Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) goes wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team
Gainesville – Three football teams in The Prep Zone coverage area took home state titles for the 2015 season.
But the team on top of the final Prep Zone Power Poll should not be a surprise.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) defeated American Heritage (Delray Beach), 30-3, in the 3A state championship game at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 5. That win clinched the third consecutive state title for Trinity Christian, a Duval County record, and also made the Conquerors (14-0) the unanimous choice once again atop the final regional rankings.
Trinity Christian outscored its four playoff opponents by a combined 177-20 and moved into the MaxPreps top 25 national rankings. It was the seventh state title under coach Verlon Dorminey, the Class 3A Coach of the Year.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) finished 2nd despite losing to Central (Miami) for the third straight year, this time 33-21 in the 6A regional finals. Central went on win its fourth consecutive state title, tying a state record. The Bucs finished the season at 11-2.
Coming in at No. 3 is Columbia (Lake City). The Tigers (12-2) advanced to the state semifinal round for the first time since 2003, before committing five turnovers in a 42-23 home loss to Viera.
Raines (Jacksonville), under the direction of the Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year Deran Wiley, finished fourth. The Vikings (12-2) advanced to their first state championship game appearance since winning their only state title in 1997, but they committed five turnovers and lost, 43-23, to Booker T. Washington (Miami) in the 4A state championship game.
The state title was Booker T. Washington’s fourth in a row, also tying a state record. Raines’ 1997 state championship is still the only football title for a Duval County public school.
Rounding out the top five is 1A state champion Trenton. The Tigers (14-0) were dominant all season, with a running clock in every game except their 27-18 win at Madison County in the state semifinal round.
Trenton blew out Port St. Joe, 56-21, at the Citrus Bowl to clinch its second state title in three years, outscoring its four playoff opponents by a combined 176-65.
Mandarin (Jacksonville) finished sixth after the Mustangs’ (12-1) first undefeated regular season in school history and a trip to the regional final round.
Coming in at #7 is Clay (Green Cove Springs), which jumped 11 spots from the previous poll. The Blue Devils (10-4) upset North Marion (Citra) and Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) to advance to the state semifinals for the second time in three years, before losing to eventual 5A state runner-up Wakulla (Crawfordville).
North Marion (Citra) finishes 8th after dropping a 65-58 shootout at Clay in the 5A regional semifinals. The Colts finished the season 10-2.
The third and final area state champion is University Christian (Jacksonville).
The Christians (11-3) jumped all the way from unranked to #9 after clinching their second state title in four years with a convincing 61-16 win over Cambridge Christian (Tampa) in the 2A state championship game. It was the 8th state title for University Christian.
Rounding out the top 10 is Bolles (Jacksonville), who was eliminated by Raines in the 4A regional finals. That snapped a streak of four consecutive state title game appearances for the Bulldogs (9-3)
Leading off the second 10 is Buchholz (Gainesville), which won its first district title since 2004 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. The Bobcats (10-2) are followed by Dunnellon, Nature Coast (Brooksville), which was led by Mr. Football DeShawn Smith, Bartram Trail (St. Augustine), and Santa Fe (Alachua).
Santa Fe (8-4) advanced to the state semifinals, upsetting 4A #1 Dunnellon, 15-14, in the regional final before being eliminated by eventual 4A state runner-up Raines, 35-14.
The final five are Suwannee (Live Oak), Madison County, Gainesville, Vanguard (Ocala), and Ribault (Jacksonville).
Gainesville (8-5) re-enters the final poll at No. 18 after advancing to the 6A regional finals, while Fort White and St. Augustine dropped out.
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 FINAL Football Poll
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, final record, and total voting points)
1. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (10) (3A) (14-0) – 200
2. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (11-2) – 179
3. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (12-2) – 174
4. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (12-2) – 172
5. Trenton (1A) (14-0) – 156
6. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (12-1) – 141
7. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (10-4) – 118
8. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (10-2) – 114
9. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (11-3) – 112
10. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (9-3) – 100
11. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (10-2) – 92
12. Dunnellon (4A) (11-1) – 88
13. Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (12-1) – 84
14. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (9-4) – 81
15. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (8-4) – 74
16. Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (9-3) – 62
17. Madison County (1A) (9-4) – 55
18. Gainesville (6A) (8-5) – 38
19. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (9-3) – 36
20. Ribault (Jacksonville) (5A) (7-5) – 13
Also receiving votes: Fort White (1A) (9-3) – 10, St. Augustine (6A) (9-2) – 8, Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (8-3) – 3.
