Mainland (Daytona Beach) and Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) hold steady at top of regional poll
GAINESVILLE — For the first time in the 2016 high school football season, weather did not play a role in last Friday’s games. That was good news for everyone, including the top two teams in the Prep Zone Power Poll who rolled to victories.
But there is a slight change in the top five from a week ago.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) had no trouble with 8A Flagler Palm Coast last week, easily winning 41-16. With the victory, the Bucs (3-0) remained third in the Associated Press Class 6A state rankings and also stayed on top of the regional rankings for the third consecutive poll.
They received eight of the nine first place votes this week to stay in the top spot.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) received the other first-place vote this week after holding on for a 31-23 win over defending 2A state champion University Christian (Jacksonville), which drops three spots to #10 this week. The three-time defending 3A state champ Conquerors (2-1) have won two in a row after an opening week overtime loss at 4A No. 1 Cocoa.
Vanguard (Ocala) remains third this week and is 2-0 after an easy 40-6 win at county rival North Marion (Citra). The Colts (1-1) dropped six spots to 19th this week after the loss to the Knights.
Bolles (Jacksonville) rolled up another running clock in a 54-12 win at 5A Lakewood (St. Petersburg). The Bulldogs (2-0) remain 4th this week.
The new addition this week in the top five is University (Orange City), which flipped spots with Raines (Jacksonville) from a week ago. The 8A No. 4 Titans (3-0) picked up a huge 38-33 win at defending 5A state champion Bishop Moore (Orlando) last Friday.
Raines (2-0) leads off the second five but drops a spot behind University despite a 31-11 win at Ed White (Jacksonville).
Another Duval County school, Mandarin (Jacksonville), moves up one spot to 7th as the Mustangs (2-0) held on for a 16-12 win at Ribault (Jacksonville).
Buchholz (Gainesville) moves up two spots from 10th to 8th this week after a wild come-from-behind 27-23 win over then-#9 Columbia (Lake City) last Thursday. The Bobcats (2-0) committed six turnovers in the first half and trailed Columbia 23-0 before pitching a shutout in the second half and scoring the winning touchdown with 18 seconds to play in the game.
Rounding out the top 10 is Dunnellon (2-0) and University Christian (1-1), which has a tough road trip coming up this week to Coffee County (GA).
Columbia (1-2) tumbles out the top 10 and drops eight spots to 17th after its second straight loss last week.
Madison County and 8A Sandalwood (Jacksonville) make the biggest gains in the second 10 this week.
The Saints (2-0) moved up three spots to #11 after a 54-12 win over Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville), while the Class 1A No. 1 Cowboys (2-0) picked up a huge win at last year’s 5A state runner-up Wakulla (Crawfordville) and are now ranked 12th.
Newberry is new to the poll this week at #20 after a 40-22 win over Union County (Lake Butler). The Panthers (3-0) replace Oakleaf (Orange Park), which dropped out after a 41-24 loss at #14 Ponte Vedra.
Week four coming up could see many more changes in the poll as district play gets underway for most teams in the area.
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 #4
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, overall record, and total voting points)
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (8) (3-0) – 179
2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (1) (2-1) – 172
3. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (2-0) – 160
4. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (2-0) – 148
5. University (Orange City) (8A) (3-0) – 145
6. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (2-0) – 140
7. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (2-0) – 122
8. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (2-0) – 119
9. Dunnellon (4A) (2-0) – 97
10. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-1) – 96
11. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (2-0) – 91
12. Madison County (1A) (2-0) – 81
13. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (2-1) – 80
14. Ponte Vedra (5A) (2-0) – 61
15. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (2-1) – 47
16. Trenton (1A) (2-1) – 42
17. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (1-2) – 29
18. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (2-0) – 25
19. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (1-1) – 19
20. Newberry (1A) (3-0) – 17
Also receiving votes: Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (2-0) – 7; South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (2-0) – 7; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (1-1) – 4; St. Augustine (6A) (2-1) – 4; Lee (Jacksonville) (7A) (1-1) – 3; Taylor County (Perry) (3A) (2-0) – 2; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (3-0) – 1; Matanzas (Palm Coast) (6A) (2-0) – 1; Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (2-0) – 1.
