St. Augustine new No. 1 in regional rankings
GAINESVILLE — As the high school football season barrels forward to the halfway point, it’s been an interesting season at the top of The Prep Zone Power Poll.
And this week there’s a change at the very top.
St. Augustine (5-0) won a back-and-forth battle at No. 5 Nease (Ponte Vedra), 28-24, avenging a loss to the Panthers (4-1) from a year ago. The Yellow Jackets already own a win at No. 3 Bolles (Jacksonville), and with this win move to the top of the all-classification rankings with six of the 10 first-place votes.
St. Augustine faces another tough test this week in their District 3-4A opener, hosting another unbeaten team, 7th-ranked Columbia (Lake City).
Raines (Jacksonville) was off this past week, and dropped one spot to 2nd. The Vikings (3-0) garnered the other four first-place votes this week.
Bolles stayed put at 3rd despite handing then-No. 6 Oakleaf (Orange Park) a 38-6 beatdown on the Knights’ field. Oakleaf (4-1) dropped out of the top 10 this week to 11th after the loss.
Buchholz (Gainesville) moved up a spot to 4th.
The Bobcats (4-1) once again avenged a loss from 2024, beating Richmond Hill (GA), 21-0, in a game called a halftime due to weather. Buchholz has a chance to finish off the revenge tour this Friday as they host Nease in a District 3-6A opener. The game will be broadcasted on 106.9 FM “I am Country” and online at IamCountryGainesville.com.
Nease, which rounds out the top five, defeated Buchholz, 20-17, last September at home.
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) leads off the second five at No. 6.
The Hawks (5-0) held off Titusville, 29-22, to stay unbeaten. They open their District 2-7A schedule this week hosting another unbeaten in No. 8T DeLand.
Columbia moved up two spots this week to No. 7 after holding off RV Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), 27-20. It’s the first time that the Tigers (5-0) have won their first five games since starting 6-0 in 2019.
DeLand is tied for 8th with Mandarin (Jacksonville).
The Mustangs (4-1) dropped their first game of 2025, as they were blown out at home 57-7 by the top-ranked team in America, IMG Academy (Bradenton).
Vanguard (Ocala) rounds out the top 10.
The Knights (4-1) won their fourth game in a row since an opening week loss at Buchholz, knocking off Marion County rival Dunnellon, 20-7.
Taylor County (Perry), which dropped down from 2A to the Rural classification this year, is the only team to move into the rankings this week.
The Bulldogs (5-0), who won, 35-6, at Destin last week, are ranked No. 20.
Eastside (Gainesville) (3-2), which lost at current No. 12 Bradford (Starke), 28-7, last week, is the only team to drop out of the 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 #6
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. St. Augustine (4A) (6) (5-0) – 194
2. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (4) (3-0) – 187
3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (4-1) – 181
4. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (4-1) – 168
5. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (4-1) – 153
6. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (5-0) – 143
7. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (5-0) – 133
8T. DeLand (7A) (5-0) – 117
8T. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (4-1) – 117
10. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (4-1) – 112
11. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (4-1) – 108
12. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (4-1) – 97
13. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (3-1) – 77
14. Hawthorne (Rural) (3-1) – 73
15. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (4-0) – 55
16. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (4-1) – 36
17. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (4-1) – 33
18. Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (4-1) – 29
19. The Villages (2A) (5-0) – 27
20. Taylor County (Perry) (Rural) (5-0) – 12
Also receiving votes: Middleburg (5A) (5-0) – 11; Madison County (Rural) (2-3) – 10; Yulee (3A) (5-0) – 7; Chiefland (Rural) (4-1) – 5; South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (4-1) – 5; Ponte Vedra (5A) (3-2) – 3; East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (5-0) – 2; Santa Fe (Alachua) (3A) (4-0) – 2; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (1-4) – 1.
