Madison County holds onto #1 ranking in regional all-classification rankings as Bolles (Jacksonville) moves closer to top spot
GAINESVILLE — The top of The Prep Zone Power Poll continues get tighter as we move through the first month of the high school football season.
But despite having less first-place votes than Bolles (Jacksonville) this week, Madison County remains the top team for the third straight week.
Madison County (3-0) pulled away late in a tough road environment for a 32-14 win at RV Suwannee (Live Oak).
The 3-time defending 1A state champion Cowboys received three of the eight first-place votes this week and edged Bolles by just one total voting point to stay at #1.
Madison County travels to Tallahassee to take on defending 3A state champion Florida High this Friday.
Bolles remains second after their second consecutive road win to start the season, 40-23 at #19 St. Augustine. The Bulldogs (2-0) received four first-place votes but stayed just a point shy of the top spot and remained second this week.
Bolles opens its home schedule this week against RV Creekside (St. Johns).
Remaining third is Bartram Trail (St. Johns).
The Bears (2-0) received the other first-place vote after pulling away for a 26-13 win at Mandarin (Jacksonville). Bartram Trail also plays its home opener this week against St. Johns County rival St. Augustine.
Vanguard (Ocala) remains 4th. The Knights still won’t open their season until next Friday, October 2, at city rival Forest.
Trinity Catholic (Ocala) rounds out the top five after opening their season with a 48-31 win against then-#17 South Sumter (Bushnell).
The Celtics (1-0) travel to Citizens Field to face Gainesville on Thursday night.
Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) starts off the second five. The Generals (1-0) edged Ribault (Jacksonville) 26-18 to open their season with a win.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) dropped only one spot to 7th after losing 37-17 at Georgia powerhouse Lowndes. The Knights (1-1) get another challenge this week as they host RV University Christian (Jacksonville).
Fleming Island (Orange Park), which improved to 2-0 with a 28-20 win at #20 Fletcher (Neptune Beach), moves up one slot to 8th. Following the Golden Eagles at #9 is North Marion (Citra), which opens up the 2020 season against Forest on Friday.
Rounding out the top 10 is Columbia (Lake City). The Tigers also finally get their season underway this week with a challenging opener, on the road at #15 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville).
Clay (Green Cove Springs), which knocked off University Christian in its opening game and pounded Orange Park 47-13 last week to improve to 2-0, moves into the rankings this week at #18.
Also new to the poll is #20 Fletcher, which moves in despite the loss to Fleming Island. The Senators (1-1) host #11 Flagler Palm Coast this week.
Dropping out from last week were South Sumter (0-2), and Raines (Jacksonville), which fell from the #20 spot and dropped to 0-2 after a 35-26 loss to Camden County (GA).
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 and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2020 FOOTBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification*, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Madison County (1A) (3) (3-0) – 150
2. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (4) (2-0) – 149
3. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (1) (2-0) – 146
4. Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (0-0) – 130
5. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (1-0) – 129
6. Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) (6A) (1-0) – 117
7. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (1-1) – 110
8. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (2-0) – 99
9. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (0-0) – 91
10. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (0-0) – 90
11. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (1-0) – 75
12. DeLand (8A) (0-0) – 74
13. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (3-0) – 62
14. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (1-0) – 52
15. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (0-1) – 49
16T. Dunnellon (5A) (0-0) – 45
16T. Ponte Vedra (6A) (2-0) – 45
18. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (2-0) – 19
19, St. Augustine (6A) (1-1) – 9
20. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (1-1) – 8
Also receiving votes: Baldwin (3A) (2-0) – 7; Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (1-1) – 6; Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (1-0) – 6; South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (0-2) – 6; Hawthorne (1A) (2-0) – 4; The Villages (4A) (1-0) – 4; Wildwood (1A) (2-0) – 4; Forest (Ocala) (7A) (0-0) – 3; Branford (1A) (2-0) – 2; Lake Minneola (6A) (0-0) – 2; University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-1) – 2.
*new classifications will be decided after the 9/18 FHSAA state series opt in/out date
We are recognizing the top athletes from the Class of 2021. It will include athletes from the following counties: Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, and Union.
We had a super busy week last week with a total of five high school sports broadcasts.
Here are the current standings, followed by this week’s games and last week’s results:
The Sonic Drive-In Player-of-the-Game for Friday, September 25, was Quan Smith of the Buchholz (Gainesville) football team.
