Raines (Jacksonville) remains No. 1 but Bolles (Jacksonville) closing in
GAINESVILLE — The high school football season flew right through week two last week with a few surprises.
Meanwhile, the race to the top of The Prep Zone Power Poll continues to tighten.
Raines (Jacksonville) opened its 2025 season with a 77-0 stomping of Sandalwood (Jacksonville). The Vikings, who had their opener against Central (Miami) cancelled the previous week due to a scheduling issue, was either first or second on all 10 ballots and received five first-place votes.
Bolles (Jacksonville) is right on the Vikings’ tail at No. 2.
The Bulldogs (2-0), who pounded then-No. 20 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), 35-12, received four first-place votes to move up a spot to second. The ‘Dogs host No. 3 St. Augustine this Friday in what should be a classic battle.
St. Augustine (2-0) moved up a spot to No. 3 after pounding rival Menendez (St. Augustine), 48-6. The Yellow Jackets have won 22 of 23 meetings with the Falcons.
Buchholz (Gainesville) dropped two spots after losing its first game of the season, 28-24, to 7A No. 2 Vero Beach. The Bobcats (1-1) are now tied for 4th with Nease (Ponte Vedra). The Panthers improved to 2-0 with an easy 50-8 romp over RV Creekside (St. Johns).
Oakleaf (Orange Park) starts off the second five at No. 6. The Knights (2-0) romped over Clay County rival Orange Park, 56-7, and now faces another big test against another county rival, No. 17 Fleming Island (Orange Park).
The rest of the top 10 is Bradford (Starke) at No. 7, Mandarin (Jacksonville) at No. 8, Vanguard (Ocala) at No. 9, and 10th-ranked DeLand.
Bradford pitched its second straight shutout, this time blanking Dunnellon on the road, 35-0. The Tornadoes, who received the other first-place vote, travel to 15th-ranked South Sumter (Bushnell) this Friday and are at Mandarin next week.
Fleming Island moves back into the poll this week, along with No. 19 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville). The Crusaders (1-0) held on to win their opener against 20th-ranked University Christian (Jacksonville) 21-20.
Dropping out from last week are University (Orange City) and Trinity Christian.
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 – 2025 FOOTBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (5) (1-0) – 195
2. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (4) (2-0) – 189
3. St. Augustine (4A) (2-0) – 173
4T. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (1-1) – 155
4T. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (2-0) – 155
6. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (2-0) – 139
7. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (1) (2-0) – 129
8. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (2-0) – 122
9. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (1-1) – 103
10. DeLand (7A) (2-0) – 101
11. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (1-0) – 98
12. Hawthorne (Rural) (2-0) – 95
13. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (2-0) – 77
14. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (2-0) – 74
15. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (2-0) – 53
16. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (1-0) – 44
17. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (2-0) – 40
18. Madison County (Rural) (0-2) – 31
19. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (1-0) – 25
20. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (1-1) – 18
Also receiving votes: Union County (Lake Butler) – 10; University (Orange City) (7A) (1-1) – 8; South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (2-0) – 7; Baldwin (2A) (2-0) – 6; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (2-0) – 6; Ponte Vedra (5A) (1-1) – 6; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (1-1) – 5; Eastside (Gainesville) (3A) (2-0) – 5; Lafayette (Mayo) (Rural) (2-0) – 5; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (0-2) – 5; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (1A) (1-0) – 2; Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (0-2) – 1; Forest (Ocala) (6A) (1-0) – 1; Taylor County (Perry) (Rural) (2-0) – 1.
