Buchholz (Gainesville) scores 75 points to clinch district title, remains as unanimous No. 1 team in The Prep Zone Power Poll.
GAINESVILLE — It’s the final week of the regular season in high school football, and teams heading to the postseason will learn their opponent, or their fate, when the FHSAA announces the pairings this Sunday.
But one team clearly on a roll, and clearly in the playoffs, is the Buchholz (Gainesville) Bobcats, who clinched the District 2-7A title last week with a 75-7 destruction of Forest (Ocala).
Buchholz (8-1) has won five in a row since their only loss to defending 4A state champion Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale), and received all seven first-place votes again this week in the all-classification regional rankings.
Before they find out their first-round playoff opponent at Citizens Field this week, the Bobcats head to St. Johns County for a showdown with No. 3 Bartram Trail (St. Johns) on Friday.
Vanguard (Ocala) moves up a spot to 2nd this week after former No. 2 Bolles (Jacksonville) dropped its second game in a row, 20-16, to TRU Prep Academy (Miami Gardens).
With Bolles (6-2) dropping to No. 4, Vanguard moves up a spot to 2nd after a 33-0 blanking of Springstead (Spring Hill). The Knights (9-0), who had already clinched District 5-6A, look to wrap up a perfect regular season this week against rival Forest (Ocala).
Bartram Trail moves up to 3rd after blasting Sandalwood (Jacksonville), 50-35, to finish unbeaten in District 1-8A play. The Bears (8-1) now finish their regular season with the showdown with Buchholz on Friday.
Following Bolles and rounding out the top five is Riverside (Jacksonville).
The Generals (8-1) blanked Westside (Jacksonville), 38-0, last Thursday and finish off regular season play against Westside rival RV Ed White (Jacksonville) on the road.
The second five is Spruce Creek (Port Orange) at No. 6, 7th-ranked Hawthorne (7-0), which hosts 5A North Marion (Citra) on Friday, No. 8 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), Dunnellon, which won its seventh game in a row to move into the top 10 at No. 9, and 10th-ranked Raines (Jacksonville).
Raines (7-2) pounded then-#9 Columbia (Lake City), 35-13, to move up five spots and into the top 10 for the first time since early this season. The Vikings hit the road to conclude their regular season at 8A Vero Beach this week.
Columbia (Lake City) falls to No. 15 but had already clinched the District 3-6A title and will host a first-round playoff game next week.
The only team new to the poll this week is 17th-ranked Gainesville. The Hurricanes (7-2) clinched the District 4-6A title with a 17-14 upset win at then-10th ranked St. Augustine and moves into the rankings for the first time in 2021.
St. Augustine (5-3) barely stays ranked, falling 10 spaces to No. 20.
University Christian (Jacksonville) is the only team to fall out from last week’s poll despite a 37-19 win over Episcopal (Jacksonville) to improve the Christians record to 6-3.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball 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 – 2021 FOOTBALL POLL #11
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (7) (8-1) – 140
2. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (9-0) – 130
3. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (8-1) – 125
4. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (6-2) – 118
5. Riverside (Jacksonville) (6A) (8-1) – 114
6. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (8-1) – 103
7. Hawthorne (1A) (7-0) – 94
8. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (6-3) – 77
9. Dunnellon (5A) (7-2) – 76
10. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (7-2) – 70
11. The Villages (4A) (9-0) – 62
12. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (7-2) – 61
13. Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (9-0) – 57
14. Madison County (1A) (6-3) – 51
15. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (6-4) – 38
16. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (6-2) – 35
17. Gainesville (6A) (7-2) – 33
18. Creekside (St. Johns) (8A) (7-2) – 24
19. University (Orange City) (7A) (6-1) – 19
20. St. Augustine (6A) (5-3) – 18
Also receiving votes: University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (6-3) – 12; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (5-4) – 5; Chiefland (1A) (9-0) – 4; Ed White (Jacksonville) (5A) (6-2) – 4; North Marion (Citra) (5A) (6-3) – 4; Hilliard (1A) (8-1) – 3; Keystone Heights (4A) (9-0) – 1.
