Top four teams in regional rankings stay the same as Hurricane Dorian postpones and cancels many games
GAINESVILLE — Hurricane Dorian didn’t affect Florida as originally feared, but the storm caused many teams to cancel or move their games as many counties closed schools for most of the week.
One team that did play in week 3 is Columbia (Lake City), and the Tigers (3-0) picked up another easy win to remain the unanimous #1 team in The Prep Zone Power Poll.
Columbia moved its game against Akelynn’s Angels Christian Academy (Winter Haven) to Saturday, but the Tigers had no problem as they rolled to a running-clock, 67-12, romp over the first-year school to remain atop the poll. Columbia once again receives all 10 first-place votes in this week’s all-classification regional rankings.
Remaining second is Vanguard (Ocala).
The Knights (2-0) were scheduled for a matchup at #12 Sandalwood (Jacksonville), but that game was nixed when Duval County Public Schools called off all of the football games for the week. No makeup date has been announced.
Vanguard finally plays its home opener this week as the Knights open District 6-5A play against #10 Dunnellon.
Mandarin (Jacksonville) remains 3rd.
The Mustangs’ game against #8 DeLand was cancelled and will not be made up. Mandarin (2-0) faces a major test this Friday at #5 Bartram Trail (St. Johns), which is 3-0 and moves into the top five after knocking off rival Creekside (St. Johns), 28-14, last Saturday in St. Johns County.
North Marion (Citra) stays 4th after its game against Gainesville was called off.
The Colts (2-0) will now play the Hurricanes in week 5 on September 20. North Marion returns to action this week in another non-district contest as Hardee (Wauchula) comes to Citra.
Leading off the second five is Madison County.
The Cowboys (3-0) move up one spot to 6th following another road win at Rickards (Tallahassee), 28-6. Madison County hosts another undefeated team this week as 3-0 Suwannee (Live Oak) vists Madison.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) drops two spaces to 7th after a very eventful week. The Conquerors were originally scheduled to host Ribault (Jacksonville) in week 3, but the game was cancelled.
On Wednesday night, Trinity Christian instead set up a game with 6th-ranked team in 7A in Venice. This turned out to be the game of the week, but the Conquerors (1-2) dropped a heartbreaker to Venice in double overtime, 50-49.
DeLand (1-0) moves up one spot to 8th despite having the game at Mandarin cancelled. The Bulldogs host rival Seminole (Sanford) in their District 2-8A opener on Friday.
Raines (Jacksonville) drops one slot to 9th after having a game cancelled for the second straight week. The Vikings’ game at #13 Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) was moved to this Saturday, but Raines did play its District 4-5A opener on Tuesday and crushed Stanton (Jacksonville), 67-0, to even its record at 1-1.
Dunnellon moves into the top 10 after a 37-0 blanking of Crystal River. The Tigers (3-0) face a major test this week as they open district play at #2 Vanguard.
Trinity Catholic (Ocala) is new to the rankings this week at #20. The Celtics (3-0) face another 3-0 team on Friday at #18 South Sumter (Bushnell).
Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) drops out of the poll this week after its second straight loss, 30-19, to RV Springstead (Spring Hill).
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 #4
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, current record and total voting points)
1. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (10) (3-0) – 200
2. Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (2-0) – 185
3. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (2-0) – 176
4. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (2-0) – 172
5. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (3-0) – 155
6. Madison County (1A) (3-0) – 145
7. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (1-2) – 138
8. DeLand (8A) (1-0) – 125
9. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (1-1) – 121
10. Dunnellon (5A) (3-0) – 107
11. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (0-1) – 102
12. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (2-0) – 84
13. Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) (6A) (1-1) – 77
14. The Villages (4A) (2-0) – 59
15T. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (2-1) – 54
15T. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (1-0) – 54
17. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (2-0) – 53
18. South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (3-0) – 35
19. St. Augustine (6A) (2-0) – 22
20. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (3-0) – 19
Also receiving votes: Orange Park (5A) (1-1) – 4; Ponte Vedra (6A) (2-0) -4; Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (3-0) – 4; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (2-0) – 2; Ribault (Jacksonville) (5A) (0-2) – 2; Baldwin (3A) (3-0) – 1; Ed White (Jacksonville) (5A) (2-0) – 1: University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-1) – 1.
