Columbia climbs regional football power poll rankings

We are already almost a month into the high school football season and the top two teams in the Prep Zone Power Poll stay the same.

But the Columbia (Lake City) Tigers continue to move their way up the charts.

Raines (3-0) remained on top once again this week. The Vikings survived a defensive battle with No. 12 Ed White (Jacksonville), with Raines winning on the road, 21-12. Raines received eight of the 11 first-place votes and has been No. 1 in every Prep Zone Power Poll this season.

Buchholz (Gainesville) remains right behind Raines. The Bobcats (3-0) stayed at No. 2 and earned two first-place votes after beating city rival Eastside (Gainesville) for the 13th straight year, 49-7.

Columbia moves up a spot to No. 3 after holding off No. 18 Madison County, 27-13. The Tigers (3-0) receive the final first-place vote and face another undefeated team on the road this week in Ribault (Jacksonville).

St. Augustine is fourth, followed by Mandarin (Jacksonville) at No. 5. The Yellow Jackets (3-0) once again handled St. Johns County rival Menendez (St. Augustine), 38-7.

Mandarin was off last week. The Mustangs (2-0) face a tough road test this Friday at 17th-ranked Nease (Ponte Vedra).

DeLand leads off the second five, followed by Hawthorne at No. 7, with Bolles (Jacksonville) now eighth. Bradford (Starke) and Spruce Creek (Port Orange) round out the top 10.

Santa Fe (Alachua) and Fort White are the only Mainstreet Daily News area teams that are receiving votes.

Leaping into the poll are 15th-ranked Bartram Trail (St. Johns), No. 16 Oakleaf (Orange Park) and No. 20 The Villages.

Bishop Kenny, which lost its first game of the season last week at Bartram Trail, drops out of last week’s poll. Mainland (Daytona Beach) and Ponte Vedra both drop out from a week ago.

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 #4

(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)

Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold

1. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (8) (3-0) – 217

2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (5A) (2) (3-0) – 205

3. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (1) (3-0) – 186

4. St. Augustine (4A) (3-0) – 180

5. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (5A) (2-0) – 179

6. DeLand (6A) (1-1) – 164

7. Hawthorne (1A) (3-0) – 149

8. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-1) – 137

9. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (3-0) – 132

10. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (6A) (2-0) – 113

11. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (1-2) – 100

12. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (1-1) – 83

13. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (2-1) – 72

14. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (2-1) – 56

15. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (5A) (3-0) – 51

16. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (5A) (2-1) – 46

17. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (5A) (1-2) – 33

18. Madison County (1A) (2-1) – 30

19. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (2-1) – 25

20. The Villages (3A) (2-0) – 21

Also receiving votes: Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (5A) (2-1) – 16; Fort White (1A) (2-0) – 16; Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (2-0) – 14; West Nassau (Callahan) (SSAA) (2-0-1) – 13; Santa Fe (Alachua) (3A) (3-0) – 10; Dunnellon (3A) (3-0) – 9; Middleburg (4A) (2-1) – 8; East Ridge (Clermont) (6A) (3-0) – 7; Yulee (4A) (3-0) – 7; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (2-1) – 6; Flagler Palm Coast (6A) (3-0) – 4; Forest (Ocala) (5A) (3-0) – 3; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (1-1) – 3; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (2-1) – 2; New Smyrna Beach (4A) (2-0) – 1.