The Prep Zone

Prep Zone Power Poll – 2013 Softball Poll #1

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March 16, 2013

Gainesville – The Creekside (St. Johns) Knights are the number one team in the first Prep Zone Softball Power Poll of the season.

Creekside (11-1) only received one first place vote but was able to edge out undefeated Bradford (Starke) in the first poll of the 2013 softball season.

The Knights are ranked 2nd in the most recent Miracle Sports Softball poll for Class 5A, with their only loss coming to Ponte Vedra, a 5A state semifinalist in 2012.

Bradford (13-0) has two wins over 2012 4A state semifinalist Keystone Heights and another win over defending 1A champion Lafayette (Mayo). The Tornadoes received two first place votes but were edged out for first place on total votes by Creekside. Bradford is first in the most recent Miracle Sports Class 4A poll.

The North Marion (Citra) Colts are 12-1 and in third place. North Marion’s only loss is 1-0 to defending 5A state finalist Belleview and the Colts also have a win over Belleview. North Marion also received two first place votes. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) received the other first place vote and is fourth. The Bears are off to a 13-1 start. The only other undefeated team in the poll is #5 St. Augustine (13-0).

The rest of the top ten is defending 3A runner-up Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville), Belleview, PK Yonge (Gainesville), Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) and defending 1A state champion Lafayette (Mayo). Bishop Snyder is 11-1 with the only loss coming to 7A state power Bartow. PK Yonge is off to a 14-2 start with two wins over Union County, a 1A state semifinalist a year ago. The Blue Wave have lost to Belleview and Atlantic Coast.

Among the second ten are three teams who made it to the state semifinals in 2012 with Union County at #16, Keystone Heights 19th and Ponte Vedra at #20.

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball and softtball 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 – SOFTBALL POLL #1
(School, followed by classification, record through March 14, first-place votes and total voting points)

1. Creekside (St. Johns) (5A) (11-1) (1) – 109
2. Bradford (Starke) (4A) (13-0) (2) – 106
3. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (12-1) (2) – 100
4. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (5A) (13-1) (1) – 99
5. St. Augustine (6A) (13-0) – 97
6. Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (3A) (11-1) – 96
7. Belleview (5A) (10-3) – 74
8. PK Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (14-2) – 69
9. Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (6A) (12-2) – 62
10. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (10-3) – 61
11. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (11-2) – 58
12. East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (10-3) – 52
13. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (12-2) – 42
14. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (13-1) – 39
15. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (9-3) – 35
16. Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (8-4) – 26
17. Baldwin (1A) (9-3) – 24
18. The Villages (1A) (12-2) – 22
19. Keystone Heights (4A) (3-3) – 18
20. Ponte Vedra (5A) (3-3) – 15

Also receiving votes: First Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (9-4) – 12; Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (7-3) – 9; Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (8-2) – 7; Trenton (1A) (9-3) – 5; Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (3-2) – 4; Eustis (5A) (8-3) – 4; Mount Dora (4A) (9-3) – 3; Hernando Christian (2A) (7-1) – 3; Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (9-6) – 2; West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (4-4) – 2; Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (12-8) – 1; Gainesville (6A) (10-4) – 1; Mount Dora Bible (3A) (6-4) – 2; Deltona (6A) (9-1) – 1.

Prep Zone Power Poll – 2013 Baseball Poll #1

Mike Stanton

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March 16, 2013

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Gainesville – Reigning Class 8A state champion Spruce Creek (Port Orange) begins the season where it left off last year – on top of the baseball Prep Zone Power Poll.

The Hawks (9-2), who return most of last year’s squad, are currently ranked No. 7 in the Baseball America national poll. Their pitching rotation of Griffin Fuller, Gage Hutchinson, Kyle Marsh and Chris Hopkins are averaging 12 strikeouts per game and have yet to surrender more than two runs in a game.

Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) is ranked second. The Crusaders (9-1) return several players from last year’s 24-5 team, including ace RHP Cameron Paley and catcher K.K. Daniel (Florida Gulf Coast signee).

The Blue Devils of Clay (Green Cove Springs), a final four team last year in 5A, have the potential to be one of North Florida’s best and are ranked third in the poll. Dane Dunning (Florida signee) and Hunter Alexander (Florida commit) both throw in the 90s and the Blue Devils (8-1) are solid one through nine in the line-up.

Traditional power Bolles (Jacksonville) is ranked fourth. The Bulldogs’ (11-1) only loss was to Bishop Kenny and the ‘Dogs already have wins over defending 3A champion Providence (Jacksonville), ranked 12th, and 5A state runners-up Ponte Vedra.

Rounding out the top five is New Smyrna Beach. The Barracudas (7-1) were a Class 7A state semifinalist last season.

Forest (Ocala) (8-1) is ranked sixth, followed by unbeaten Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (11-0), Buchholz (Gainesville) (6-3), Nease (Ponte Vedra) (8-1) and Creekside (St. Johns) (8-1) to round out the top 10.

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball and 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 – BASEBALL POLL #1
(School, followed by classification, record through March 12, first-place votes and total voting points)

1. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (9-2) (7) – 140
2. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (9-1) – 127
3. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (8-1) – 125
4. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (11-1) – 124
5. New Smyrna Beach (7A) (7-1) – 86
6. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (8-1) – 83
7. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (11-0) – 74
8. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (6-3) – 71
9. Nease (Neptune Beach) (5A) (8-1) – 68
10. Creekside (St. Johns) (5A) (8-1) – 65
11. Fort White (4A) (9-1) – 61
12. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (7-5) – 52
13. Trenton (1A) (10-0) – 46
14. First Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (8-3) – 40
15. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (8-1) – 39
16. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (7-2) – 34
17. Williston (4A) (8-3) – 32
18. Taylor (Pierson) (1A) (8-4) – 27
19. Eustis (5A) (8-2) – 21
20T Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (7-3) – 19
20T Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (6-5) – 19

Also receiving votes: South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (6-1) – 18; Ridgeview (Orange Park) (6A) (6-3) – 18; Trinity Christian (Deltona) (2A) (6-3-1) – 13; Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (7-1) – 13; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (4A) (7-4) – 12; Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (6-2) – 11; University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (7-4) – 9; Parker (Jacksonville) (5A) (7-4) – 6; Ponte Vedra (5A) (4-6) – 5; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (4A) (6-2) – 5; South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (6-2) – 4; Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (7-4) – 2; Newberry (1A) (8-3) – 1.

Buchholz at Gainesville

Mike Stanton

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March 15, 2013

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March 15, 7:00pm – Join Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play) and Marty Pallman (Color) for this game from Gainesville High School.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

PK Yonge Baseball

Mike Stanton

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March 14, 2013

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March 14th, 6:00pm – Join host Mike Ridaught and co-host Marty Pallman along with special guests: PK Yonge baseball. Head coach Brian Simmons will be bringing Fletcher Simmons, Evan Wilder, Gabe miller, Collin McFarland & Davis Waldorff with him. We’ll also release the first baseball Prep Zone Power Poll and recognize our Trophy Shop Athlete-of-the-Week presented by Mark McGriff’s State Farm Insurance of Gainesville. Trophy Shop Athlete-of-the-Week Presented by Mark McGriff’s State Farm Insurance of Gainesville for the week of March 4

Mitchell Wilbekin of The Rock (Gainesville) boys’ basketball team. Wilbekin made 10-of-13 free throws and scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Lions (33-4) to their first boys’ basketball state title in school history with a 64-56 win over Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville) in the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association championship game. The junior, who earned SIAA Tournament MVP honors, had a team-best 13 points and five steals in leading The Rock to an overtime win against Potter’s House in the semifinals.

Oak Hall at St. Francis – Baseball

Mike Stanton

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March 12, 2013

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March 12th, 4:30pm – Oak Hall at St. Francis Catholic – Baseball

Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Tyler TenBieg (Color) for this district game from St. Francis Catholic in Gainesville.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE BROADCAST

Baseball 2013

Mike Stanton

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March 12, 2013

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Our tentative schedule for The Prep Zone baseball broadcasts. This is only a list of the content The Prep Zone will be producing. If I find other broadcasts of interest I will post them separately.

Note: Schedule is subject to change. Broadcasts listed below are also available as replay.

Mar. 8th-9th: Tournament of Champions (4 games)
Mar. 12th: Oak Hall at St. Francis Catholic, 4:30pm
Mar. 15th: Buchholz at Gainesville, 7:00pm
Mar. 19th: Forest at Gainesville -or- Oak Hall at PK Yonge, 7:00pm
Mar. 25th-28th: Big Sun Challenge (at Ocala Vanguard)
Apr. 3rd: Santa Fe at Gainesville, 4:30pm
Apr. 4th: Bishop Kenny at Santa Fe, 4:30pm (Audio only)
Apr. 5th: Gainesville at North Marion, 6:30pm
Apr. 12th: Chiles at Buchholz, 6:00pm
Apr. 17th: Trinity Catholic at North Marion, 6:30pm
Apr. 18th*
Apr. 19th: PK Yonge at Santa Fe (Senior Night), 4:30 p.m. (Audio only, possible tape delay video)

*Thursday, April 18 – North Marion vs. Buchholz (at College of Central Florida), 4 p.m.
Pending softball district tournament (Newberry & PK Yonge are hosting) – April 15, 16 & 18

Monday, April 22 – District baseball tournament at St. Francis Catholic, TBD
Tuesday, April 23 – District baseball tournament at St. Francis Catholic, 1 & 4 p.m.
Thursday, April 25 – District baseball championship game at St. Francis Catholic, 4 p.m.

Tournament of Champions 2013

Mike Stanton

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March 8, 2013

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(Click links below to listen)

Friday March 8th

Saturday March 9th

Prep Zone Power Poll – 2012/2013 Basketball Final Poll

Mike Stanton

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March 8, 2013

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GAINESVILLE – The Providence (Jacksonville) Stallions were the only team in the Prep Zone Power Poll viewing area to bring home a state boys basketball title in 2012-13. For that reason the Stallions are a unanimous number one selection in the final Prep Zone Power Poll for the 2012-13 boys basketball season.

Providence finished 31-1 and defeated Coral Springs Christian 62-56 in last week’s Class 3A championship game at the Lakeland Center. The Stallions were led by one of the top juniors in the state Grayson Allen, who averaged 29 points in two games in Lakeland, including a 31 point effort in the state championship win. It was the second state title in four years for Providence and coach Jim Martin. Providence won the 2A title in 2010 led by current Florida Gator Patric Young and Will Cummings, now with Temple, and Stacey Poole, Jr. now at Georgia Tech.

Providence went wire-to-wire in finishing on top of the boys basketball power poll for the second straight year. The Stallions baseball team also won a state title last spring and finished on top of the baseball power poll as well.

Hawthorne (28-2) advanced to the 1A state semifinals and finished second behind Providence. The Hornets lost to eventual 1A state champion Holmes County, led by future Florida Gator Chris Walker. It was the second consecutive trip to the state semifinals for Hawthorne. The Hornets lost in the 1A state championship game in 2012 to Chipley.

Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) made it’s first state semifinal appearance since 1979 and finished third. The Crusaders (24-7) gave eventual 5A state champion Tampa Jesuit it’s closest game all season in the state semifinals, losing 46-41. In fourth place is the only team in the top six to not make a state semifinal appearance, Father Lopez (Daytona Beach). Providence knocked out Father Lopez (27-3) in the 3A-1 region final 70-52. Palatka (26-5) made it’s second state semifinal appearance in three years, losing 68-49 in the 5A semifinals to American Heritage (Plantation). And Gainesville (21-10) went from unranked in the poll after the district tournament to sixth in the final poll. The Hurricanes won at fourth-ranked Leesburg and top-ranked Edgewater (Orlando) to advance to the 6A state semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Miami Norland 73-50.

Leesburg fell from third to seventh in the final poll behind Gainesville. Ed White (Jacksonville) finished eighth and Ridgeview (Orange Park) was ninth. Both schools made their first ever regional final appearance in boys basketball this season. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) rounded out the top ten after advancing to the 2A semifinals, losing to eventual state champion Grandview Prep (Boca Raton).

Raines (Jacksonville) led off the second ten after losing in the 4A regional finals to East Gadsden (Havana). Williston moved up from 18th to 16th after losing in the regional final to eventual 4A state champion Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) and the top junior in the state, Joel Berry. Union County (Lake Butler) moved into the poll at number 19 after advancing to it’s second straight 1A state semifinal. The Tigers were eliminated by West Gadsden (Greensboro) 76-51. Eustis also moved into the poll at 17th after advancing to a regional final, losing to Palatka. Suwannee (Live Oak), Bartram Trail (St. Johns), and Forest (Ocala) dropped out from the previous poll.

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball and baseball 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 – BOYS BASKETBALL FINAL POLL
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, final record and total voting points)

1. Providence (Jacksonville) (7) (3A) (31-1) – 140
2. Hawthorne (1A) (28-2) – 128
3. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (24-7) – 123
4. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (3A) (27-3) – 116
5. Palatka (5A) (26-5) – 106
6. Gainesville (6A) (21-10) – 102
7. Leesburg (6A) (24-5) – 91
8. Ed White (Jacksonville) (7A) (22-6) – 81
9. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (6A) (20-9) – 72
10. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (10-21) – 70
11. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (23-7) – 68
12. New Smyrna Beach (7A) (22-5) – 57
13. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (24-4) – 54
14. Wolfson (Jacksonville) (6A) (24-4) – 53
15. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (23-5) – 51
16. Williston (4A) (23-8) – 48
17. Eustis (5A) (19-10) – 29
18. West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (22-5) – 20
19. Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (17-13) – 18
20. DeLand (8A) (21-8) – 17

Also receiving votes – Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (19-7) – 15; St. Francis Catholic (Gainesville) (3A) (23-6) – 3; Hamilton County (Jasper) (1A) (15-11) – 3; First Academy (Leesburg) (2A) (17-9) – 2; Forest (Ocala) (7A) (20-7) – 1; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (5A) (20-7) – 1; Fort White (4A) (14-6) – 1.

Gainesville Basketball

Mike Stanton

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March 5, 2013

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March 5th, 6:00pm – Join host Mike Ridaught and co-host Marty Pallman along with special guests: Gainesville boys’ basketball assistant coach Phillip Knight along with senior Michael Henderson, senior Michael McCray, junior Isaiah Jackson, sophomore Ike Smith and sophomore Eric Turner. The ‘Canes advanced to the final four this season in Class 6A – which included ‘road’ upsets at #4 Leesburg and #1 Edgewater (Orlando). We’ll also release the final boys’ basketball Prep Zone Power Poll and recognize our Trophy Shop Athlete-of-the-Week presented by Mark McGriff’s State Farm Insurance of Gainesville, as well as recap our Sonic Player-of-the-Game winners.

Sonic Player-of-the-Game

February 14, Kevin Bolen of the Gainesville boys’ basketball team. The junior had a team-high 24 points for the Hurricanes (19-9) in an 82-72 win over Citrus (Inverness) in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. Bolen scored 13 of his points in the opening quarter as GHS built a 28-21 lead. He added eight points in a decisive 26-13 run in the third quarter, which gave Gainesville a 10-point lead heading in the final quarter.
February 23, Ed Porter of the Hawthorne boys’ basketball team. Porter had a game-high 19 points as the Hornets advanced to the Class 1A final four with a 63-53 win over Hamilton County (Jasper) for the regional title. The sophomore, who also grabbed 12 rebounds, had a personal 7-0 run late in the third quarter that gave Hawthorne (28-1) a 24-point lead.

Trophy Shop Athlete-of-the-Week Presented by Mark McGriff’s State Farm Insurance of Gainesville for the week of February 25

Katie O’Dell of the PK Yonge (Gainesville) softball team. The senior went 7-for-7 as the Blue Wave (10-1), ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, went 3-0 on the week with wins against Keystone Heights, Columbia (Lake City) and Oak Hall (Gainesville). O’Dell hit her fifth home run of the season in an 8-4 win against Columbia and she finished the week with seven RBIs. The Hillsborough Community College signee is batting .643 on the season.

Hamilton County at Hawthorne

Mike Stanton

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February 23, 2013

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February 23, 6:30pm – Hamilton County (Jasper) at Hawthorne – FHSAA Boys’ Basketball 1A Regional Final

Join Corey Brooks (Play-by-play) & Jillian Baach (Color) for all the action as the top-ranked Hornets (27-1) host the Trojans for the right to go to the Final Four.

Radio: 105 The Game in Gainesville

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