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Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Jan. 25 – James Pope (Eastside)

Sonic-logoOur Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Thursday, January 25 is James Pope of the Eastside (Gainesville) boys’ basketball team.

Pope led the Rams with a game-high 14 points, including 12 in the second half, as Eastside rallied from an 8-point halftime deficit to defeat Santa Fe (Alachua), 57-39, on Thursday night in a District 6-6A contest.

Pope, a junior, scored only two points in the first half and the Rams struggled offensively, managing only eight points in the second quarter, and went into the halftime break trailing Santa Fe, 26-18.James Pope Eastside POG

But Pope came out on fire in the third period, scoring nine quick points, including a three-pointer, and Eastside took control of the game, outscoring Santa Fe 21-3 in the quarter.

Eastside led 39-29 going into the fourth quarter, and the Rams scored the first six points of the final period as well, as the run for the first 10 minutes of the second half extended to 27-3. Eastside outscored Santa Fe 39-13 in the second half.

Pope hit two of the three shots behind the arc for the Rams on the night. Jimmy Johnson was also in double figures with 10 points.

Eastside improves to 15-4 and stays tied atop District 6-6A with North Marion (Citra) with a 6-1 district mark. Eastside and North Marion split the two meetings this season.

The Rams return to action on Saturday night against city rival P.K. Yonge (Gainesville). The game can be seen with ‘live’ video on the NFHS Network and The Prep Zone with Mike Ridaught and Michael Phillips calling the action beginning at 7:15 p.m.

Santa Fe falls to 7-14 and 2-5 in district play.

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 #6

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

Leesburg still No. 1 in regional all-classification rankings

GAINESVILLE – The win streak is up to 15 for the No. 4 overall team in the state according to MaxPreps.

Class 6A Leesburg finished off another 3-0 week that began with a 78-62 win against previous No. 15 Wildwood. The Yellow Jackets (18-1) received all seven first-place votes to hold on to the top spot of The Prep Zone Power Poll heading into their final four games of the regular season.

Palatka remained second in the all-classification regional rankings. The Class 6A Panthers (19-0) defeated Class 9A Flagler Palm Coast, 57-45, to stay unbeaten.

The Villages (14-2) remained third and Creekside (St. Johns) is still fourth. However, Gainesville dropped from fifth to 10th following a 73-53 loss to rival Eastside.

With the victory against 7A GHS (15-5), the Class 6A Rams (14-4) moved up six spots and into a tie for fifth with Providence (Jacksonville), which moved up three spots following a 2-0 week.

Atlantic (Port Orange) and Hawthorne are tied for seventh, while Nature Coast (Brooksville) and GHS round out the top 10.Leesburg Yellow Jackets

Class 9A DeLand and 2A North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) fell out of the rankings following losses, paving the way for Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) and Mainland (Daytona Beach), who are tied for 20th.

Class 5A Jackson (12-8) went 4-0, including a 55-28 win against No. 16 Raines (Jacksonville).

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 #6 
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/23, and total voting points)
1. Leesburg (6A) (7) (18-1) – 140
2. Palatka (6A) (19-0) – 132
3. The Villages (5A) (14-2) – 123
4. Creekside (St. Johns) (8A) (16-3) – 115
5T. Providence (Jacksonville) (4A) (14-5) – 97
5T. Eastside (Gainesville) (6A) (14-4) – 97
7T. Atlantic (Port Orange) (7A) (16-4) – 95
7T. Hawthorne (1A) (15-4) – 95
9. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (6A) (20-1) – 94
10. Gainesville (7A) (15-5) – 82
11. Englewood (Jacksonville) (7A) (16-3) – 70
12. Madison County (1A) (16-2) – 56
13. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (16-4) – 49
14. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (16-4) – 47
15. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (6A) (14-5) – 44
16. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (15-6) – 33
17. Wildwood (1A) (12-5) – 32
18. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (5A) (14-5) – 20
19. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (13-5) – 18
20T. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (5A) (12-8) – 8
20T. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (7A) (11-6) – 8
Also receiving votes: DeLand (9A) (14-6) – 6; Orange Park (6A) (13-6) – 4; Springstead (Spring Hill) (7A) (14-6) – 2; Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (13-6) – 2; North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (13-6) – 1.

2018 GatorTown Hoops Classic

Join Daniel Gillman (Play-by-play) for all the action.  Click on the links below to watch the archives.

Friday, January 26
DME Academy (FL) 86, Oldsmar (FL) 44
Tennessee Prep (TN) 105, Potter’s House Christian (FL) 66
Victory Rock (FL) 58, Lincoln Academy (GA) 54
The Rock (Gainesville, FL) 76, York Prep (SC) 69 (OT)
West Oaks (FL) 63, Wesley Christian (KY) 59

Saturday, January 27
Potter’s House Christian (FL) 64, Oldsmar (FL) 49
York Prep (SC) 70, DME Academy (FL) 66
Tennessee Prep (TN) 73, Victory Rock (FL) 63
The Rock (FL) 53, Wesley Christian (KY) 52
Lincoln Academy (GA) 79, West Oaks (FL) 66

Santa Fe at Eastside – Boys Basketball 2018

goat-drawing.cdrThursday, 7 p.m. – High School Basketball (Boys)
Santa Fe (Alachua) at Eastside (Gainesville)

Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Michael Phillips (Color) for this Class 6A-District 6 Alachua County showdown. Eastside edged Santa Fe on the road, 55-52, back on Jan. 10.

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

AUDIO: Click Here to Listen (Free)

VIDEO: Click Here to Watch (Paid)nfhs-logo

The Prep Zone Power Poll powered by Strive Fitness – 2017-2018 Girls’ Basketball Poll #4

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

Nease (Ponte Vedra) remains No. 1 in all-classification regional rankings

GAINESVILLE — There was little movement in The Prep Zone Power Poll for girls’ basketball.

Nease (Ponte Vedra) remained No. 1 in the all-classification regional rankings following a 74-60 win against 8A #12 Melbourne.

The Class 7A Lady Panthers (17-3) received five of the eight-first place votes to hold on to the top spot, ahead of No. 2 Spruce Creek (Port Orange). The Class 9A Lady Hawks (15-4) went 3-0, including a 54-52 win against 7A #6 Norland (Miami) at the LeDawn Gibson Honorary Homecoming on Friday.Nease Panthers

Fleming Island (Orange Park) & Sandalwood (Jacksonville) are tied for third. Both teams went 3-0 last week.

Class 9A Sandalwood (15-1) received two first-place votes after winning the Gateway Conference Tournament for the first time in school history and moved up one spot to join the Golden Eagles (20-3). Their only loss this season is to No. 2 Spruce Creek.

Rounding out the top five is P.K. Yonge (Gainesville). The Class 4A Lady Blue Wave (15-4) cruised to a 3-0 week, winning all three games by an average margin of victory of 42.6 points per game.

Ponte Vedra is sixth, followed by Fernandina Beach, Father Lopez (Daytona Beach), Wildwood and Gainesville in the top 10.
Class 7A Atlantic (Port Orange) (15-4) is in the rankings for the first time this season at No. 19.

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 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 and it is powered by Strive Fitness.

THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2017-2018 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, current record through 1/20, and total voting points)
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (6) (17-3) – 158
2. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (15-4) – 150
3T. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (8A) (20-3) – 142
3T. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (9A) (2) (15-1) –142
5. P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (4A) (15-4) –123
6. Ponte Vedra (6A) (15-3) – 122
7. Fernandina Beach (5A) (18-4) – 108
8. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (7A) (18-2) – 103
9. Wildwood (1A) (16-5) – 92
10. Gainesville (7A) (16-7) – 90
11. Trenton (1A) (16-2) – 88
12. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (16-4) – 69
13T. Newberry (5A) (14-4) – 50
13T. Weeki Wachee (6A) (17-2) – 50
15. Flagler Palm Coast (9A) (12-5) – 40
16. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (14-5) – 38
17. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (14-4) – 26
18. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (13-6) – 24
19. Atlantic (Port Orange) (7A) (15-4) – 22
20. Middleburg (7A) (14-6) – 14
Also receiving votes: Vanguard (Ocala) (7A) (12-7) – 13; Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (13-5) – 13; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (7A) (13-5) – 2; Ribault (Jacksonville) (6A) (11-12) – 1.

Buchholz Girls Soccer – 2018

goat-drawing.cdrDate: Mon 01/22/2018, 7-8 p.m.
Title: The Prep Zone

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 Buchholz (Gainesville) girls’ soccer assistant coach Ahmad Brown and members of the Lady Bobcats, who are seeded first in their district heading into postseason tournament play. 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

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.

The Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week – Ayanna Rollins (Oak Hall)

The Trophy ShopThe Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week for the week of January 8 is AYANNA ROLLINS* of the Oak Hall (Gainesville) girls’ basketball team.

Ayanna Rollins_Oak Hall

*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.

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. 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 Jan. 19 – Jimmy Johnson (Eastside)

Sonic-logoOur Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Friday, January 19 is Jimmy Johnson of the Eastside (Gainesville) boys basketball team.

Johnson tied for a game-high with 18 points, including four three pointers in the first half, as Eastside broke a 6-game losing streak to rival Gainesville with a convincing 73-53 win at Santa Fe College on Friday night.

Johnson, a senior, was one of four Eastside players to hit three pointers in the opening period as the Rams (13-4) jumped out to a 22-10 lead after the opening period. Gainesville (14-5) never got the deficit under double digits after that.

Johnson hit three shots behind the arc in the second quarter and Eastside hit eight treys in the opening half and led the Hurricanes 42-22 at the half.Jimmy Johnson Eastside

Gainesville never got closer than 16 points in the second half. Johnson scored six points in the fourth quarter, including four straight free throws after a technical foul against Christian Miller-Cardwell of Gainesville.

Noah Richardson added 18 points and Anthony Richardson added 10 as Eastside beat Gainesville for the first time since 2014.

Eastside broke a two-game losing streak and gets right back to action Saturday night in a non-district matchup at Bradford (Starke).

Gainesville was led in scoring by Jaden McKay and Diamond Smith with 10 points apiece. Miller-Cardwell, who leads the Hurricanes in scoring averaging 19 points a game, managed only two points on Friday night.

The Hurricanes will return to the court on Tuesday as they host Forest (Ocala) in a District 4-7A contest.

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 Jan. 19 – TJ Martin (Forest)

Sonic-logoOur Sonic Drive-In-Player-of-the-Game for Friday, January 19 is T.J. Martin of the Forest (Ocala) boys’ basketball team.

In a game that started slow, Martin and the Wildcats finished strong, as Forest knocked off rival Vanguard (Ocala), 54-46, in front of an overflow crowd at Vanguard.  The win snapped Vanguard’s 11-game winning streak against the ‘Cats.

Adding to the significance of the victory was that it was a Class 7A-District 4 contest.  With the win, the Wildcats improved to 13-6 overall and 3-4 in league play.  Vanguard dropped to 10-8 & 3-3.

Martin didn’t score in the opening quarter, nor did half of the game’s starters.  Forest and Vanguard were tied 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.TJ Martin Forest

But that’s when Martin got going, scoring eight of the Wildcats’ 14 2nd-quarter points, including two shots behind the arc, as Forest built a 20-15 lead at the half.

The game was tied at 32 apiece after three.  But in the decisive fourth, Martin would convert his 2nd and-one of the half, finishing the quarter 3-for-3 from the free throw line.  He finished with a team-high 16 points.

Junior Xavier Christie added 15 for the Wildcats and was 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.  Senior Tucker Varnadoe came off the bench and hit three 3’s to finish with nine.

Forest will travel to Gainesville on Tuesday, while Vanguard will travel to Buchholz (Gainesville) tonight.

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.

Gainesville at Eastside – Basketball 2018

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

Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Marco Martinez (Color) for this city showdown from Santa Fe College in Gainesville.

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

AUDIO (Free): http://mgmt.firststreaming.com

VIDEO (Paid): http://www.nfhsnetwork.com