Tuesday (TODAY), 5:20 p.m. (PREGAME) – Girls High School Basketball, 5:30 p.m. (TIP)
DME Sports Academy at The Rock (Gainesville)
Join Timothy Williams (Play-by-play) & Mike Ridaught (Color) for all the action.
‘Live’ and ‘archived’ VIDEO available online at https://livestream.com/therocklions
The Trophy Shop Athlete of the Week for the week of January 6 is JAKE CHARSKE* of the Forest (Ocala) boys’ basketball team.
*The senior led the Wildcats to a 2-0 week and became the school’s all-time leader in career 3-pointers with 140 in a 67-46 win against rival Vanguard, 67-46. Charske entered the game against the Knights tied for first on FHS’s record list and then sank 6-of-8 from behind the arc en route to a career-high 29 points. Earlier in the week, he scored a game-high 22 points as Forest upset The Villages, 72-62.
Nominate an Athlete of the Week each week no later than Sunday at 6 p.m. Email your nominations to mike@ThePrepZone.com
Previous 2019-20 winners:
December 23 & 30 – No award (Winter break)
December 16 – Kelli Cunningham (Countryside Christian girls basketball)
In four games, Cunningham had a combined 87 points as the Minutemen went 3-1 during the week. She scored a game-high 18 points as CCS knocked off previously undefeated Oak Hall (Gainesville) by a score of 48-36. Cunningham started the week off with a game-high 27 points in a 53-17 win at Dixie County (Cross City). The junior had just joined the 1,000-point scoring club by scoring 29 points vs. Branford High school on Friday, December 13th.
December 9 – K’mari Williams (Dunnellon girls basketball)
Williams helped lead the Lady Tigers to a 2-1 week, including their first win of the season. The freshman led Dunnellon (1-5) to a 51-22 win at Cedar Key by scoring a game-high 30 points. She shot 46% from the floor and added six steals. She also scored a game-high 17 points and five steals in a loss to unbeaten Lake Weir (Ocala) and finished the week with a game-high 27 points in a 51-45 win at Santa Fe (Alachua).
December 2 – Dean Hogg (Keystone Heights boys soccer)
The junior forward helped lead the Indians to a 3-0 week by scoring 10 goals. Hogg started the week by single handedly outscoring St. Francis Catholic (Gainesville). He had a first-half hat trick and finished with five goals and two assists as the Indians broke open a 3-3 tie to win 8-3. The following night, he had the game-winning goal, finishing with two goals scored, in a 3-0 win against Crescent City. He ended the week with a hat trick and dishing out two assists in a 9-1 win against Interlachen.
November 25 – No award (Thanksgiving holiday)
November 18 – Sydney James (West Port girls basketball)
James helped lead the Wolf Pack to a 2-0 week. The senior scored 37 points in a season opening 65-48 win over The Rock (Gainesville). She added 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double, as well as six steals and two blocks. The Furman signee followed that up with 22 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and four assists in a 67-15 rout of Dunnellon.
November 11 – Wesley Hyde (West Port boys swimming)
Hyde ended his high school career with a gold medal. The senior swam an All-American time of 4:28.90, almost six seconds faster than his time in the prelims, to bring home the Class 4A state title in the 500 freestyle at the FHSAA Swimming & Diving Finals at Sailfish Waterpark and Aquatics Center in Stuart. He also swam a 1:54.54 to finish seventh in the 200 IM.
November 4 – Lain Shahboz (P.K. Yonge girls swimming)
The University of Florida signee won a second consecutive state title in the 100-backstroke and helped lead the Lady Blue Wave to a third-place finish, their highest finish in school history. She was the lead off for the Medley Relay team which finished fourth and the anchor for the 400 Free Relay, which finished third. She also placed 3rd in the 500 Free for the 2nd year.
October 28 – Austin Montini (Oak Hall boys cross country)
The junior won his second regional title with a time of 16:24.77. He helped lead the No. 3 Oak Hall boys to the team title, beating No. 5 ranked and defending state champion Mount Dora Christian Academy.
October 21 – Alexa Schmidt (Vanguard volleyball)
After missing 20 matches with a left ankle sprain and bone bruise, the Star-Banner’s 2018 co-player-of-the-year helped lead the defending Class 7A state champion Knights to a sweep of visiting Gateway (Kissimmee) in the FHSAA Class 5A-Region 3 quarterfinals. The senior outside hitter made her presence known with 15 kills and seven aces as Vanguard advanced to the regional semifinals.
October 14 – Cole Gonzales (Oak Hall football)
Gonzales helped lead the Eagles to a 49-14 win on Homecoming against visiting Niceville Rocky Bayou Christian (Niceville). The sophomore quarterback threw for 218 yards, rushed for 103, and accounted for five touchdowns – including a pick-6.
October 7 – Elise Bauer (Forest girls swimming)
Bauer won two events to help Forest win the Mid-Florida Conference meet out of 17 teams. The University of Florida commit won the 200 free (1:57.24) and the 500 free (5:01.73).
September 30 – Taria Liles (Bell volleyball)
The junior helped lead the Class 1A No. 1-ranked Bulldogs to a 3-0 week with wins against Taylor (Pierson), Branford, and Union County. Liles finished the week with 55 kills, 59 digs, and five aces, as Bell improved to 21-1 overall.
September 23 – Trevor McGovern (P.K. Yonge boys swimming)
McGovern won two events at the Rob Ramirez City Championships in Gainesville to help lead the boys’ team to its first city title since 2007. The senior won the 50 free with a time of 21.79. He also won the 100 back with a time of 50.83.
September 16 – Jamarian Samuel (Trinity Catholic football)
Samuel had a monster game as the Celtics crushed defending 2A state champion North Florida Christian (Tallahassee), 42-13. The junior tailback started slow, with just 12 yards on his first five carries. However, by halftime, Samuel would finish with 17 carries for 262 yards and four touchdowns. It was his fourth straight game over 100 yards, which also put him over 1,000 yards at the halfway point of the season (1,078 yards) for the Celtics (5-0).
September 9 – Deiontae Simpkins (Lake Weir football)
Simpkins completed 10-of-14 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns as the Hurricanes blew past Belleview, 48-0, in the annual War for the Oar to win their first game of the season. The senior quarterback led his team to a TD on its opening drive thanks to three straight quarterback runs, finishing the night with 127 yards rushing and a score on only 12 carries.
September 2 – No award (Hurricane Dorian)
August 26 – Trevor Holtzendorf (Union County football)
The sophomore played a big role in Union County’s come-from-behind 15-12 win at Williston. Holtzendorf recorded 14 tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. Union County (2-0) didn’t allow a score in the second half.
August 19 – Quan Smith (Buchholz football)
Smith helped lead the Bobcats to a 21-20 win against Eastside by rushing for 190 yards. The junior had 108 yards in the first half. However, it was his late fourth quarter 46-yard run, right after Eastside’s TD but blocked extra point, that helped seal the win. Smith had a 44-yard TD run in the first half and had Buchholz’s only score of the second half on a 40-yard pass from quarterback Jack Hevesy.
The Sonic Drive-In Player-of-the-Game for Friday, January 17, was Jalen Speer of The Rock (Gainesville) boys’ basketball team.
Speer, a senior and Florida A&M signee, scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and The Rock never trailed in a 60-52 win over visiting Providence (Jacksonville) on Friday night.
The first half was full of runs, as the Lions scored the first seven points of the game before the Stallions answered with a 6-0 run of their own. The Rock had a 16-13 lead after the opening period as Speer and junior Kyle Duke scored five points apiece.
The teams traded 7-0 runs in the second period, but The Rock stayed ahead and used an 11-0 run to extend the lead to as much as 13 points before settling for a 32-25 lead at the halftime break. Duke and Speer led the Lions with seven points each with junior Atraiel Washington adding six points and senior LJ Hancock chipping in five points in a balanced scoring effort.
The second half featured more runs but The Rock stayed on top 47-39 heading into the final period. Speer knocked in a three-pointer and had 12 points through three quarters. Duke led The Rock with 13 points as the only two Lions players in double figures.
Speer had seven points in the fourth quarter, including another trey and two big free throws late in the game.
Providence (13-7) kept battling back and crawled to within 54-52 with 2 minutes left. But senior Kendall Latney, who also finished in double figures with 12 points, knocked down a turn-around jumper in the paint as The Rock scored the final six points to pull away for the win.
Providence placed two players in double figures, as senior Josh Himel led with 17 points, including five three-pointers, and junior Jack Dillard also hit two threes and scored 15 points.
The Rock improved to 15-7 and will be back in action thisTuesday night, January 21, at home against Oldsmar Christian. You can catch live streaming video on The Prep Zone, beginning with coverage of the Rock girls’ basketball game at 5:30 p.m. against DME Sports Academy (Daytona Beach).
Every game The Prep Zone will recognize a Player-of-the-Game. The recipient receives a $10 gift certificate courtesy of Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville & Ocala.
Mike Ridaught joined Jeff Cardozo & Pat Dooley on The Tailgate (WRUF-98.1 FM & 850 AM) on Thursday, January 16, for ThePrepZone.com Sports Report presented by SunState Federal Credit Union.
Here is a recap of the interview:
Gainesville High School’s Alissa Humphrey just signed with Jacksonville University today. While former Hurricane Katie Chronister begins her final season with the Gators, this will be Humphrey’s final season with GHS.
Katie Chronister graduated from Gainesville High School in 2016. She was the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year & the Florida Dairy Famers POY her senior year. Chronister led GHS to its first-ever softball state title that year. Gainesville beat Lake Region for the Class 6A state title in 2016. She would finish her career with a with a 70-18 pitching record and 725 strikeouts. In fact, she compiled a 48-4 record in the circle during her junior (0.56 ERA) and senior (0.53 ERA) seasons. She also finished with a .486 batting average with 132 hits throughout her career, 21 doubles, 11 triples and five home runs. So she could hit and pitch.
By comparison, Alissa Humphrey has been All-State every year since her freshman year. She is currently the No. 73 ranked recruit for the Class of 2020. Here are her stats since her freshman year:
2017 (Freshman year) – Record of 21-3 with a 1.75 ERA and 198K in 144 innings pitched. She batted .393 with 29 RBI (2nd on the team)
2018 (Sophomore) – Record of 20-16 with a 1.01 ERA and 343 strikeouts in only 173 innings pitched. She had a team-best .429 average and drove in 18 runs (2nd on the team)
2019 (Junior) – Record of 19-5 with a 0.29 ERA, 12 shutouts, and a total of 325 strikeouts in 169 innings pitched. Humphrey batted .325 and led the team with 20 RBI. She also hit three homeruns.
Chronister finished her career with 725 strikeouts. Humphrey will shatter the school’s strikeout record. The new JU signee has 866 Ks in her career with a whole senior season to go. She’s only walked 93 batters and has a nine to one strikeout to walk ratio.
Alissa Humphrey of @GHSSoftball_2 on her big day & upcoming season with the Hurricanes. The new @JAX_Softball signee has a 9 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio entering her season season and a .344 career batting average at GHS. pic.twitter.com/F1aLQsn3hA
— The Prep Zone (@ThePrepZone) January 16, 2020
The new FHSAA basketball playoff rankings are out for girls Basketball. With only two weeks left in the regular season where do things stand for the locals?
As we discussed last week, the girls district tournaments start on Feb. 3rd so that’s only two weeks from Monday. If you remember, the district seedings are going to be based on a points system by MaxPreps. You aren’t required to play all of your district opponents so the positive side to that is it allows you to play a tougher overall schedule which will help not only with district seeding but also for at-large teams who do not win their district tournament.
Last week my top three teams in the Gainesville area were Hawthorne, P.K. Yonge, and Trenton, and in that order. Nothing has changed. I still think Hawthorne is the best team. They beat Class 6A Orange Park Fleming Island last night 60-49. Last Thursday, they beat another 6A team – Lake City Columbia, which is currently 15-4 overall, by 33 points – on the road! The Hawthorne girls are 18-1. In two weeks, they will host P.K. Yonge for a little matinee action to determine who the best team is in Alachua County. That will be on Friday, January 31st, at 12:30 in the afternoon. I know they did this last year (P.K. Yonge won that one handily), and they let the kids out of school to watch the game. I would imagine Hawthorne will do the same.
P.K. Yonge (4A) & Hawthorne (1A) both made the Final Four last year in their respective classes. P.K. Yonge got off to a slow start this year but that’s because they had been battling injuries. Junior Mya McGraw, who is averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds per game, was out the first six weeks of the season with a broken foot. Last Friday and Saturday they hosted the Blue Wave Classic and they beat larger classification schools Ocala Vanguard and Ocala West Port. Vanguard is 5A and they beat them by 25 and West Port is a 7A school. Both of those teams have winning records too so I believe P.K. Yonge may be turning a corner. They play at Class 6A Tallahassee Leon tomorrow so again, Willie Powers is scheduling tough competition to help them get ready for a run in late February.
Trenton, which is the defending 1A state champion, has won four in a row since the loss at P.K. Yonge on January the 3rd. It will be much tougher to repeat as state champions this year. Lafayette (Mayo) and Madison County are in their region (Region 3), while Hawthorne and Wildwood, which is really good this year, are in Region 4. The good thing about Trenton is that their top five scorers are all underclassmen.
Tomorrow night at Santa Fe College it will be Eastside vs. GHS in the first of a 2-game series between the ‘Canes and the ‘Rams (Boys Basketball)
Eastside will enter that game with a 4-game winning streak. It took overtime, but they did beat Buchholz on Tuesday night. They also beat Santa Fe on the road by 16 last Friday and they beat North Marion on the road by 10 a little over a week ago. The Rams have three players are now averaging in double figures, led by KJ Bradley, last year’s Gainesville Sun co-player of the year who is averaging almost 17 per game. They play a Gainesville team tomorrow night that has been struggling a bit – even though it’s been against pretty good competition. The Hurricanes lost to Palatka on Tuesday night at home. Palatka is who put Eastside out of the playoffs last year. GHS did beat Buchholz on the road last Friday, so they bounced back from the losses to Leesburg and at Columbia (Lake City) in overtime.
As far as other teams in the area, this past Tuesday Santa Fe (Alachua) beat P.K. Yonge, 43-42, on an offensive put-back by 6-foot-9 junior Ernest Ross with 22 seconds to play. Both teams are right around .500. P.K. Yonge is at Trinity Catholic (Ocala) tomorrow night for a big district game. Santa Fe will be at home against Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) tonight. I still think Santa Fe can make the 4A playoffs and I think P.K. Yonge can make the 3A playoffs – if they can win their district tournament, which right now they are the highest seeded team in 3A-District 3.
Hawthorne is still rolling. They’ve now won 14 in a row and the Hornets are 15-1 overall. They beat P.K. Yonge by eight last Friday. They get a good test on Monday against North Florida Educational Institute of Jacksonville, which is ranked 6th in the state in Class 2A by MaxPreps. Hawthorne is hosting the 1st annual MLK Basketball Showcase on Monday. The Hawthorne boys will play Monday night at 7. P.K. Yonge will play The Villages at 5:30 p.m. The Eastside boys will play at 4 p.m. against Central Florida Christian Academy, which is ranked fourth in the state in 2A.
Also, Forest High School in Ocala is hosting their MLK tournament on Saturday – a total of seven games on Saturday beginning with Buchholz and Dunnellon at 11 a.m. We end the day with St. Francis Catholic and Vanguard (Ocala) at 6:30 p.m., followed by host Forest and Wildwood in what should be a great game at 8 p.m. We’ll be broadcasting those last two games on Saturday, plus tomorrow night’s Providence (Jacksonville) at The Rock game.
**Tune in to our weekly radio interviews talking high school sports on ThePrepZone.com Sports Report presented by SunState Federal Credit Union on WRUF-98.1 FM & 850 AM in Gainesville every Thursday at 4 p.m. on “The Tailgate” with Jeff Cardozo & Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley.**
Find out what’s going on daily in high school sports with ThePrepZone.com Sports Report Presented by SunState Federal Credit Union. The 1-minute high school sports vignette is produced by Mike Ridaught and airs ‘live’ every weekday morning between 7:50-7:55 a.m. on “I am Country 106.9 FM” in Gainesville. The reports are archived for 30 days here.
If you live in the Tri-County area (Gilchrist, Levy & Dixie County), tune in to ThePrepZone.com Nature Coast Sports Report presented by SunState Federal Credit Union on Country Legends Radio. The 2-minute high school sports vignette is produced by Ridaught and airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:28 a.m. and repeating at 5:28 p.m. on 93.1 FM & 940 AM in Chiefland/Trenton & 96.3 FM & 1240 AM in Cross City. Listen Live Here.
Saturday, January 18 – Boys High School Basketball from the Forest (Ocala) 2nd Annual MLK Classic.
St. Francis Cathoic (Gainesville) vs. Vanguard (Ocala)
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play), Mike Ridaught (Color), & Parker Ridaught (Videographer) for this Alachua County vs. Marion County showdown.
**Our sincere apologies but due to internet issues we were only able to record most of the 2nd half & it also affected the quality of the video.
Saturday, January 18 – Boys High School Basketbal from the Forest (Ocala) 2nd Annual MLK Classic
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play), Mike Ridaught (Color), & Parker Ridaught (Videographer) for this match-up of the Class 6A & Class 1A Wildcats.
**Our sincere apologies but due to internet issues we were unable to broadcast this game ‘live.’ We are working on retrieving the archive to upload for viewing. Please email mike@ThePrepZone.com for more info.**
Providence (Jacksonville) at The Rock (Gainesville)
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) & Declan Walsh (Color) for all the action.
‘Live’ and ‘archived’ VIDEO available online at https://livestream.com/therocklions
Raines (Jacksonville) remains No. 1 in All-classification regional rankings
GAINESVILLE – The streak continues for Raines (Jacksonville).
The Lady Vikings ran their win streak to 20 games, and for the second consecutive week they are the No. 1 team in The Prep Zone Power Poll.
But this time, thanks to nine first-place votes, they are a unanimous selection as the top overall team in the all-classification regional rankings.
Class 4A Raines (20-1) has not lost since a 61-56 loss to Class 6A #7 Lincoln (Tallahassee) on November 26.
But there was a change at No. 2.
That’s because previous No. 3 Spruce Creek (Port Orange) won at previous No. 2 Father Lopez (Daytona Beach), 52-46, this past Friday. The two flip-flopped, with the Class 7A Lady Hawks (12-3) moving up to second and the Class 3A Green Wave (16-2) falling one spot to third.
Class 1A Wildwood, which defeated Class7A West Port (Ocala), 46-43, at the Blue Wave Classic at P.K. Yonge in Gainesville, remained fourth.
However, Ribault (Jacksonville) had a huge week and moved up one spot to No. 5.
The Class 4A Trojans (16-6) won at #7 Bolles (Jacksonville), 60-46, vs. previous #9 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), 44-38, and against #7 Creekside (St. Johns), 53-47.
Previous No. 5 University Christian (Jacksonville) lost at #9 Middleburg, 60-55, on Friday, and dropped one spot to sixth. The 2A Christians (14-1) are followed by Bolles (Jacksonville) (13-4), Hawthorne (16-1), Middleburg (10-5) and Creekside (St. Johns) (10-4) in the top 10.
P.K. Yonge (11-7) jumped into the rankings at No. 16 following top 20 wins against previous No. 18 Vanguard (Ocala) & #19 West Port at the Blue Wave Classic last weekend.
Class 5A St. Augustine (10-2) entered the rankings at No. 18.
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 – 2019-20 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/12, and total voting points)
1. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (9) (20-1) – 180
2. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (12-3) – 165
3. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (3A) (16-2) – 158
4. Wildwood (1A) (14-1) – 149
5. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (16-6) – 146
6. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (14-1) – 127
7. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-4) – 122
8. Hawthorne (1A) (16-1) – 120
9. Middleburg (5A) (10-5) – 114
10. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (10-4) – 79
11. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (10-8) – 78
12. Flagler Palm Coast (7A) (12-4) – 73
13. Orange Park (5A) (11-4) – 72
14. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (14-4) – 70
15. Trenton (1A) (13-3) – 58
16. P.K Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (11-7) – 30
17. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (7A) (10-8) – 29
18. St. Augustine (5A) (10-2) – 22
19. West Port (Ocala) (7A) (10-7) – 16
20. Crystal River (4A) (12-3) – 13
Also receiving votes: Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (8-5) – 11; Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (8-7) – 9; Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (11-6) – 7; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (3A) (10-4) – 7; Eustis (4A) (10-5) – 6; Madison County (1A) (11-5) – 6; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (6-4) – 5; Lake Weir (Ocala) (5A) (12-3) – 5; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (8-8) – 4; Trinity Christian (Deltona) (2A) (10-2) – 4; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (11-6) – 3; South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (12-2) – 2.
Monday, January 13 – “The Prep Zone” Sports Show presented by Sonic Drive-In (broadcast from Sonic Drive-In on Maricamp Road in Ocala)
Join Mike Ridaught as he talks high school sports from Sonic Drive-In of Ocala. His guests include Lake Weir (Ocala) Girls Basketball coach Antony Smith and members of the Lady Hurricanes’ basketball team, who are 12-3 on the season.
First round – Monday, January 13
First Coast (Jacksonville) 52, Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) 23 (at Terry Parker)
Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) 50, Baldwin (at Mandarin) 14
Terry Parker (Jacksonville) 55, Stanton (Jacksonville) 6
Mandarin (Jacksonville) 55, Wolfson (Jacksonville) 14
Tuesday, January 14
Raines (Jacksonville) 71, First Coast 24 (at Lee)
Ribault (Jacksonville) 30, Jackson 29 (at Sandalwood)
Terry Parker 55, Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) 41
Sandalwood (Jacksonville) 64, Mandarin (Jacksonville) 42
Wednesday, January 15 (Semifinals – At Ribault)
Raines 54, Terry Parker 23
Ribault 48, Sandalwood 46
Thursday, January 16 (Championship – At Raines)
Raines 66, Ribault 57