Mainland (Daytona Beach) remains on top; only one ranked team fell last week
Gainesville – The top teams in the Prep Zone Power Poll are jockeying for position in their quest to bring home state titles to the north part of the state.
In fact, there was little change in the top 10 as Nos. 1-8 remained the same and Nos. 9 and 10 flip-flopped.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) is a unanimous selection as the top overall team for the second consecutive week. But the nationally-ranked Bucs (8-0) still must beat Seabreeze (Daytona Beach) this week to win 6A-District 9 and earn home field advantage for the first round of the FHSAA state playoffs in two weeks.
First Coast (Jacksonville) defeated West Port (Ocala), 41-2, to become 8A-District 1 champions. The Bucs (8-0), who had two defensive touchdowns and a punt return for a score, were a unanimous selection as the No. 2 team.
The Class 5A-District 6 champion, South Sumter (Bushnell), remained third. The Raiders (9-0) stayed unbeaten with a 42-10 win over Weeki Wachee. They have a chance to go undefeated for the third regular season in a row with a win at Leesburg in the regular season finale next Friday.
Defending 5A state runners-up Clay (Green Cove Springs) remained fourth following a 48-20 win over Palatka that wrapped up the 5A-District 4 championship. J.T. Turner rushed for 152 yards, passed for 117 and accounted for five TDs in the game for the Blue Devils (8-1).
Rounding out the top five is defending 3A state champion Trinity Christian (Jacksonville). The Conquerors (6-2) defeated Warner Christian (South Daytona), 48-0, for their first shutout of the season. They will play at RV Providence (Jacksonville) on Thursday for the Class 3A-District 1 title.
Class 5A Suwannee (Live Oak) remained ranked sixth. The 5A-District 5 champions Bulldogs (8-0) defeated 4A Fort White, 31-3, and are just two wins away from their first unbeaten regular season since 1962.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) is still seventh. The Knights (8-0), who were off last week, will host RV Fletcher (Neptune Beach) for the Class 7A-District 3 championship this Friday.
St. Augustine defeated Creekside (St. Johns), 49-14, in a battle of unbeaten teams in 6A-District 4. The Yellow Jackets (7-1), who are ranked eighth, set a state record with their 46th consecutive district victory dating back to a loss to Palatka in 2003. It was their 11th consecutive district title during that span.
Rounding out the top 10 are Trinity Catholic (Ocala) and Dixie County (Cross City).
The Celtics (7-1) moved up one spot to ninth following a 37-0 win over 6A Lake Minneola. It was the second consecutive shutout for the Celtics, who will play for their seventh straight district title this Friday against Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) in 3A-District 2.
Meanwhile, the Bears (7-0), the top-ranked team in Class 1A, dropped one spot to 10th following a 38-8 win over Newberry. Dixie County, the 1A-District 7 champ, has won 15 consecutive regular season games.
South Lake (Groveland), which has advanced to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years, was the only ranked team to fall. The Class 6A Eagles lost to 5A Mount Dora, 49-34, and dropped from 11th to 17th in this week’s poll.
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.
Prep Zone Power Poll – 2014 Football Poll #10
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, overall record and total voting points)
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (10) (6A) (8-0) – 200
2. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (8-0) – 190
3. South Sumter (Bushnell) (5A) (9-0) – 171
4. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (8-1) – 168
5. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (6-2) – 164
6. Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (8-0) – 151
7. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (8-0) – 146
8. St. Augustine (6A) (7-1) – 126
9. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (7-1) – 112
10. Dixie County (Cross City) (1A) (7-0) – 111
11. Ed White (Jacksonville) (6A) (8-1) – 108
12. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (6-2) – 82
13. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (6-2) – 67
14. University (Orange City) (8A) (8-1) – 61
15T Trenton (1A) (8-1) – 55
15T Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (6-3) – 55
17. South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (7-1) – 34
18. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (6-2) – 23
19. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (6-2) – 21
20. Hamilton County (Jasper) (1A) (6-2) – 17
Also receiving votes: Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (6-1) – 11; Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (6-2) – 10; Mount Dora (5A) (7-2) – 10; DeLand (8A) (6-3) – 5; Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (7-1) – 1; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (5-3) – 1.
