Gainesville – Heading into the final week of the regular season there is only one question about the top of the Prep Zone Power Poll.

Who is the second best team?

Providence (Jacksonville) has been the most dominant team in the history of the poll, adding another exclamation point as perhaps the best area team of all-time following a 35-point win over previous No. 18 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), which dropped two spots to No. 20, and a 79-64 win against non-FHSAA member school Oldsmar Christian at the Vince Murray Memorial Challenge.

But the spot behind the defending 3A state champion and nationally-ranked Stallions (20-3) is still up for grabs.

Class 6A Lake Minneola had a nine-game winning streak snapped against unbeaten Orlando Christian Prep, the top-ranked team in Class 2A, but the Hawks (21-2) remained second after a 38-point win over 6A Forest (Ocala).  However, 8A Sandalwood (Jacksonville) moved up five spots and into a tie for second.

The Saints (19-2) won the Gateway Conference tournament title for the third consecutive year.  They defeated #3 Ribault (Jacksonville) in the championship game and #6 Ed White in the semifinals as part of a 3-0 week.  Plus, Sandalwood picked up a forfeit win from Roosevelt (Eastvale, CA) from the Kingdom of the Sun tournament back in December.

Bolles (Jacksonville), which is only one total voting point behind the co-number two teams, remained No. 4, while Ribault (22-3) dropped two spots to fifth.  The Bulldogs (21-0) are one of just four undefeated teams in the state.

The Villages (22-2), which played without two starters in an 83-61 loss to non-FHSAA member school Potter’s House Christian (Jacksonville) at the Vince Murray Memorial Challenge on Saturday, dropped to sixth.  Ed White (Jacksonville) (19-4), Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (19-2), Vanguard (Ocala) (17-5) and Gainesville (16-6) round out the top 10.

Oakleaf (Orange Park), which defeated previous No. 9 GHS, moves into the poll for the first time this season at No. 18 following a 91-76 win against the ‘Canes which gave the Knights (14-6) the top seed in the district.

Bartram Trail (St. Johns), which has won seven of its last eight games, is also in the poll for the first time this season at No. 19.  The Bears (18-5) went 6-0 in 6A-District 4 to earn the top seed in next week’s district tournament.

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, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.

PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2013-14 BASKETBALL POLL #6
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, current record and total voting points)

1.  Providence (Jacksonville) (7) (3A) (20-3) – 140
T2 Lake Minneola (6A) (21-2) – 124
T2 Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (19-2) – 124
4.  Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (21-0) – 123
5.  Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (22-3) – 110
6.  The Villages (4A) (22-2) – 108
7.  Ed White (Jacksonville) (6A) (19-4) – 101
8.  Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (19-2) – 91
9.  Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (17-5) – 84
10. Gainesville (6A) (16-6) – 73
11. Palatka (5A) (17-5) – 63
12. Fort White (4A) (16-2) – 60
13. Citrus (Inverness) (5A) (20-2) – 56
T14 Chiefland (1A) (20-1) – 43
T14 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (16-6) – 43
16. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (16-7) – 26
17. Hawthorne (1A) (16-4) – 21
18. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (14-6) – 18
19. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (18-5) – 17
20. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (15-6) – 15

Also receiving votes:  Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (19-7) – 8;Forrest (Jacksonville) (6A) (15-6) – 8; Lecanto (5A) (13-7) – 5; Ponte Vedra (5A) (17-6) – 3; Deltona (6A) (17-7) – 3; Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (16-7) – 2; Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (16-7) – 1.

Gainesville – This time, the best team in the Prep Zone Power Poll was decided on the hardwood floor in front of a packed house on Martin Luther King Day.

Providence (Jacksonville) had four players score in double figures as the Stallions (18-3) dominated The Villages (21-1), 83-47, in a match-up of the top two teams at the MLK Showcase at Ribault (Jacksonville) on Monday.

Duke signee Grayson Allen set the tone with four 3s in the opening quarter and Florida Gulf Coast signee Christian Terrell scored a game-high 22 points as the defending 3A state champions stayed on top of the poll while the Buffalo, ranked No. 2 in the 4A state poll, dropped three spots from second to fifth in this week’s rankings.

Lake Minneola, which has won eight in a row, moved up two spots to second. The Hawks’ (20-1) only loss was at Vanguard (Ocala), which moved up two spots to eighth following a 3-0 week.

Class 4A Ribault let a 15-point lead slip away at home in the final game of the MLK Showcase. The Trojans (20-2) lost to non-FHSAA member Potter’s House Christian (Jacksonville), 71-65, but remained third after wins against 7A Martin County (Stuart) and 6A Miami Carol City over the weekend.

Unbeaten Bolles (Jacksonville) (18-0), one of two undefeated teams in the poll along with No. 11 Chiefland, moved up one spot to fourth.

Ed White (Jacksonville) (17-3) is ranked sixth, behind The Villages, followed by Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (14-3), Vanguard (Ocala) (15-4), Gainesville (15-5) and Palatka (15-4) in the top 10.

Forrest (Jacksonville) (15-5) is in the poll for the first time this season at No. 18, while previous No. 13 Atlantic (Port Orange) dropped out of the poll following a 2-2 week.

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, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.

PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2013-14 BASKETBALL POLL #5
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, current record and total voting points)

1. Providence (Jacksonville) (7) (3A) (18-3) – 140
2. Lake Minneola (6A) (20-1) – 129
3. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (20-2) – 123
4. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-0) – 116
5. The Villages (4A) (21-1) – 115
6. Ed White (Jacksonville) (6A) (17-3) – 110
7. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (14-3) – 100
8. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (15-4) – 90
9. Gainesville (6A) (15-5) – 79
10. Palatka (5A) (15-4) – 73
11. Chiefland (1A) (18-0) – 68
12. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (16-2) – 65
13. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (15-5) – 50
14. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (14-5) – 41
15. Fort White (4A) (14-2) – 38
T16 Hawthorne (1A) (16-3) – 28
T16 Citrus (Inverness) (5A) (18-2) – 28
T18 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-5) – 21
T18 Forrest (Jacksonville) (6A) (15-5) – 21
20. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (14-6) – 17

Also receiving votes: Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (15-6) – 13; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (16-5) – 3; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (16-7) – 1; Trinity Catholic (4A) (11-9) – 1.

Gainesville – The best team in the Prep Zone Power Poll held on to the top spot and took another step toward state supremacy.

Providence (Jacksonville) received all seven first-place votes to hold on to the No. 1 ranking following wins against previous No. 5 Ed White (Jacksonville) and 8A Orlando Evans.  They’ve beaten nationally-ranked teams this season, they defeated the No. 1 team in Class 8A last week and their only losses this year have come against nationally-ranked competition.

The Stallions (14-3), defending 3A state champions, continue to prove that they are not only one of the tops team in the area, but in the state too, regardless of classification.

The Villages (18-0), ranked second in the 4A state poll, remained one spot behind Providence.  Both teams will have an opportunity to claim the top billing when they face each other on Monday, January 18, at the MLK Classic at Ribault (Jacksonville), which remained third in this week’s poll.

The Class 4A Trojans (17-1) went 3-0 last week, including a win against 5A #5 Gibbs (St. Pete).  Ribault’s only loss this season was against 4A-4 district rival Raines (Jacksonville).  The Vikings (13-3) moved up three spots from 12^th to ninth in this week’s poll despite having an eight-game winning streak snapped by Savannah Jenkins (GA) in Saturday’s MLK Classic at home.

Lake Minneola remained fourth.  The Hawks (18-1), whose only loss was at No. 10 Vanguard (Ocala), have won six in a row since their only defeat.

Bolles (Jacksonville), which rounds out the top five, is one of three undefeated teams in the poll.  The Bulldogs (17-0) moved up one spot from sixth following wins against previous #9 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) and RV Episcopal (Jacksonville).

Chiefland (15-0) remained undefeated and moved up two spots to 11^th following a 3-0 week.  In fact, Providence, Ribault, Lake Minneola, Atlantic (Port Orange), Baker County (Glen St. Mary) and Fort White joined the Indians as ranked teams that had 3-0 marks the first week of school.

Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (12-5) and Citrus (Inverness) (15-2) entered the poll for the first time this season at No. 19 & No. 20, respectively.

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, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.

PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2013-14 BASKETBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, current record and total voting points)

1.  Providence (Jacksonville) (7) (3A) (14-3) – 140
2.  The Villages (4A) (18-0) – 132
3.  Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (17-1) – 124
4.  Lake Minneola (6A) (18-1) – 119
5.  Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (17-0) – 114
6.  Ed White (Jacksonville) (6A) (14-3) – 103
7.  Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (11-3) – 101
8.  Gainesville (6A) (13-4) – 91
9.  Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-3) – 73
10. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (12-4) – 68
11. Chiefland (1A) (15-0) – 63
12. Palatka (5A) (13-4)– 56
13. Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (13-2) – 50
14. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (13-2) – 47
15. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (13-5) – 34
T16 Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (12-4) – 33
T16 Fort White (4A) (11-2) – 33
18. Hawthorne (1A) (13-3) – 30
19. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (12-5) – 16
20. Citrus (Inverness) (5A) (15-2) – 15

Also receiving votes:  Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (13-4) – 9; Deltona (6A) (13-6) – 7; Forrest (Jacksonville) (6A) (11-5) – 3; First Academy (Leesburg) (2A) (12-0) – 3; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (14-4) – 3; Ponte Vedra (5A) (11-5) – 3.