Raines (Jacksonville) still No. 1 but St. Augustine closing in
GAINESVILLE — One of the biggest games in the 2025 high school football season for the teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll came last Friday in Jacksonville.
St. Augustine came from behind to beat then-No. 2 Bolles (Jacksonville), 40-35. The Yellow Jackets (3-0), who were ranked No. 3, beat Bolles (2-1) on the Bulldogs’ home field for the second time in a row (2023).
With that huge win, St. Augustine nearly moved into the top spot this week in the regional all-classification rankings. The Yellow Jackets received five of the 11 first-place votes.
Raines (Jacksonville) edged St. Augustine in total voting points, 213-212, to remain on top. The Vikings (2-0) had no trouble with RV Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), hammering the Conquerors 48-14 on the road.
They Vikings, who received five first-place votes, hit the road this week for a big matchup at 7A Lake Mary.
St. Augustine and Bolles switched places after their exciting back-and-forth battle. Bolles, which drops to 3rd, gets back in action this Friday at their rival, 16th-ranked Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville).
Buchholz (Gainesville) bounced back from its loss to 7A Vero Beach by beating rival RV Eastside (Gainesville) for the 12th straight time, 29-19, at Citizens Field. Buchholz (2-1) hits the road for the first time this Friday at Manatee (Bradenton).
Rounding out the top five is Nease (Ponte Vedra).
In a battle of unbeatens, the Panthers (3-0) hammered Lincoln (Tallahassee), 47-10, and received the final first-place vote this week. Nease travels to RV Fletcher (Neptune Beach) on Friday.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) leads off the second five at No. 6.
The Knights stayed unbeaten with a 31-0 romp over Clay County rival RV Fleming Island (Orange Park). They face a huge test this week at home against another unbeaten team, No. 11 Hawthorne (3-0).
Mandarin (Jacksonville) is 7th.
The Mustangs (3-0) have a battle at home with No. 8 Bradford (Starke) this week. Last week, Mandarin had no trouble with Sandalwood (Jacksonville), 42-0, while Bradford (3-0) also stayed unbeaten as they slipped past No. 18 South Sumter (Bushnell), 14-12, on the road.
Vanguard (Ocala) and Mainland (Daytona Beach) round out the top 10 in a tie for 9th. The Knights (2-1) won another road game, 27-3 at winless Newberry.
Mainland (2-0) moved up two spots after a 28-7 romp over Flagler Palm Coast.
Ponte Vedra (2-1) is the only team to move into the rankings this week, as the Sharks hammered Baker County (Glen St. Mary), 35-10, on the road. Fleming Island fell out after the shutout loss at Oakleaf.
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 #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (5) (2-0) – 213
2. St.. Augustine (4A) (5) (3-0) – 212
3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (2-1) – 181
4. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (2-1) – 171
5. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (1) (3-0) – 168
6. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (3-0) – 160
7. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (3-0) – 148
8. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (3-0) – 144
9T. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (2-0) – 122
9T. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (2-1) – 122
11. Hawthorne (Rural) (3-0) – 120
12. DeLand (7A) (3-0) – 109
13. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (3-0) – 90
14. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (3-0) – 85
15. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (2-0) – 61
16. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (2-0) – 37
17. Madison County (Rural) (1-2) – 35
18. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (2-1) – 29
19. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (2-1) – 28
20. Ponte Vedra (5A) (2-1) – 16
Also receiving votes: Williston (Rural) (1-1) – 12; Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (1-1) – 9; Trenton (Rural) (3-0) – 7; Baldwin (2A) (3-0) – 6; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (3-0) – 6; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (2-1) – 5; The Villages (2A) (3-0) – 5; Eastside (Gainesville) (3A) (2-1) – 3; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (1A) (2-0) – 3; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (0-3) – 3; University (Orange City) (7A) (1-2) – 3; Taylor County (Perry) (Rural) (3-0) – 2; Lafayette (Mayo) (Rural) (3-0) – 1.
