Class 3A-District 3 champ Raines (Jacksonville) still No. 1
Hurricane Isaias disrupted the high school football schedule two weeks ago, forcing many games to be postponed or rescheduled for later in the season.
After a week off, The Prep Zone Power Poll returns this week with no changes among the top teams in the regional all-classification rankings.
Raines (Jacksonville) is still at the top. The Vikings’ district game at RV Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) moved to Oct. 12 and Raines had no trouble, routing the Crusaders, 48-3, to clinch the FHSAA Class 3A-District 3 title.
Raines (8-0) followed up last Friday with a 48-0 victory against Riverside (Jacksonville). They received seven of the 10 first-place votes in this week’s poll.
Buchholz (Gainesville) remained at No. 2. The Bobcats defeated Matanzas (Palm Coast), 48-0, on Oct. 10 before having their bye last Friday. Buchholz (8-0) will try to clinch the District 3-5A title on Friday at home against Oakleaf (Orange Park). The Bobcats again received two first-place votes.
Columbia (Lake City) stayed at No. 3 after the Tigers picked up a big 42-22 road win at No. 13T Ed White (Jacksonville). The Tigers (8-0) will try to clinch the District 3-4A title as they host RV (receiving votes) Yulee this week. Columbia tallied the final first-place vote.
DeLand remained at No. 4. The Bulldogs (7-1) easily won two games the last two weeks by a combined score of 130-7 over Tavares and University (Orange City). DeLand faces a big road test this week at rival No. 16 Mainland (Daytona Beach) with the District 2-6A title on the line.
Hawthorne rounds out the top five. The Hornets (9-0) had no trouble with Hardee (Wauchula), whom they beat 38-3 last Friday, or Chiefland, whom they blanked 35-0 on Oct. 9. Hawthorne has their bye week this week and ends the regular season next Friday at home against unbeaten No. 12 Dunnellon.
Mandarin (Jacksonville) is up a spot to No. 6 this week as they leapfrog No. 7 St. Augustine. The Mustangs (7-1) wrapped up the District 2-5A title with a 47-6 win at Beachside (St. Johns), while No. 17 Bartram Trail (St. Johns) fell to No. 19T Nease (Ponte Vedra).
Mandarin finishes the regular season with home games against Bartram Trail and St. Augustine the final two weeks.
Bradford (Starke) moves up to No. 8 after knocking off 18th-ranked University Christian (Jacksonville), 27-24, while Vanguard (Ocala) entered the top 10 at No. 9, and Bolles (Jacksonville) (5-2), which lost 20-17 in overtime at No. 13T Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) last week, fell two spots to No. 10.
Forest (Ocala) re-enters the rankings this week at No. 15, as the Wildcats improved to 8-1 with a win at West Port (Ocala). Nease (Ponte Vedra), who has won four games in a row, and Creekside (St. Johns) also re-enter the poll and are tied for 19th.
Falling out of the previous poll two weeks ago, besides Santa Fe, were Spruce Creek (Port Orange) and Fletcher (Neptune Beach).
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 Be Well Fitness.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2026 FOOTBALL POLL #9
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (7) (8-0) – 197
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (5A) (2) (8-0) – 186
3. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (1) (8-0) – 183
4. DeLand (6A) (7-1) – 162
5. Hawthorne (1A) (9-0) – 156
6. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (5A) (7-1) – 148
7. St. Augustine (4A) (8-0) – 146
8. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (9-0) – 131
9. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (6-2) – 110
10. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (5-2) – 96
11. The Villages (3A) (8-0) – 88
12. Dunnellon (3A) (7-0) – 80
13T. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (6-2) – 68
13T. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (4-4) – 68
15. Forest (Ocala) (5A) (8-1) – 42
16. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (4-3) – 34
17. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (5A) (6-2) – 33
18. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (6-3) – 28
19T. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (6-2) – 24
19T. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (5A) (5-3) – 24
Also receiving votes: Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (6A) (4-4) – 13; Lake Weir (Ocala) (4A) (8-0) – 12; Santa Fe (Alachua) (3A) (6-2) – 10; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (6-2) – 9; South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (6-2) – 7; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (SSAA) (9-0) – 6; Yulee (4A) (5-3) – 6; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (3A) (6-1) – 5; Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (2A) (7-1) – 3.
