Bartram Trail (St. Johns) remains atop all-classification regional rankings after opening round FHSAA playoff shutout; Eight teams in top 20 see their seasons end
GAINESVILLE — The high school football playoffs opened last week and the term win or go home was once again appropriate.
And for five of the top 13 and eight top 20 teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll, they are now home for the rest of the postseason.
But the team at the top stayed perfect, as Bartram Trail (St. Johns) rolled to a 42-0 blanking of Spruce Creek (Port Orange) in the opening round of the 8A playoffs.
The Bears (11-0) received all 10 first-place votes again this week to remain #1 for the fifth straight week. Bartram Trail is ranked 2nd in the AP 8A poll, and faces a tough test at home in the Region 1-8A semifinal this week against 8A #5 Apopka.
Madison County remains 2nd after a bye week.
The Cowboys (8-2) open defense of their back-to-back 1A state titles on Friday against Hilliard.
Fleming Island (Orange Park) moves up a spot to #3 as they remained unbeaten with a 28-14 win over Wekiva (Apopka) in a Region 1-7A quarterfinal.
The Golden Eagles (10-0) remain the only unbeaten team in the power poll other than Bartram Trail, but now faces a nearly 6-hour bus ride to the Panhandle to face Niceville in a region semifinal game.
North Marion (Citra) moves up a spot this week to 4th after winning a rematch with then-#3 Dunnellon.
The Colts improved to 9-2 after pounding the Tigers 48-9 in a Region 2-5A quarterfinal matchup of Marion County rivals. Dunnellon had just beaten North Marion 20-14 two weeks earlier to clinch the District 6-5A title.
Next up for the Colts is another rematch, this time with #5 Vanguard (Ocala). Vanguard also knocked off North Marion earlier in the season 18-14.
Vanguard moves up a spot and back into the top five after a 34-0 blanking at then-RV Menendez (St. Augustine). The Knights (8-2) will host North Marion at Booster Stadium in Ocala in a matchup of the #6 and #7 seeds in Region 2-5A.
Columbia (Lake City) moves up two slots to 6th this week after a 14-7 triumph in a defensive struggle at then-#13 Ponte Vedra. The Tigers (8-3), who were the top-ranked team for seven weeks this season in the regional all-classification rankings, face a rematch of their own this week at #9 Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville).
Lee beat Columbia 27-21 in overtime in their regular season matchup and has won five of the last six meetings with the Tigers, including the last two postseason matchups.
The Generals moved up five spots and back into the top 10 after a 29-21 Region 1-6A quarterfinal win over St. Augustine.
Bolles (Jacksonville) is 7th.
The Bulldogs (8-1) had a bye last week and open up play in Region 1-4A on Friday against South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach).
Another team coming off a bye, University Christian (Jacksonville) also moves up into the top 10 at #8.
The Christians (9-1), who have not lost to a team in Florida in 2019, open up play in Region 1-2A this week against defending state champion North Florida Christian (Tallahassee). NFC knocked out University Christian 45-21 in the region final a year ago on their way to the state title.
Rounding out the top 10 is Dunnellon. The Tigers finished 9-2 with their only losses coming to #2 Madison County and #4 North Marion.
Mainland moves back into the top 20 at 15th after a 38-20 region quarterfinal win over Booker T. Washington (Pensacola). The Bucs (7-4) now face a long trip to the Panhandle this week to face the AP #1 team in 6A, Escambia (Pensacola).
The Villages is back in the rankings this week as well as the Buffalo (8-2) are in a tie for 17th with Lake Minneola.
The Villages knocked off Cypress Creek (Wesley Chapel) 42-7 in the Region 1-4A quarterfinal and now take the short trip south to play #14 South Sumter (Bushnell) in the second round this week.
Lake Minneola (8-3) moves into the top 20 for the first time this season as the Hawks blasted then-RV Springstead (Spring Hill) 42-12 in a 6A region quarterfinal matchup. Lake Minneola travels to Largo this week a regional semifinal game.
West Nassau (Callahan) is also back in the rankings as the Warriors (8-2) are 20th. West Nassau opens up play in Region 1-4A on Friday against Bradford (Starke).
Among the teams falling out of the poll this week are Trinity Christian (Jacksonville). The Conquerors, who were 10th a week ago, finished off an up-and-down season with a 23-21 upset loss at Trinity Catholic (Ocala) in a Region 1-3A quarterfinal.
Speaking of Trinity Catholic, they are back in the poll as well at #13. The Celtics (8-3) also face a long trip this Friday to Pensacola Catholic in a second-round game in 3A.
Also dropping out are defending 8A state champion Mandarin (Jacksonville), Terry Parker (Jacksonville), and Westside (Jacksonville). All three teams lost their opening round matchups to end their 2019 seasons.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) also dropped out but the Knights failed to qualify for the playoffs despite a 7-3 season.
This is the final poll until after the FHSAA State Football Championships on December 5-7 at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee for Classes 1A-3A and December 11-14 at Daytona Stadium for Classes 4A-8A.
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 and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2019 FOOTBALL POLL #13
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (10) (11-0) – 200
2. Madison County (1A) (8-2) – 183
3. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (10-0) – 175
4. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (9-2) – 171
5. Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (8-2) – 162
6. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (8-3) – 150
7. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (8-1) – 132
8. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (9-1) – 119
9. Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) (6A) (8-3) – 106
10. Dunnellon (5A) (9-2) – 92
11. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (6-4) – 88
12. DeLand (8A) (7-3) – 70
13. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (8-3) – 52
14. South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (8-2) – 51
15. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (7-4) – 50
16. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (8-3) – 39
17T. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (8-3) – 34
17T. The Villages (4A) (8-2) – 34
19. Ponte Vedra (6A) (7-3) – 32
20. West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (8-2) – 26
Also receiving votes: Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (5-6) – 25; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (7-3) – 20; Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (9-1) – 18; Newberry (1A) (9-1) – 12; Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (7-4) – 7; Chiefland (1A) (7-4) – 3; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (3A) (10-1) – 3; Terry Parker (Jacksonville) (5A) (7-3) – 2; Westside (Jacksonville) (5A) (8-3) – 2; Hawthorne (1A) (8-3) – 1.
