Mainland (Daytona Beach) stays ahead of No. 2 Buchholz (Gainesville) in regional rankings
GAINESVILLE — Week six of the high school football season came and went last week as the halfway point of the season was passed.
Two unbeaten teams remain at the top of the regional all-classification rankings this week.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) remains at the top of The Prep Zone Power Poll following an easy 45-0 romp at Pine Ridge (Deltona) last Friday night.
The Bucs (6-0) received 10 of the 13 first-place votes to stay No. 1 for the sixth straight week. They are off this week and will host Deltona next Thursday, October 12, for Homecoming.
Right behind Mainland is another unbeaten team in 2nd-ranked Buchholz (Gainesville).
The Bobcats (5-0) also had a bye last week, but still earned the other three first-place votes. Buchholz made a claim for the top-ranked team in next week’s poll with a convincing 35-7 win against city rival Gainesville last night at Citizens Field.
Two more unbeatens, Hawthorne and St. Augustine, are tied for 3rd.
The Hornets (5-0) also had the week off last week and travel to Pinellas County to play winless 2M Gibbs (St. Petersburg).
The Yellow Jackets, who are also 5-0, cruised to a 49-9 win at home against Matanzas (Palm Coast). They face a tough test this week at St. Johns County rival RV Nease (Ponte Vedra).
Rounding out the top five is another unbeaten, Bradford (Starke). The Tornadoes (5-0) pounded rival Keystone Heights, 48-6, but faces a tough road trip this week at 4S Oakleaf (Orange Park).
Leading off the second five is Trinity Christian (Jacksonville). The Conquerors (4-2) remained sixth after slipping past 3S No. 7 Rockledge, 19-13, in overtime.
Bartram Trail (St. Johns) is 7th. The Bears (3-2), who are in the same district as Buchholz (4S-District 3), rebounded from a heartbreaking loss at St. Augustine the week before by winning at Fleming Island (Orange Park), 49-28.
Vanguard (Ocala) moved up a spot to No. 8 as the Knights (4-1) blanked Belleview, 47-0, while another unbeaten team, Suwannee (Live Oak), also moved up to No. 9 following the Bulldogs (5-0) 33-9 win at Taylor County (Perry).
Rounding out the top 10 this week is DeLand.
The Bulldogs (4-1) have won four in a row since an opening week loss to Mainland. Last week DeLand slipped past then-RV Spruce Creek (Port Orange), 28-27, on the road.
Providence (Jacksonville) is new to the rankings this week at No. 20.
The Stallions (5-1) upset then-No. 8 University Christian (Jacksonville), 17-14, on the road to win their fifth game in a row.
University Christian fell to No. 15 with the loss.
Madison County also moved in to the rankings at No. 19, while Oakleaf and Palatka, which lost it’s first game of the season 24-19 at Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine), dropped out.
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 #7
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (3S) (10) (6-0) – 257
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (4S) (3) (5-0) – 243
3T. Hawthorne (1R) (5-0) – 225
3T. St. Augustine (3S) (5-0) – 225
5. Bradford (Starke) (2S) (5-0) – 198
6. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (4-2) – 182
7. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (4S) (3-2) – 157
8. Vanguard (Ocala) (3S) (5-1) – 151
9. Suwannee (Live Oak) (2S) (5-0) – 146
10. DeLand (4S) (4-1) – 139
11. Raines (Jacksonville) (2M) (4-1) – 129
12. Williston (1R) (6-0) – 121
13. University (Orange City) (4S) (6-0) – 118
14. South Sumter (Bushnell) (2S) (5-1) – 69
15. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (3-2) – 65
16. Ponte Vedra (4S) (4-1) – 62
17. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2M) (3-3) – 60
18. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (4M) (4-2) – 48
19. Madison County (1R) (3-1) – 34
20. Providence (Jacksonville) (1M) (5-1) – 33
Also receiving votes: Leesburg (3S) (5-1) – 18; Creekside (St. Johns) (4S) (3-3) – 12; Lake Minneola (Minneola) (4S) (3-3) – 11; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (2M) (4-1) – 10; Newberry (1R) (4-1) – 5; Lafayette (Mayo) (1R) (4-1) – 3; Clay (Green Cove Springs) (4-1) – 2; Nease (Ponte Vedra) (3S) (4-2) – 2; New Smyrna Beach (4S) (4-1) – 2; Palatka (2S) (4-1) – 2; Fort White (1R) (4-1) – 1.
