Madison County finishes on top of final regional all-classification rankings after capturing third consecutive 1A state title
GAINESVILLE — The 2019 high school football season is over, and the final votes have been tablulated.
There’s a new team which finishes the season at the top of The Prep Zone Power Poll.
But Madison County shouldn’t be a stranger to anyone. The Cowboys (12-2) captured their third consecutive 1A state title, blasting Blountstown 70-35 in the state championship game at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee.
The Tigers trailed early in the 2nd quarter, 21-14, but behind seven total touchdowns by Vinsonta Allen rallied to pull away in the second half.
Madison County had to work in the state semifinals, scoring in the final minute to sneak past Pahokee, 37-36, at Boot Hill.
The Cowboys received seven of the nine first-place votes to move up one spot from the previous poll and finish as the #1 team for 2019 in the all-classification regional rankings.
Finishing 2nd is Bartram Trail (St. Johns), which received the other two first-place votes.
The Bears (11-1), who were ranked #1 in the previous five polls, finished the regular season undefeated and won the District 1-8A title. Bartram Trail was eliminated in the regional semifinals 34-13 by Apopka, which advanced to the 8A state title game before losing in the closing seconds, 21-20, to Columbus (Miami) in Daytona Beach last week.
Coming in third is 4A state runner-up Bolles (Jacksonville).
The Bulldogs (11-2) move up four spots in this final rankings after losing a heartbreaker, 25-21, to Booker T. Washington (Miami) in the state title game last week in Daytona Beach.
Bolles dropped it’s opening game to #8 University Christian (Jacksonville), then won its next 11 games to advance to its first state championship game appearance since legendary coach Corky Rogers’ final game in 2016 at Camping World Stadium against Cocoa.
Against Booker T. Washington, Bolles led the entire game, including 21-10 with five minutes left, before BTW rallied for two touchdowns in three minutes to stun the ‘Dogs.
This was the Bulldogs’ fourth straight loss to BTW in a state title game.
Moving up one spot to finish 4th is Vanguard (Ocala).
The Knights (9-3) knocked off #6 North Marion (Citra) 14-6 in a Region 2-5A semifinal, their second win against the Colts in 2019, before losing 37-14 at eventual 5A state runner-up Jones (Orlando) in the regional final round.
Fleming Island (Orange Park) rounds out the top five.
The Golden Eagles (10-1) were one of only two teams, along with Bartram Trail, to finish the regular season win an unbeaten record and they won the District 2-7A championship.
Fleming Island saw the season come to an end with 47-28 loss at Niceville in the second round of the 7A playoffs. The Golden Eagles dropped two spots from the previous poll.
North Marion drops two spots and finishes just outside of the top five.
The Colts (9-3) won their 5A regional quarterfinal game 48-9 at #10 Dunnellon before having their season come to an end in the second round in another all-Marion County matchup against Vanguard.
Finishing 7th is Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville).
The Generals (9-4) move up two spots in the final poll after beating St. Augustine and #9 Columbia (Lake City) before being eliminated in the Region 1-6A final in the Panhandle against eventual state runner-up Escambia (Pensacola).
University Christian (Jacksonville) stays put and finishes in the 8th spot.
The Christians (11-2) missed out on a state championship game appearance for the 2nd straight year as they lost 20-7 at eventual state runner-up Victory Christian (Lakeland) in the state semifinals.
Columbia finishes in the 9th spot.
The Tigers (9-4) were the top-ranked team for seven weeks after a 6-0 start, but dropped four of their last six games, including two losses to Lee.
Columbia was knocked out of the 6A playoffs in the second round with a 6-3 double overtime loss in a defensive slugfest against the Generals. The Tigers drop three slots from the previous poll but finishes in the top 10.
Rounding out the top 10 is Dunnellon.
The Tigers (9-2) beat county rivals Vanguard and North Marion during the regular season to clinch the District 6-5A title. But Dunnellon was trounced in a rematch against North Marion in the 5A region quarterfinals.
Lake Minneola, which advanced to the Region 2-6A final, is up four spots in the final poll and in a tie for 13th with Trinity Catholic (Ocala).
The only team to move into the final poll this week is Bradford (Starke).
The Tornadoes end up 18th as they won at Gadsden County (Havana) and then-#20 West Nassau (Callahan) before a season-ending 16-6 loss at eventual state runner-up #3 Bolles in the Region 1-4A final.
West Nassau is the only team to drop out from the previous rankings.
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 #14 (FINAL)
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, final record, and total voting points)
1. Madison County (1A) (7) (12-2) – 177
2. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (2) (11-1) – 160
3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (11-2) – 158
4. Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (9-3) – 149
5. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (10-1) – 138
6. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (9-3) – 131
7. Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) (6A) (9-4) – 126
8. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (11-2) – 124
9. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (8-4) – 108
10. Dunnellon (5A) (9-2) – 85
11. South Sumter (Bushnell) (9-3) – 79
12. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (6-5) – 66
13T. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (9-4) – 65
13T. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (8-4) – 65
15. DeLand (8A) (7-3) – 52
16. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (7-5) – 40
17. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (8-3) – 32
18. Bradford (Starke) (4A) (6-6) – 21
19. Ponte Vedra (6A) (7-3) – 18
20. The Villages (4A) (8-3) – 15
Also receiving votes: Chiefland (1A) (8-5) – 13; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (5-6) – 12; Newberry (1A) (9-2) – 10; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (3A) (10-2) – 9; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (7-3) – 9; Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (7-4) – 6; Taylor County (Perry) (1A) (7-4) – 5; West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (8-3) – 5; Atlantic (Port Orange) (5A) (8-4) – 3; Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (9-2) – 2; Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (7-6) – 1.
