Bolles (Jacksonville) passes Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) for No. 1 ranking in regional football poll after impressive road win

GAINESVILLE — A week ago, the Bolles (Jacksonville) Bulldogs were closing in on Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) for the No. 1 ranking in The Prep Zone Power Poll.

After a 27-point win in one of the tougher road environments in the area, the Bulldogs find themselves in the top spot for the first time in the 2021 season.

Bolles (2-0) rolled 34-7 on the road at then-No. 8 Columbia (Lake City) last Friday night.

That allowed the Bulldogs, despite receiving less first-place votes than Trinity Christian, to pass the Conquerors in total points and take over the top spot this week.

Bolles received two of the five first-place votes and face another tough matchup this week against No. 10 St. Augustine.

Trinity Christian (2-0), which blanked Ribault (Jacksonville), 37-0, in its home opener, received the other three first-place votes but dropped to 2nd after being ranked No. 1 in the first two all-classification rankings.

Buchholz (Gainesville) and Bartram Trail (St. Johns) are tied for 3rd.

The Bobcats (2-0) picked up another easy road win, 28-7, at then-No. 18 Sandalwood (Jacksonville), and the Bears (2-0) knocked off another 8A powerhouse Columbus (Miami), 12-6.

Rounding out the top five is Vanguard (Ocala).

The Knights (2-0) blanked West Port (Ocala) on the road 21-0. Vanguard is back home this week against another Marion County rival, No. 18 Dunnellon, which is 0-1.

Riverside (Jacksonville), formerly Robert E. Lee, moved up five spots to lead off the second five.

The Generals (2-0) romped 40-7 at then-RV Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville). Riverside travels to 0-2 Ribault this Friday night.

Oakleaf (Orange Park) moved up six spots to 7th, making a big move after knocking off powerhouse Carol City (Miami), 40-30.

The Knights (2-0) face another tough home test this week as #14 Columbia comes calling, looking to rebound from its home loss to Bolles.

Lake Minneola dropped two slots to No. 8 after losing 6-0 at home to then-No. 20 Fleming Island (Orange Park).

With the win, Fleming Island (1-1) moved up eight spots to 12th this week.
Rounding out the top 10 is No. 9 Clay (Green Cove Springs), which was off, and St. Augustine, which won its season opener, 44-0, over Menendez (St. Augustine).

The Yellow Jackets (1-0) travel to top-ranked Bolles tonight.

Flagler Palm Coast (1-0) moved in at No. 19 after knocking off then-No. 7 Mainland (Daytona Beach), 17-13, in the opener for both teams.

Mainland dropped into a tie for 15th with Baker County (Glen St. Mary).
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) and Suwannee (Live Oak) also move into the poll this week are tied for the 20th position.

Sandalwood and Trinity Catholic (Ocala), both tied for 18th in the previous poll, drop out. Trinity Catholic lost its opening game, 38-19, at Clearwater Central Catholic.

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 – 2021 FOOTBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (2) (2-0) – 97
2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (3) (2-0) – 95
3T. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (2-0) – 88
3T. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (2-0) – 88
5. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (2-0) – 74
6. Riverside (Jacksonville) (6A) (2-0) – 71
7. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (2-0) – 59
8. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (1-1) – 58
9. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (1-0) – 53
10. St. Augustine (6A) (1-0) – 50
11. Hawthorne (1A) (2-0) – 49
12. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (1-1) – 46
13. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (2-0) – 41
14. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (1-1) – 31
15T. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (1-1) – 27
15T. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (0-1) – 27
17. Madison County (1A) (0-1) – 20
18. Dunnellon (5A) (0-1) – 19
19. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (1-0) – 12
20T. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (2-0) – 11
20T. Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (2-0) – 11
Also receiving votes: South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (2-0) – 6; Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (1-0) – 4; Wildwood (1A) (0-0) – 4; North Marion (Citra) (5A) (1-0) – 3; Ed White (Jacksonville) (5A) (1-0) – 1; The Villages (4A) (2-0) – 1.

Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) stays on top of regional rankings, but Bolles (Jacksonville) and Buchholz (Gainesville) are closing in on Conquerors

GAINESVILLE — COVID-19 made its presence known in week one of high school football for the teams in The Prep Zone’s coverage area.

Many games were moved around, some games were postponed, while some games were put together at the very last minute to get the teams on the field.

Preseason No. 1 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) struggled a bit in their opener in a tough place to play at Raines (Jacksonville). But the Conquerors survived 24-18 and remain on top of the Prep Zone Power Poll after week one.

Trinity Christian received five of the seven first place votes this week to outpoint No. 2 Bolles (Jacksonville) by one point. The Conquerors play their home opener this week against another 5A team in Ribault (Jacksonville).

Speaking of Bolles, the Bulldogs remain second and pick up a first-place vote after a dominant 42-0 romp at home over West Nassau (Callahan) in the Bold City Showcase. Bolles hits the road this week for a big-time matchup at No. 8 Columbia (Lake City).

The Tigers make a big move up seven spots this week and into the top ten after a convincing 46-23 romp over 4A No. 7 American Heritage (Delray Beach). Both Bolles and Columbia should find out how good they are with this week’s matchup in Lake City.

Buchholz remains 3rd. The Bobcats had an interesting opening week, finding out late Thursday afternoon that their game at No. 18T Trinity Catholic was off due to COVID with the Celtics.

But when then-No. 5 Dunnellon found out late Thursday night their game with St. Augustine was off due to COVID issues with the Yellow Jackets, they called Buchholz on Friday morning and set up a game that night.

That matchup was more beneficial for the Bobcats, who romped 35-0 on the road and pick up the final first-place vote this week. Buchholz travels to No. 18T Sandalwood (Jacksonville) this week.

Dunnellon drops to 16th in this week’s poll.

Bartram Trail (St. Johns) also moves up three spots to No. 4 after romping 24-7 over last season’s 5A state runner-up Rickards (Tallahassee). The Bears (1-0) face another tough matchup at home this week against 8A No. 4 Columbus (Miami).

Vanguard (Ocala) rounds out the top five. The Knights opened up their 2021 slate with a 30-8 romp over Gainesville.

The second five consists of Lake Minneola (Minneola) at No. 6, followed by Mainland (Daytona Beach), Columbia, Baker County (Glen St. Mary) and Hawthorne.

Mainland saw their opener against RV DeLand cancelled due to COVID, and instead opens up this Friday at Flagler Palm Coast.

Baker County picked up a big 28-12 win at rival Bradford (Starke), who drops out of the rankings this week.

The Tornadoes, who were 20th a week ago, are the only team to fall out of the poll this week. They are replaced by Sandalwood, which moved into the rankings after scoring in the final minute to win 19-15 at rival Fletcher (Neptune Beach). The Saints (1-0) are tied for 18th with Trinity Catholic.

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 – 2021 FOOTBALL POLL #2
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (5) (1-0) – 135
2. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (1) (1-0) – 134
3. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (1) (1-0) – 124
4. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (1-0) – 109
5. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (1-0) – 108
6. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (1-0) – 106
7. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (0-0) – 90
8. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (1-0) – 86
9. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (1-0) – 83
10. Hawthorne (1A) (1-0) – 79
11. Riverside (Jacksonville) (6A) (1-0) – 76
12. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-0) – 53
13. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (1-0) – 49
14. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (1-0) – 48
15. St. Augustine (6A) (0-0) – 46
16. Dunnellon (5A) (0-1) – 37
17. Madison County (1A) (0-1) – 22
18T. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (1-0) – 19
18T. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (0-0) – 19
20. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (0-1) – 14
Also receiving votes: Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (1-0) – 9; Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (1-0) – 9; South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (1-0) – 4; Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (1-0) – 2; North Marion (Citra) (5A) (1-0) – 2; The Villages (4A) (1-0) – 2; Wildwood (1A) (0-0) – 2; Bradford (Starke) (1A) (0-1) – 1; DeLand (8A) (0-0) – 1; Ed White (Jacksonville) (5A) (1-0) – 1.