Wednesday, 7-8 p.m. – “The Prep Zone” Sports Show (39th Avenue)
‘Live’ audio: https://www.mainstreetdailynews.com/sports/live-stream/
Join Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught as he talks high school sports from your locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville (39th Avenue). His guests for this episode include Buchholz girls cross country coach Mike Maren and Buchholz boys cross country coach Patrick Douma, along with athletes from both teams. This past weekend, the Buchholz boys won their first FHSAA cross country state title in 30 years and the girls finished as state runners-up.
Buchholz girls & boys cross country – 2024
Evans (Orlando) at Buchholz – Football 2024 (Radio)
Friday, 6:30 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7 p.m. (KICKOFF)
Evans (Orlando) at Buchholz
Radio: “I am Country” 106.9 FM Gainesville
‘Live’ audio: https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/WPLL
Join Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play), former Gator football player Hank Rone (Color), and Aiden Wacksman (pregame, halftime, postgame) for this FHSAA Class 6A-Region 1 Quarterfinal from Citizens Field in Gainesville. The visiting Trojans (6-4) are the No. 7 seed in the region, while the host Bobcats (7-3) are the No. 2 seed.
GHS girls weightlifting – 2024
Wednesday, 7-8 p.m. – “The Prep Zone” Sports Show (39th Avenue)
‘Live’ audio: https://www.mainstreetdailynews.com/sports/live-stream/
Join Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught as he talks high school sports from your locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville (39th Avenue). His guests for this episode include GHS girls weightlifting coach Steve Bauer and members of the Lady Hurricanes weightlifting team.
The Prep Zone Power Poll powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville – 2024 Football Poll #12
Nease (Ponte Vedra) nearly unanimous No. 1 heading into postseason
GAINESVILLE — The regular season is over for high school football teams as the 2024 season now heads to playoff time.
One team has dominated The Prep Zone Power Poll for the last half of the regular season, and that team is the Nease (Ponte Vedra) Panthers. They find themselves a nearly unanimous No. 1 team in the final regular season all-classification regional rankings.
Nease (9-0) finished off a perfect regular season by outlasting RV Bartram Trail (St. Johns), 56-42, in a game made up from a postponement due to Hurricane Helene. The Panthers are ranked No. 1 in 6A and are the overall No. 1 seed in the classification according to MaxPreps.
The Panthers, who picked up nine of the 10 first-place votes, open up postseason play in a Region 1-6A quarterfinal this Friday against Tate (Cantonment).
Another unbeaten team, Raines (Jacksonville), is 2nd.
The Vikings (9-0) finished off a perfect season by blanking Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville), 48-0. Raines opens up in the 3A playoffs as the No. 1 seed in Region 1 and hosts Bay (Panama City).
St. Augustine is 3rd.
The Yellow Jackets (8-1) finished off their regular season with a 38-26 win at No. 12 Mandarin (Jacksonville). St. Augustine hosts RV Columbia (Lake City) in a Region 1-4A quarterfinal matchup this week.
Buchholz (Gainesville) moved up a spot to 4th.
The Bobcats (7-3), who received the other first-place vote, closed out the regular season by handing 1A No. 4 Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach) their first loss of the season, 14-7. Buchholz earned the No. 2 seed in Region 1-6A behind Nease, and opens up at Citizens Field in a region quarterfinal game against Evans (Orlando).
Bolles (Jacksonville) rounds out the top five. The Bulldogs (8-1) are the No. 3 seed in Region 1-2A and host Taylor County (Perry) on Friday.
Vanguard (Ocala) leads off the second five. The Knights (9-1) earned the No. 2 seed in Region 2-4A and opens up play in the region quarterfinal against Leesburg.
Bradford (Starke) is 7th, University (Orange City) No. 8, Hawthorne No. 9, and Newberry slips into the top 10 at No. 10.
University (8-2) dropped a game to No. 11 Spruce Creek (Port Orange) but is the 3rd seed in Region 1-7A and opens up at home against Winter Park.
Bradford (8-1), the No. 2 seed in 2A-Region 2 behind Cocoa, will host The Villages in a first-round matchup, while Newberry is the 3rd seed in that region and opens up the postseason at home against Palatka.
Hawthorne is the top seed in the rural classification. The Hornets (7-1) host No. 16 seed Branford to open up defense of their back-to-back titles.
The only team new to the poll this week is Trinity Christian (Jacksonville).
The Conquerors (7-3) finished off their regular season by beating Fletcher (Neptune Beach), 35-21, and is the No. 2 seed in Region 1-1A. Trinity Christian hosts P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) to open up the 1A playoffs.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & 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, 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 Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2024 FOOTBALL POLL #12
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra (6A) (9) (9-0) – 199
2. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (9-0) – 189
3. St. Augustine (5A) (8-1) – 177
4. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (1) (7-3) – 164
5. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (8-1) – 161
6. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (9-1) – 142
7. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (8-1) – 135
8. University (Orange City) (7A) (8-2) – 130
9. Hawthorne (Rural) (7-1) – 121
10. Newberry (2A) (8-2) – 99
11. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (7-3) – 88
12. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (7-3) – 84
13T. Madison County (Rural) (6-3) – 68
13T. Ponte Vedra (5A) (8-2) – 68
15. Flagler Palm Coast (7A) (9-1) – 53
16. Chiefland (Rural) (9-1) – 51
17. Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (8-1) – 37
18. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (7-3) – 35
19. Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (8-2) – 29
20T. New Smyrna Beach (4A) (8-2) – 14
20T. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (7-3) – 14
Also receiving votes: Dunnellon (3A) (7-3) – 10; Eastside (Gainesville) (3A) (7-3) – 9; Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (5-5) – 8; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (4-6) – 5; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (7-3) – 5; Suwannee (Live Oak) (3A) (4-6) – 3; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (7-3) – 1.
Chiefland football – 2024
Wednesday, 7-8 p.m. – “The Prep Zone” Sports Show
‘Live’ audio: https://www.mainstreetdailynews.com/sports/live-stream/
Join Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught as he talks high school sports from your locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville (39th Avenue). His guests for this episode include former Chiefland quarterback and current Indians offensive coordinator Ty Corbin, along with members of the Chiefland football team which went 9-1 during the regular season.
Eastside at GHS – Football 2024 (Radio)
Friday, 7 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7:35 p.m. (KICKOFF)
Eastside at Gainesville
Radio: “I am Country” 106.9 FM Gainesville
‘Live’ audio: https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/WPLL
Join Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play) and former Gator football player Hank Rone (Color) for this city showdown at Citizens Field. It’s Senior Night for the Hurricanes, who are looking to snap a 2-game losing streak in the series.
The Prep Zone Power Poll powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville – 2024 Football Poll #11
Nease (Ponte Vedra) and Raines (Jacksonville) deadlocked at No. 1
GAINESVILLE — With Election Day coming up next week the Presidential race is coming down to the wire.
But there’s another poll that’s as close as the race to the White House. It’s the race to see who is at the top of the all-classification regional football rankings.
After Raines (Jacksonville) was on top the last three weeks by just a couple of votes, Nease (Ponte Vedra) catches the Vikings this week as both teams are now tied for the top spot in The Prep Zone Power Poll.
The Panthers improved to 7-0 and clinched the District 3-6A title with a 48-15 romp at Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine). Nease has two games left in the regular season, this Friday at RV Beachside (St. Johns) and then next Thursday with a makeup game against RV Bartram Trail (St. Johns).
The Panthers pick up six of the 11 first-place votes. They are tied in total points but are one first-place vote ahead of Raines this week.
The Vikings (8-0) had no problem on the road, winning 47-0 at Yulee to clinch the District 3-3A title. Raines picks up the other five first-place votes, and closes their regular season on Thursday at home against Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville).
St. Augustine (7-1) remains 3rd. The Yellow Jackets cruised past Ridgeview (Orange Park), 63-7, to win the District 3-4A championship. and travels to No. 10 Mandarin (Jacksonville) on Halloween to conclude their regular season.
Bolles (Jacksonville) stays 4th. The Bulldogs (8-1) have won eight games in a row since an opening week loss to Raines and they wrapped up their regular season and the District 4-2A title with a 35-0 blanking of Wolfson (Jacksonville) last Friday.
Rounding out the top five again this week is Buchholz (Gainesville). The Bobcats (6-3) won another classic matchup with Bartram Trail, triumphing 38-37 in overtime on the road.
Buchholz returns home to Citizens Field for Senior Night and another tough matchup on Halloween against undefeated Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach).
Bradford (Starke) and Vanguard (Ocala) lead off the second five as the two teams are tied for 6th.
The Tornadoes (8-1) also wrapped up their regular season slate as they blanked Santa Fe (Alachua), 44-0, while Vanguard (8-1) clinched the District 5-4A championship by pounding Gainesville, 47-3. The Knights finish their regular season at Forest (Ocala) on Friday.
University (Orange City) is 8th, Hawthorne is 9th, and Mandarin (Jacksonville) is ranked No. 10 with no changes in the top 10 this week.
Mandarin (7-2) followed their defense to the District 2-6A title as the Mustangs won 18-7 at No. 19 Oakleaf (Orange Park).
New Smyrna Beach (7-2) moves into the poll this week at No. 20. The Barracudas replaced Baker County (Glen St. Mary), which was 15th a week ago but drops out after a loss to Wakulla (Crawfordville).
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & 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, 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 Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2024 FOOTBALL POLL #11
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1T. Nease (Ponte Vedra (6A) (6) (7-0) – 214
1T. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (5) (8-0) – 214
3. St. Augustine (5A) (7-1) – 193
4. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (8-1) – 181
5. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (6-3) – 171
6T. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (8-1) – 155
6T. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (8-1) – 155
8. University (Orange City) (7A) (8-1) – 144
9. Hawthorne (Rural) (6-1) – 130
10. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (7-2) – 128
11. Newberry (2A) (7-2) – 98
12. Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (8-0) – 73
13. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (5-3) – 71
14. Ponte Vedra (5A) (7-2) – 66
15. Madison County (Rural) (5-3) – 63
16. Flagler Palm Coast (7A) (7-1) – 51
17. Chiefland (Rural) (7-1) – 33
18. Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (7-1) – 32
19. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (6-3) – 24
20. New Smyrna Beach (4A) (7-1) – 19
Also receiving votes: Dunnellon (3A) (6-3) – 15; Eastside (Gainesville) (3A) (6-2) – 13; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (6-3) – 13; Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (7-2) – 12; Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (4-5) – 8; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (6-3) – 7; Mount Dora (3A) (8-1) – 7; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (3-5) – 5; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (6-3) – 5; Taylor County (Perry) (2A) (6-2) – 5; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (5-3) – 2; Suwannee (Live Oak) (3A) (3-5) – 2; Palatka (2A) (6-3) – 1.
The Rock Volleyball – 2024
Wednesday, 7-8 p.m. – “The Prep Zone” Sports Show (Archer Road)
‘Live’ audio: https://www.mainstreetdailynews.com/sports/live-stream/
Join Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught as he talks high school sports from your locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville (Archer Road). His guests for this episode include The Rock volleyball coach Ruben Perez and members of the Lions volleyball team (26-2), which won the NCSAA national championship in Ohio this past weekend.
P.K. Yonge falls short of district title
Recap by Natalia Lopez
The P.K. Yonge Blue Wave were unable to break their losing streak to the Trinity Catholic (Ocala) Celtics on Friday night.
The Blue Wave lost their third consecutive district title game with a 37-0 shutout against the Celtics on Friday night in the Class 1A-District 4 championship game.
“My goal wasn’t to do a playoff type scenario because the thing I don’t believe in, is rewarding, as well as I put it in coaching terms, bad behavior right now,” said P.K. Yonge coach Willie Jackson, Jr.
It was a difficult start for the Blue Wave in the first quarter with several incomplete passes, allowing the Celtics the opportunity for a touchdown to make it 7-0 with 5:45 left in the first quarter.
Trinity Catholic got its second score on a touchdown by Luke Rudnianyn in the second quarter.
P.K. Yonge junior quarterback AJ Powers faced relentless pressure, leading to throwing incomplete passes, interceptions, and getting sacked.
“Quarterback, he’s flustered, everyone’s flustered, and they started dropping the ball, fumbling the ball,” Jackson said.
After an incomplete pass, two holding calls, a sack, and a false start took P.K. Yonge back to their 6-yard line with 3:34 left on the clock in the second quarter, Trinity Catholic got a safety to boost their lead to 16-0.
Junior Ty Moses tried to create opportunities for the Blue Wave throughout the game on offense and defense. In the third quarter with 2:09 left, Moses made an interception at the 18-yard line when the Celtics were looking for another touchdown.
P.K. Yonge’s offense was unable to reciprocate Moses’s efforts with no complete passes and unable to gain momentum.
“First off, I’m trying to build a program here,” said Jackson, who explained he was focusing on the development and growth for his team. “When you have a young team, you have to learn how to win, that’s on entry-level…I have guys that it’s their first time playing football, so you have to build the program.”
Trinity Catholic, which improved to 2-7, will play its home finale this Friday at 7 p.m. against Newberry, while P.K. Yonge, which dropped to 5-3, ends the regular season at home this Friday at 7 p.m. against Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville).
Newberry at Williston – Football 2024 (Radio)
Friday, 7 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7:30 p.m. (KICKOFF)
Newberry at Williston
Radio: “I am Country” 106.9 FM Gainesville
‘Live’ audio: https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/WPLL
Join Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play) and former Gators football player Hank Rone (Color) for a rematch of last year’s game, which Williston won on a Statue of Liberty play call with 47 seconds remaining in the game.