Tuesday, 6:45 p.m. – High School Basketball (Boys)
Inspire at The Rock (Gainesville)
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Evan Denninghoff (Color) for all the action.
Inspire at The Rock – Boys Basketball 2018
Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Feb. 3 – Tanner Bost (The Rock)
Our Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Saturday, February 3 is Tanner Bost of The Rock (Gainesville) girls basketball team.
Bost, an 8th grader, made a career-high six three-pointers and scored a career-high 20 points and The Rock never trailed and rolled to a 64-30 win over Eastside (Gainesville) on Saturday.
Bost only scored two points in the opening period as the Lady Lions led 19-9 over the Lady Rams through the first quarter. She really heated up in the second quarter, knocking down four three-pointers in a row as The Rock extended it’s lead to 36-16 at the half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Bost hit two more threes in the final period as The Rock played most of the fourth quarter with a running clock.
Junior Kaiya Riley-Guzman was also in double figures for The Rock with 13 points, and senior Ade Adeyeye chipped in 12 points. Bost’s younger sister Tommie, a 6th grader, scored her first career basket in the final 30 seconds and was mobbed by her teammates.
With the win, The Rock broke a four-game losing streak and improved to 8-14. The Lady Lions return to action this Saturday at home against IMG Academy (Bradenton).
Eastside fell to 14-9 and saw their five-game winning streak snapped. The Lady Rams open up play as the #1 seed in the District 6-6A tournament semifinals Wednesday night in Dunnellon.
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.
Eastside Girls Basketball – 2018
Date: Mon 02/05/2018, 7-8 p.m.
Title: The Prep Zone
Guest: Eastside Girls Basketball
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 (Gainesville) girls’ basketball coach Lonnika Thompson and members of the Lady Rams’ basketball team, which will be the No. 1 seed in the 6A-District 6 tournament. 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
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.
The Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week – Devin King-Porter (Buchholz)
The Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week for the week of January 22 is DEVIN KING-PORTER* of the Buchholz (Gainesville) girls’ soccer team.
*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.
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. 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.
Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Feb. 3 – Jaden Campbell (The Rock)
Our Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Saturday, February 3 is Jaden Campbell of The Rock (Gainesville) boys’ basketball team.
The junior had a game-high 24 points and added 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals and was 10-11 at the free throws line as The Rock led wire-to-wire in a convincing 86-66 win over Nation Prep (Port St. Lucie).
The Lions pretty much put the game away in the first half, knocking down five three pointers and taking a 44-22 lead into halftime over a previously undefeated Nation Prep team.
Campbell scored 14 of his points in the first half, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, and continued to shine in the second half, when he hit his only three-pointer of the game and again was solid from the charity stripe, going 6-for-7 as The Rock led by as many as 26 points before cruising home to the win.
The Rock improved to 22-7 with the win and made nine shots behind the arc for the game. Junior Bryan Greenlee added three three-pointers and ended up with 18 points to go along with 8 assists and six rebounds, and senior Antrell Charlton also hit three shots from distance and chipped in with 14 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.
The Lions finish up a five-game home stand on Tuesday night against Inspire Prep Academy (Orlando). You can watch live video streaming of the game on The Prep Zone beginning at 6:45 p.m.
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.
Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Feb. 2 – Malik Robertson (Eastside)
Our Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Friday, February 2 is Malik Robertson of the Eastside (Gainesville) boys’ basketball team.
Robertson, a senior, scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and also led Eastside with solid rebounding and defense throughout as the host Rams completed District 6-6A regular season play by rallying past Dunnellon 47-39 on Friday night.
Robertson scored in the opening quarter, but missed nearly all of the second period after suffered an early second foul. Eastside struggled to score through most of the first half, but only trailed Dunnellon 22-19 at the halftime break as each team only scored seven points in the second quarter.
The Rams came out on fire in the second half, using a 10-0 run right out of the gate to take a 29-22 lead, and led 32-24 after the third quarter. Eastside outscored the Tigers 13-2 in the third period, with Dunnellon’s only points coming on two free throws by senior Marvin Martinez.
Robertson scored inside in the third period, and then took over in the fourth quarter with an assortment of spin moves to work inside. He scored his eight points in the final half of the fourth period as Eastside maintained mostly a double-digit lead down the stretch.
Anthony Richardson led the Rams with 13 points, and Jimmy Johnson also chipped in with nine.
Eastside is now 18-4, and finishes district play at 7-1, tied for the #1 seed with North Marion (Citra). The district tourney will be held at North Marion.
The Rams are back in action on Saturday night on their home floor against another Gainesville city rival, Saint Francis Catholic Academy. You can watch a ‘live’ video streaming broadcast of the game on ThePrepZone.com via the NFHS Network beginning at 7:15 PM.
Dunnellon falls to 13-10 and 3-4 in District 6-6A. The Tigers, who were led in scoring by Marvin Martinez with 11 points and Caleb Schroeder with 10, return to action on Monday night to close district play against Santa Fe (Alachua).
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.
Nation’s Prep at The Rock – Boys Basketball
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. – High School Basketball (Boys)
Nation’s Prep at The Rock (Gainesville)
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Mackenzie Bryan (Color) for all the action.
Eastside at The Rock – Girls Basketball 2018
Saturday, 3 p.m. – High School Basketball (Girls)
Eastside (Gainesville) at The Rock (Gainesville)
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Mackenzie Bryan (Color) for this Alachua County showdown.
Dunnellon at Eastside – Boys Basketball 2018
Friday, 7 p.m. – High School Basketball (Boys)
Dunnellon at Eastside (Gainesville)
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Michael Phillips (Color) for this Class 6A-District 6 game featuring Marion County vs. Alachua County. The Rams will try and lock up at least a share for the No. 1 seed.
RADIO: 92.1 FM & 1230 AM in Gainesville and 100.1 FM & 900 AM in Ocala
AUDIO (free): http://mgmt.firststreaming.com/listen/player.php?callsign=WMOP_AM
VIDEO (paid): http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/eastside-high-school-gainesville-fl/6954ebc56a
The Prep Zone Power Poll powered by Strive Fitness – 2017-18 Boys Basketball Poll #7
352-339-1230
Leesburg still on top of the regional all-classification rankings
GAINESVILLE – The No. 1 team in The Prep Zone Power Poll remained the same this week.
Defending 6A state champion Leesburg is still on top following an 81-55 win against Lake Minneola. The Yellow Jackets (19-1) received all six first-place votes.
Palatka remained second despite its first loss of the season. The Class 6A Panthers (20-1) lost at Ponte Vedra, 54-45, but bounced back in a big way with a 63-15 win against Menendez (St. Augustine) at the St. Johns River Conference tournament.
Providence (Jacksonville) moved up two spots to third. The Class 4A Stallions, now 16-5 on the season, won at previous No. 4 Creekside (St. Johns), 37-36, in overtime.
Moving up one spot to fourth is Eastside (Gainesville). The Rams (17-4) went 3-0, increasing their win streak to five games.
Rounding out the top five is Class 8A Creekside (18-4).
Previous No. 3 The Villages was crushed by national-ranked No. 1 Montverde Academy, 90-38, and ran into some tough competition at the Montverde Invitational as part of a 2-3 week. That dropped the Class 5A Buffalo (16-5) three spots to sixth.
Nature Coast (Brooksville), Hawthorne, Gainesville and Madison County round out the top 10.
No teams dropped out of this week’s rankings.
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 #7
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/30, and total voting points)
1. Leesburg (6A) (6) (19-1) – 120
2. Palatka (6A) (20-1) – 113
3. Providence (Jacksonville) (4A) (16-5) – 109
4. Eastside (Gainesville) (6A) (17-4) – 100
5. Creekside (St. Johns) (8A) (18-4) – 95
6. The Villages (5A) (16-5) – 91
7. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (6A) (21-1) – 77
8. Hawthorne (1A) (17-4) – 76
9. Gainesville (7A) (17-5) – 75
10. Madison County (1A) (19-2) – 66
11. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (18-4) – 57
12. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (17-4) – 50
13. Atlantic (Port Orange) (7A) (16-6) – 38
14. Wildwood (1A) (15-5) – 37
15. Englewood (Jacksonville) (7A) (16-4) – 33
16. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (7A) (15-6) – 30
17T. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (15-5) – 27
17T. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (5A) (15-8) – 27
19. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (16-7) – 20
20. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (6A) (15-7) – 7
Also receiving votes: DeLand (9A) (16-6) – 5; North Marion (Citra) (6A) (14-6) – 4; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-7) – 2; Orange Park (6A) (14-6) – 1.