St. Augustine clinches district title, remains No. 1
GAINESVILLE — With the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) football state playoffs now only four weeks away, some teams are already clinching district titles.
One of those teams remains at the top of The Prep Zone Power Poll, which ranks the top 20 high school football teams across 26 counties.
St. Augustine wrapped up the District 3-4A title last week with a 56-7 romp at Clay (Green Cove Springs). The Yellow Jackets (7-0) remain on top of the all-classification regional rankings once again this week, receiving eight of the 11 first-place votes.
Buchholz (Gainesville) leapfrogged Raines (Jacksonville) into the No. 2 spot this week.
The Bobcats (7-1), who have a bye this week, had no problem with a 42-7 District 3-6A win at Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine). Buchholz, which gained two first-place votes, can clinch the title with a win at home against Bartram Trail (St. Johns) next week.
Raines remained unbeaten at 7-0 and dropped a spot despite a 27-14 win over RV Madison County. The Vikings received the final first-place vote.
Bolles (Jacksonville) remained fourth as they clinched the District 4-2A title with a 48-0 blanking of Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville), while DeLand, which improved to 7-0 with a 49-21 win over Flagler Palm Coast, rounds out the top five.
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) again leads off the second five at No. 6. The Hawks moved to 6-0 with a 35-0 romp against University (Orange City).
Class 6A schools Nease (Ponte Vedra) and Mandarin (Jacksonville) are tied for 7th.
The Panthers (5-2) got past Bartram Trail, 10-0, and Mandarin slipped past Fletcher (Neptune Beach), 22-13, in a District 2-6A game. The Mustangs (7-1) face No. 9 Oakleaf (Orange Park) for the district title on October 24.
Oakleaf (6-1) blanked First Coast (Jacksonville), 24-0, while Columbia (Lake City) rounds out the top 10. The Tigers (7-1) easily won at Ridgeview (Orange Park), 44-0.
Hawthorne (5-1) remained No. 13 after a big road win, 42-29, at University Christian (Jacksonville), dropping the Christians (5-3) out of the poll this week.
Chiefland and Eastside moved into the top 20 at No. 17 and 20, respectively.
The Indians (7-1), who moved up to No. 2 in the FHSAA’s Rural rankings, won their sixth straight game and handed Taylor County (Perry) its first loss of the season, 30-15, while the Rams (5-2) clinched their third District 5-3A title in four years as they knocked off then-No 15 South Sumter (Bushnell), 27-21, in overtime.
South Sumter (5-2) dropped out of the the poll this week.
Class 3A Yulee (7-0) is also new to the poll this week at 19th. The Hornets (7-0) blanked Fernandina Beach, 28-0, and now look ahead to a showdown at 3rd-ranked Raines for the District 3-3A championship next week.
Along with South Sumter and University Christian, East Ridge (Clermont) drops out from the previous week. All three teams are still receiving votes.
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 #9
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. St. Augustine (4A) (8) (7-0) – 213
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (2) (7-1) – 205
3. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (1) (7-0) – 202
4. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (6-1) – 185
5. DeLand (7A) (7-0) – 172
6. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (6-0) – 157
7T. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (7-1) – 134
7T. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (5-2) – 134
9. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (6-1) – 130
10. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (7-1) – 127
11. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (7-1) – 108
12. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (6-1) – 107
13. Hawthorne (Rural) (5-1) – 90
14. The Villages (2A) (8-0) – 74
15. Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (5-1) – 50
16. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (4-2) – 46
17. Chiefland (Rural) (7-1) – 41
18. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (6-1) – 37
19. Yulee (3A) (7-0) – 19
20. Eastside (Gainesville) (3A) (5-2) – 12
Also receiving votes: Ponte Vedra (5A) (5-2) – 11; East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (6-1) – 9; Williston (Rural) (6-1) – 9; Madison County (Rural) (2-5) – 5; South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (5-2) – 5; Branford (Rural) (6-2) – 3; Lafayette (Mayo) (Rural) (6-1) – 3; Middleburg (5A) (6-1) – 3; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (3-4) – 3; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (5-2) – 2; South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (6-1) – 2; Tavares (3A) (5-2) -2; University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (5-3) – 1.
