St. Augustine falls out of the top 10; Nease (Ponte Vedra) moves into the rankings for the first time this season
Gainesville – The top-ranked team in the Prep Zone Power Poll flexed its muscles as we head into the final two weeks of the regular season.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), which has not scored below 34 points in a game all season, amassed 727 yards of offense in a 49-18 win at 7A Lincoln (Tallahassee).
The Conquerors (8-0) received eight of the nine first-place votes to remain No. 1. They will host Episcopal (Jacksonville) tonight for the 3A-District 2 title.
Mainland (Daytona Beach), which received the other first-place vote, defeated New Smyrna Beach, 35-7, to remain second. The Bucs (8-1) play at Seabreeze (Daytona Beach) for the 6A-District 13 title.
Tonight on ESPN2, the North Marion Colts (Citra), who are ranked third in the regional rankings, will play at Hoover (AL), the No. 5 team in Class 7A in Alabama. The Colts (8-0), ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press 5A state poll, clinched their 16th consecutive postseason appearance by winning the 5A-District 6 title with a 42-0 win over Belleview.
Raines (Jacksonville) tuned up for its showdown against No. 7 Bolles (Jacksonville) tonight with a 47-0 win against West Nassau (Callahan). The Vikings (8-0), who have posted six shutouts on the season, remained fourth.
Rounding out the top five is Columbia (Lake City). The Tigers (7-1) won the 7A-District 2 title with a 42-26 win at Fletcher (Neptune Beach).
While the top five remained the same, sixth-ranked St. Augustine lost to Nease (Ponte Vedra), which is now ranked 18th. The Panthers (6-2) clinched their first playoff spot since 2008 with the victory.
The Yellow Jackets (7-1), who lost 23-20 in overtime, had their district win streak snapped at 50 games and it marks the first time in 12 years that they won’t win the district title. They dropped seven spots to No. 13.
Buchholz (Gainesville), which won its first district title in 11 years with a 31-21 win at Fleming Island (Orange Park), moved up one spot to sixth. The Bobcats’ (7-1) only loss this season was at Columbia.
Bolles (8-1) is tied with Mandarin (Jacksonville) for seventh. The Bulldogs shutout Fernandina Beach, 52-0, while the Mustangs (8-0) defeated Spruce Creek (Port Orange), 44-41, staying unbeaten on a 55-yard TD pass with 43 seconds to play to win the 8A-District 1 championship.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7-1), ranked ninth, is at Bartram Trail (St. Johns) for the runner-up spot behind Buchholz in 7A-District 3, and Dunnellon (8-0) moves into the top 10 following a 27-7 win at previous No. 11 South Sumter (Bushnell) for the Tigers’ first district title in five years.
University Christian (Jacksonville) (6-2), which lost at Brentwood Academy (TN), fell out of the rankings.
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 – 2015 Football Poll #10
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, current record, and total voting points)
1. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (8) (3A) (8-0) – 179
2. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (1) (6A) (8-1) – 172
3. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (8-0) – 160
4. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (8-0) – 154
5. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (7-1) – 144
6. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (7-1) – 133
7T Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (8-0) – 120
7T Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (8-1) – 120
9. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (7-1) – 104
10. Dunnellon (4A) (8-0) – 86
11. University (Orange City) (8A) (8-1) – 83
12. Trenton (1A) (8-0) – 76
13. St. Augustine (6A) (7-1) – 73
14T Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (6-1) – 63
14T Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (8-0) – 63
16. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (6-2) – 61
17. South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (7-2) – 25
18. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (6-2) – 18
19. Fort White (1A) (6-2) – 17
20. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (6-2) – 14
Also receiving votes: Matanzas (Palm Coast) (6A) (7-1) – 11; Madison County (1A) (6-3) – 6; University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (6-2) – 4; Ponte Vedra (5A) (6-2) – 2; Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (5-2) – 1.
