Mainland (Daytona Beach) remains on top of regional rankings
GAINESVILLE — Week one is in the books for the 2023 high school football season.
And while the top five teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll remains the same from last week, there was some movement between the teams as five teams received first-place votes.
Remaining in the top spot this week is Mainland (Daytona Beach). The Bucs opened their season with a 43-31 triumph at rival RV DeLand.
Mainland remained on top of the all-classification regional rankings after receiving four of the 11 first-place votes.
Moving up to No. 2 is Buchholz (Gainesville).
The Bobcats had no trouble with No. 16 Columbia (Lake City), pounding the Tigers 41-13 in a game that started in Lake City on Friday and was finished in Gainesville after a weather delay and incident at Columbia’s stadium.
Buchholz, which received a first-place vote, will hit the road again this week to Riverview (Sarasota).
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) moved up a spot to 3rd.
The Conquerors had no problem with Ed White (Jacksonville), 33-8, and picked up two first-place votes this week. Trinity Christian is taking the long trip to South Florida to play American Heritage (Plantation), which pounded St. Johns (Washington, DC), 45-20, in their opener. They are ranked 9th overall statewide and 17th nationally according to Max Preps.
Hawthorne dropped two spots to fourth despite opening with a 26-7 win over Middleburg. The Hornets also picked up three first-place votes heading into a showdown at Alachua County rival RV Newberry on Friday.
Rounding out the top five is Bartram Trail (St. Johns). The Bears slipped past rival Ponte Vedra, 20-17, on the road and picked up the final first-place vote of the week.
Bradford (Starke) moved up a spot to start off the second five after pitching another shutout, 12-0, over then-No. 17 Baker County (Glen St. Mary). Baker County dropped out of the rankings this week after the loss to the Tornadoes.
Vanguard (Ocala) is up four slots and into the top 10 at No. 7. The Knights edged Erie (Colorado), 26-20, in their opener at Booster Stadium in Ocala. Vanguard hits the road to No. 19 Lake Minneola tonight.
Raines (Jacksonville), which is off this week, is also up five spots to 8th after a big 27-12 win on the road against then-No. 6 University Christian (Jacksonville).
University Christian dropped to 13th with the loss.
Trinity Catholic (Ocala) is No. 9 after its season opener against Florida High (Tallahassee) was postponed due to COVID-19. The Celtics hit the road for a game at last year’s 1M state runner-up Clearwater Central Catholic.
Rounding out the top 10 is the team making the biggest move this week, St. Augustine. The Yellow Jackets moved up 10 spots from last week after a back-and-forth 43-36 win on the road against then-No. 9 Bolles (Jacksonville).
Bolles dropped just out of the top 10 to No. 11, but and the ‘Dogs face another tough test this week at No. 14 Mandarin (Jacksonville). The Mustangs moved up five spots after pounding Fletcher (Neptune Beach), 43-21.
Baldwin and DeLand are new to the poll this week as both teams are tied for 20th.
Baker County was the only team to drop out from week one.
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 – 2023 FOOTBALL POLL #2
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (3S) (4) (1-0) – 212
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (4S) (1) (1-0) – 199
3. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (2) (1-0) – 193
4. Hawthorne (1R) (3) (1-0) – 179
5. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (4S) (1) (1-0) – 172
6. Bradford (Starke) (2S) (1-0) – 159
7. Vanguard (Ocala) (3S) (1-0) – 140
8. Raines (Jacksonville) (2M) (1-0) – 135
9. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (1S) (0-0) – 130
10. St. Augustine (3S) (1-0) – 106
11. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2M) (0-1) – 104
12. South Sumter (Bushnell) (2S) (1-0) – 103
13. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (0-1) – 87
14. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (4M) (1-0) – 85
15. Suwannee (Live Oak) (2S) (1-0) – 58
16. Columbia (Lake City) (3S) (0-1) – 49
17. Union County (Lake Butler) (1R) (1-0)- 46
18. Creekside (St. Johns) (4S) (0-1) – 27
19. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (4S) (0-1) – 21
20T. Baldwin (2S) (1-0) – 17
20T. DeLand (4S) (0-1) – 17
Also receiving votes: Newberry (1R) (1-0) – 16; Williston (1R) (1-0) – 12; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (4S) (1-0) – 8; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (2S) (0-1) – 7; Eastside (Gainesville) (2S) (1-0) – 4; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (3S) (0-1) – 4; Madison County (1R) (1-0) – 4; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (2S) (1-0) – 4; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (4S) (1-0) -3; Dunnellon (2S) (1-0) – 1.
