Mainland takes over top spot in the regional rankings after opening week
GAINESVILLE — One week is in the books for the 2016 high school football season, and we already have a change at the top of the Prep Zone Power Poll.
Mainland (Daytona Beach), which finished 2nd in the final 2015 regional rankings, easily won their opener at DeLand last week 35-0. That, coupled with an overtime loss by previous No. 1 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) at 4A state-ranked Cocoa on Sunday, caused the Bucs and the Conquerors to flip positions this week.
The Bucs (1-0) received all 10 first-place votes to become the unanimous #1 team this week. They have a big test this week when they travel to northern St. Johns County to face #8 Bartram Trail (St. Johns). The 7A Bears (1-0) opened their season with a 34-14 win at 5A Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) last Friday.
As for Trinity Christian (0-1), the three-time defending 3A state champions trailed most of the way against Cocoa in a game that was televised on ESPN 2. But the Conquerors scored with 32 seconds left and picked up a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime.
However, Trinity could only manage a field goal in their overtime period, and Cocoa answered with a touchdown to end the Conquerors 22-game winning streak. Class 3A Trinity Christian, which remained No. 1 in the AP state rankings, struggled all day on the ground, managing only 3 net yards rushing on 14 carries.
Columbia (Lake City) struggled offensively for most of their opener against Gainesville, but the Tigers still managed a 17-12 win at Citizens Field last Thursday night. The Tigers (1-0) hold steady at #3 this week and welcome Camden County (GA) for their home opener on Friday.
Vanguard (Ocala) (1-0) moves up two spots to 4th this week after a dominating 62-21 win at Palatka.
Rounding out the top five is Raines (Jacksonville). The Vikings (1-0) dropped one spot from the preseason poll despite rallying from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to win their opener 32-28 against Lee (Jacksonville).
The second five consists of Class 4A Bolles (Jacksonville), which dominated 8A Lake Mary on the road, 62-24, University Christian (Jacksonville), Bartram Trail, Mandarin (Jacksonville), and University (Orange City).
Bartram Trail (1-0) and University (1-0) both move into the top 10 this week.
Defending 1A state champion Trenton was shutout 16-0 by last year’s 5A state runner-up Wakulla (Crawfordville), dropping the Tigers (0-1) eight spots from 5th in the preseason poll to 13th this week.
Clay (Green Cove Springs) was the third preseason top 10 team to lose their opener, dropping a road game at county rival Fleming Island (Orange Park), 24-14. The Blue Devils (0-1) had the biggest drop from a week ago, plunging nine spots from a tie for 7th to 16th this week.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles (1-0) are now tied for 18th with another Clay County rival, Oakleaf (Orange Park) (1-0).
Ponte Vedra (1-0) makes its way in at No. 20 after an opening week win at Nease (Ponte Vedra), while Suwannee (Live Oak) and St. Augustine dropped out following season-opening losses.
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.
The Prep Zone Power Poll – 2016 Football Poll #2
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, overall record, and total voting points)
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (10) (1-0) – 200
2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (0-1) – 186
3. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (1-0) – 179
4. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (1-0) – 166
5. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (1-0) – 164
6. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (1-0) – 154
7. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-0) – 125
8. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (1-0) – 119
9. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (1-0) – 118
10. University (Orange City) (8A) (1-0) – 115
11. Dunnellon (4A) (1-0) – 83
12. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (1-0) – 81
13. Trenton (1A) (0-1) – 78
14. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (1-0) – 73
15. Madison County (1A) (1-0) – 50
16. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (0-1) – 44
17. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (1-0) – 41
T-18. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (1-0) – 37
T-18. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (1-0) – 37
20. Ponte Vedra (5A) (1-0) – 10
Also receiving votes: Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (1-0) – 9, South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (1-0) – 9, Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (1-0) – 9, Newberry (1A) (1-0) – 5, Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (1-0) – 3, Ribault (Jacksonville) (5A) (0-1) – 3, Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (1-0) – 1.
