Mainland (Daytona Beach) & Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) unanimous selections as the top two teams
GAINESVILLE – Due to Hurricane Hermine there was little movement in the Prep Zone Power Poll.
Florida’s first hurricane in a decade caused the cancellation of several games in the area. In fact, over half of the teams in the regional football all-classification rankings did not play in Week #2.
Top-ranked Mainland (Daytona Beach) was able to play and won at previous No. 8 Bartram Trail (St. Johns), 48-22. The Bucs (2-0), who are ranked No. 3 in the AP Class 6A state rankings, received all 10 first-place votes to remain on top. The Class 7A Bears (1-1) dropped four spots to No. 12.
Three-time defending 3A state champion Trinity Christian wasn’t supposed to play previous No. 3 Columbia (Lake City). However, the Conquerors & Tigers went head-to-head when both of their games were cancelled.
It was a dominating 39-0 win at home for Trinity Christian (1-1), which remained second in the rankings, while Columbia (1-1) dropped six spots from third to ninth.
Vanguard (Ocala), which moved up one spot to third in this week’s poll, got in a quarter of football against West Port (Ocala) on Saturday. FSU commit Justin Watkins scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter but the game was called due to weather with 9:52 to play in the half and the Knights (1-0) leading 7-0.
Rounding out the top five are two Jacksonville powerhouses who have combined to play in the last five Class 4A state championship games.
Bolles (Jacksonville) (1-0), which leap-frogged district rival Raines (Jacksonville) despite the fact that both teams had their games cancelled, moved up two spots from sixth to fourth, while the Vikings (1-0) remained fifth. They are both ranked top five in the state in Class 4A.
Class 8A University (Orange City), which won at New Smyrna Beach, 63-26, moved up four spots to sixth, while defending 2A state champion University Christian (Jacksonville), Class 8A Mandarin (Jacksonville), and Columbia and Buchholz, who play on Thursday night, round out the top 10.
No teams dropped out of the rankings this week. However, defending 1A state champion Trenton dropped four spots to No. 16 despite a 27-0 win at Bell in a half of football. The Tigers (1-1) play at Port St. Joe on Friday in a rematch of last year’s state title game.
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 #3
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, overall record, and total voting points)
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (10) (2-0) – 200
2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (1-1) – 190
3. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (1-0) – 176
4. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (1-0) – 159
5. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (1-0) – 158
6. University (Orange City) (8A) (2-0) – 135
7. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-0) – 132
8. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (1-0) – 131
9. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (1-1) – 129
10. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (1-0) – 111
11. Dunnellon (4A) (1-0) – 97
12. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (1-1) – 89
13. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (1-0) – 80
14. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (1-0) – 63
15. Madison County (1A) (1-0) – 60
16. Trenton (1A) (1-1) – 59
17. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (1-1) – 38
18. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (1-0) – 23
19. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (1-0) – 18
20. Ponte Vedra (5A) (1-0) – 16
Also receiving votes: Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (2-0) – 13; Newberry (1A) (2-0) – 7; Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (1-0) – 6; South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (1-0) – 6; Ribault (Jacksonville) (5A) (0-1) – 2; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (1-0) – 1; Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (1-0) – 1.
