previously unbeaten Hawthorne, 31-25, in overtime. Strong, who has 1,139 yards and 13 TDs on the season, scored the game-winner from 10 yards out in OT. He also had a 23-yard scoring run and a 12-yard TD run.

Sept. 25 – Demari Turner (St. Francis Catholic football)
Turner came up with the big plays, catching four passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, to help lead the Wolves to a 36-0 win against rival Oak Hall and snap the Eagles’ two-game win streak in the series. The senior wide receiver had scoring catches of 63 and 89 yards as St. Francis Catholic knocked off the previously-unbeaten Eagles and snapped their overall winning streak at 13 games. He also had a 2-point conversion and helped the defense pitch its first shutout of the season.

Sept. 18 – Anthony Richardson (Eastside football)
The sophomore quarterback led the Rams to a 2-0 week, which is twice as many wins as Eastside had (1) all season in 2016. Richardson had 646 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing and passing. In the Rams’ 33-28 home win over Newberry on Monday, he accounted for all five of their touchdowns, finishing with 348 yards and two scores through the air and 65 yards and three scores on the ground. On Friday, at Lake Weir (Ocala), Richardson ran for 102 yards on 11 carries with two TDs, and 131 yards passing with three scores.

Sept. 11 – No award due to Hurricane Irma

Sept. 4 – Gerard Williams III (Williston football)
Williams set a school record with 307 yards on 27 carries, with three touchdowns, in the Red Devils’ 28-14 win at Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto). During Williston’s first five possessions, the senior had 13 carries for 115 yards. However, on Williston’s final three drives, he had 192 yards on 14 carries, with 2 TDs.

Gainesville at Eastside – Boys Basketball 2018

Mike Stanton

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February 8, 2018

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Gainesville at Eastside – Boys Basketball 2018

Friday, 7 p.m. – High School Basketball (Boys)
Gainesville at Eastside (Gainesville) – at Santa Fe College

Join Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play) and Marco Martinez (Color) for this city showdown. Eastside, which won the first meeting, has a chance to win the mythical city title with a sweep of the Hurricanes.

RADIO: 92.1 FM & 1230 AM in Gainesville and 100.1 FM & 900 AM in Ocala

AUDIO (free): Click here to listen

VIDEO (paid subscription via the NFHS Network): Click here to watch

Meadowbrook Boys Basketball – 2018

Mike Stanton

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February 7, 2018

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Date: Wed 02/07/2018, 7-8 p.m.
Title: The Prep Zone
Guests: Meadowbrook Academy (Ocala) Boys’ Basketball

Event Details: Join Mike Ridaught & Marty Pallman as they talk high school sports from Sonic Drive-In of Ocala (Easy Street location). Guests for this episode include Meadowbrook Academy (Ocala) boys’ basketball coach Brian Paige and members of the Mustangs’ basketball team, which won its first FCAL state championship since 2011. The show will also air on 92.1 FM & 1230 AM in Gainesville, as well as 100.1 FM & 900 AM in Ocala.

Click Here to Listen

CHROME BROWSER NOTE: Recent versions of the Chrome Browser have discontinued support for several plugins including the Silverlight media player used on this site. The best option to access this ‘live’ broadcast is to switch to a different browser, i.e. Internet Explorer or Firefox.

The other option for windows users is to click the “WMP Player” once you access the broadcast on Chrome. This will play the broadcast in your standalone windows media player if that is available on your computer.

Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Feb. 6 – Antrell Charlton (The Rock)

Mike Ridaught

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February 6, 2018

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Our Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Tuesday, February 6 is Antrell Charlton of The Rock (Gainesville) boys’ basketball team.

Charlton, a senior, filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks as The Rock led wire-to-wire and pulled away in the second half for a 92-59 win over Inspire Prep (Orlando) on Tuesday night.

Charlton scored 9 of his 12 points in the first half, including a three-pointer, as the Lions struggled at times but took a 37-25 lead into the halftime break. Antrell Charlton The Rock

Charlton’s only basket of the second half was another three-pointer, and The Rock scored 55 second half points to eventually get to a running clock late in the game.

Six Lions scored in double figures, led by junior Jaden Campbell with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Lynn Kidd chipped in with 14 points and 5 rebounds, Dardan Kapiti added 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks off the bench, and Bryan Greenlee added 12 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. The final double figure scorer was Daylin Lee, who came off the bench for a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Rock is now 22-7 and 5-1 in the SIAA North and has won eight in a row. The Lions next travel to Louisville, Kentucky this weekend to participate in another national Grind Session.

Every game The Prep Zone will recognize a Player-of-the-Game. The recipient receives a $10 gift certificate courtesy of Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville & Ocala.

It’s been a record-setting year for Belleview girls’ hoops

Mike Ridaught

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February 6, 2018

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By Olivia Granaiola
Twitter – @oliviagranaiola

The Belleview Rattlers girls’ basketball team is preparing for the playoffs. The Class 6A-District 6 semifinals will determine their playoff fate this week.

But no matter what happens, the girls’ 2017-18 season was one for the books.

The Lady Rattlers’ overcame adversity, broke two school records, and are now looking at a chance to make it back to the FHSAA state playoffs, including a chance to repeat as district champions.

The team finished 17-7 overall and 2-2 in the district, with an unfortunate 2-game losing streak to cap off the year. But, despite that, 5th-year coach Gary Greer finished the season without double digit losses for the first time during his coaching tenure. He was also able to lead his team to 11 consecutive wins on the season, a school record, and they broke the previous school record of 16 wins set last season.

Greer’s team was able to persevere with four different leading players in five categories.

Senior Lexie Osborne leads the team in scoring, junior Moochie Towns is the team’s leading rebounder (Towns posted a career-high 17 rebounds on January 4th in a win over Citrus), and junior Tay Riche is the top assister and notched the most steals throughout the season.

Senior Kelsey Clifford, a four-year starter, is recognized as the Lady Rattlers’ student leader. Just a month before the end of the season, Tay Riche’s twin sister Quay Riche, a defensive specialist, saw herself sidelined for the rest of the season with an ACL injury.

In spite of this adversity, Riche’s sister and teammates showed North Central Florida the strong bonds at Belleview High.

Without Quay, the defense did take a slight dip. The team allowed an average of 40.5 points per game without her, compared to 39 with her on the court. But, the ladies of Belleview basketball posted a record of 6-2 without her, showing the strength of the team.

The 3rd-seeded Lady Rattlers have their first playoff game at Dunnellon on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. They will face 2nd-seeded North Marion in the district semifinals with a state playoff spot on the line. North Marion beat Belleview in a low scoring 30-28 loss for the Rattlers in the fifth game of the season.

Since then, North Marion has not fared well with an overall record of 7-13. Belleview girls basketball at Sonic

The winner could face top-seeded Eastside (Gainesville) in the district championship game on Friday night. Last year, Belleview rallied from a 16-point deficit to defeat Eastside by one to win their first district title in school history.

The Lady Rattlers will have to get past North Marion if they want a chance to repeat.

Belleview & Eastside were both guests on The Prep Zone radio show. To listen to the show with Belleview from Jan. 31 click here. The episode with Eastside, which aired last night, is here.