Bartram Trail (St. Johns) takes over top spot in all-classification regional rankings as top two teams last week both fall
GAINESVILLE — For the first time in the 2020 high school football season, there is a new top-ranked team in The Prep Zone Power Poll.
Both #1 Madison County and #2 Bolles (Jacksonville) dropped their first games of the season last week.
The 3-time defending 1A state champion Cowboys (3-1) lost 30-14 at defending 3A state champion Florida High (Tallahassee), and the Bulldogs (2-1) lost an overtime thriller in their home opener to then-RV Creekside (St. Johns), 31-24.
Those losses allow Bartram Trail (St. Johns) to move into the top spot this week, as the Bears improved to 3-0 after a 35-21 win over St. Augustine. It was their third win in a row over the rival Yellow Jackets.
Bartram Trail, which moved up two spots from third, received all nine first-place votes in the all-classification regional rankings.
The Bears face a huge test this Friday as they host American Heritage (Plantation), which is ranked ninth in Florida regardless of classification and #21 nationally by Max Preps.
Moving up three spots to 2nd this week is another undefeated team, Trinity Catholic (Ocala).
The Celtics (2-0) rolled 38-7 at Gainesville last Thursday behind a potent rushing attack which included four touchdowns from running back Jamarian Samuel.
Second-ranked Trinity Catholic travels to RV The Villages this Friday.
Madison County drops to third after the loss on the road in Tallahassee to Florida High. The Cowboys look to get back on the winning track this week at Boot Hill against Bradford (Starke).
Vanguard (Ocala) remains 4th as the Knights will finally get their 2020 season going this Friday at city rival Forest (Ocala).
Speaking of Forest, the Wildcats make their debut in the rankings at #18 after a 7-0 upset win last week in their opener at then-#9 North Marion (Citra). The Colts (0-1) dropped 10 spots to 19th with the loss.
Bolles rounds out the top five after the loss to Creekside. The Bulldogs return to action this week with a home game against Palatka.
Creekside (2-1) moves into the top 10 at #10 this week. The Knights face another huge road matchup Friday against Fleming Island (Orange Park), which is tied for 7th with Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville).
Oakleaf (Orange Park) is 6th after rolling past then-RV University Christian (Jacksonville), 45-28. Next up for the Knights is their second Georgia opponent of the season, Camden County, in a home game this Friday.
Fleming Island (Orange Park) (3-0) defeated Ridgeview (Orange Park) 33-10 to move into a tie for 7th with the Lee Generals, who improved to 2-0 with a 25-20 triumph at Mandarin (Jacksonville).
DeLand is 9th after rolling 39-0 in their 2020 opener at Deltona, and the Bulldogs are up three slots from a week ago.
Forest is the only team new to the poll this week.
The Wildcats replace St. Augustine, which was 19th last week but falls out after dropping to 1-2 with the loss to the now top-ranked Bartram Trail Bears.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, volleyball, 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 – 2020 FOOTBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (9) (3-0) – 180
2. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (2-0) – 158
3. Madison County (1A) (3-1) – 145
4. Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (0-0) – 143
5. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (2-1) – 141
6. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (2-1) – 134
7T. Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) (6A) (2-0) – 126
7T. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (3-0) – 126
9. DeLand (8A) (1-0) – 98
10. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (2-1) – 88
11. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (1-1) – 87
12. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (3-0) – 74
13. Ponte Vedra (6A) (3-0) – 63
14. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (2-1) – 59
15. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (0-1) – 57
16. Dunnellon (5A) (1-0) – 50
17. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (1-1) – 34
18. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (1-0) – 24
19. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (0-1) – 22
20. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (2-0) – 20
Also receiving votes: Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (2-0) – 13; Baldwin (3A) (3-0) – 12; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (1-1) – 10; Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (3-1) – 6; Wildwood (1A) (3-0) – 4; Hilliard (1A) (4-0) -3; Lake Minneola (6A) (1-0) – 3; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (1-0) – 3; Hawthorne (1A) (2-0) – 1; Keystone Heights (4A) (2-1) – 1; The Villages (4A) (2-0) – 1.
