Gainesville – Heading into the Christmas holiday, most of the teams in the Prep Zone Power Poll top 10 remained intact.
There was a little movement, but only one team dropped out.
Despite losing to nationally-ranked Montverde Academy in the semifinals of the prestigious City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Providence (Jacksonville) was a unanimous selection as the top overall team. The Stallions (9-2) picked up a couple of wins against out-of-state competition in collecting all six first-place votes to remain No. 1.
The biggest surprise last week was Ocala Vanguard’s 68-67 overtime win over previously unbeaten Lake Minneola, which dropped the Hawks (12-1), who were outscoring opponents by an average of 35 points per game, from second to fourth. Meanwhile, the Knights (7-2), who will host the 40th annual Kingdom of the Sun this Friday, moved into the poll for the first time at No. 15.
Last week senior Daishon Smith hit two free throws with 0.8 seconds to play as Ribault (Jacksonville) defeated Sandalwood (Jacksonville), 60-59, in a battle of unbeaten top five teams. With the win, the Trojans (12-0) moved up three spots into a tie for second, while the Saints (8-1) dropped two spots to fifth.
The Villages are tied for second with Ribault. The Buffaloes (11-0) won both of their games by more than 30 points in moving up two spots in this week’s poll.
Gainesville (9-1) is ranked sixth, followed by Bolles (Jacksonville) (12-0), Ed White (Jacksonville) (10-2), Nature Coast (Brooksville) (10-1), and Palatka (9-1) & Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (10-2), which are tied for 10th. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (10-4), which is ranked 12th, was the only team to fall out of the top 10 following a 1-3 week which included two losses at the Kreul Classic.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) (7-4) moved into the poll for the first time following a 2-0 week that included an 85-83 win against previous No. 12 Palatka.
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, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.
PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2013-14 BASKETBALL POLL #2
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, current record and total voting points)
1. Providence (Jacksonville) (6) (3A) (9-2) – 120
2T Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (12-0) – 110
2T The Villages (4A) (11-0) – 110
4. Lake Minneola (6A) (12-1) – 98
5. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (8-1) – 97
6. Gainesville (6A) (9-1) – 92
7. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (12-0) – 81
8. Ed White (Jacksonville) (6A) (10-2) – 76
9. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (10-1) – 63
10T Palatka (5A) (9-1) – 59
10T Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (10-2) – 59
12. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (10-4) – 53
13. Hawthorne (1A) (10-1) – 48
14. Chiefland (1A) (9-0) – 32
15. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (7-2) – 31
16. Fort White (4A) (7-0) – 29
17. Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (7-2) – 21
18. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (3A) (6-4) – 20
19. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (10-5) – 13
20. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (7-4) – 12
Also receiving votes – Williston (1A) (7-2) – 9; Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (9-2) – 8; PK Yonge (Gainesville) (4A) (9-5) – 6; Englewood (Jacksonville) (6A) (10-4) – 4; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (7-2) – 3; Forrest (Jacksonville) (6A) (10-3) – 3; First Academy (Leesburg) (2A) (8-0) – 2; DeLand (8A) (10-4) – 1.
