Raines (Jacksonville) near unanimous No. 1 in regional rankings
GAINESVILLE — A week ago the Raines (Jacksonville) football team held on to the No. 1 spot in The Prep Zone Power Poll by a hair over St. Augustine.
In last week’s all-classification regional rankings, Raines and St. Augustine both had five first place votes, but the Vikings stayed on top by one voting point over the Yellow Jackets, 213-212.
Following a 51-3 romp at Class 7A ranked Lake Mary, Raines moved farther ahead of St. Augustine this week. The Vikings (3-0) received nine of the 10 first-place votes to remain No. 1 for the fifth straight week.
St. Augustine (4-0) found itself in quite a battle before holding off winless Riverside (Jacksonville), 47-41. This may have been a trap game for the Yellow Jackets, who won at No. 3 Bolles (Jacksonville), 40-35, the previous week and travel to their rival, 4th-ranked Nease (Ponte Vedra), this Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets received the other first-place vote.
Bolles rebounded from the St. Augustine loss with a 36-0 rout at rival and then-No. 16 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville). The Bulldogs (3-1) face another huge test this Friday at 6th-ranked Oakleaf (Orange Park).
Nease stayed unbeaten with a 22-6 triumph at then-RV Fletcher (Neptune Beach). The Panthers (4-0) moved up one spot from No. 5.
Buchholz (Gainesville) dropped a spot this week but rounds out the top five.
The Bobcats (3-1), who were previously ranked No. 4, suffered a 34-27 loss to Manatee a year ago. However, they travelled to Bradenton and defeated the Hurricanes, 30-13.
Buchholz will continue its revenge tour this week, hosting Richmond Hill (GA), who defeated the Bobcats, 35-28, last season.
Oakleaf is still No. 6 despite a huge 35-26 win at home against then-No. 11 Hawthorne, dropping the Hornets (3-1) three spots No. 14 this week.
Mandarin (Jacksonville) also had a big 14-7 win over then-No. 8 Bradford (Starke), avenging an 18-13 loss to the Tornadoes a year ago.
With the loss, Bradford (3-1) dropped four spots to 12th in this week’s poll.
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) is the big mover this week, up five spots to No. 8. The Hawks (4-0) pulled off a 20-16 win at then-No. 9T Mainland (Daytona Beach).
Mainland (2-1) dropped to 13th this week after the setback.
Another unbeaten, Columbia (Lake City), also moved up five spots and into the top 10 at No. 9.
The Tigers improved to 4-0 with a 9-0 shutout at then-No. 17 Madison County. Columbia hosts RV Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) this week.
Vanguard (Ocala) rounds out the top 10. The Knights (3-1) cruised to a 42-3 win against Leesburg in their 4A-District 5 opener.
New to the poll this week are Beachside (St. Johns), The Villages, and Eastside, who are 18th, 19th, and 20th, respectively.
Beachside (3-1) defeated rival then-No. 20 Ponte Vedra, 33-20, in their district opener, while Eastside defeated Trinity Catholic, 33-17, in Ocala. The Villages (4-0) crushed Citrus (Inverness), 72-0.
Bishop Kenny, Madison County, and Ponte Vedra dropped out from last week’s poll.
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 #5
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (9) (3-0) – 199
2. St. Augustine (4A) (1) (4-0) – 180
3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (3-1) – 172
4. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (4-0) – 167
5. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (3-1) – 159
6. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (4-0) – 153
7. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (4-0) – 137
8. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (4-0) – 118
9. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (4-0) – 109
10. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (3-1) – 108
11. DeLand (7A) (4-0) – 107
12. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (3-1) – 83
13. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (2-1) – 72
14. Hawthorne (Rural) (3-1) – 71
15. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (3-0) – 68
16. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (3-1) – 48
17. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (3-1) – 35
18. Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (3-1) – 16
19. The Villages (4-0) – 12
20. Eastside (Gainesville) (3A) (3-1) – 11
Also receiving votes: Taylor County (Perry) (Rural) (4-0) – 9; Chiefland (Rural) (3-1) – 7; Madison County (Rural) (1-3) – 7; Baldwin (2A) (4-0) – 6; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (2-1) – 5; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (1-3) – 5; Williston (Rural) (2-1) – 5; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (3-1) – 4; Middleburg (4A) (4-0) – 3; Trenton (Rural) (4-0) – 2; Yulee (3A) (4-0) – 2; New Smyrna Beach (4A) (2-1) – 1.