- Raines Vikings won 20-17 against nationally-ranked Venice, solidifying their No. 1 ranking with a 6-0 record and 20 consecutive wins since 2024.
- Buchholz Bobcats remain No. 2 at 7-0 after handing Santa Fe their first loss, while Columbia Tigers are also 7-0 for the first time since 2000.
- DeLand remains No. 4 after a 67-0 win over Centennial, while Hawthorne and St. Augustine share the No. 5 spot with undefeated records.
With the high school football regular season entering its final month, the regional rankings have revealed several things about the top teams.
First, the top-ranked Raines (Jacksonville) Vikings have shown how formidable they can be.
Last Friday, the Vikings invited nationally-ranked Venice into The Graveyard. Raines led 20-3 and had to hold off a Venice rally, but the Vikings did win 20-17 for what was the biggest victory of any team in the Prep Zone Power Poll area up to this point in the season.
This win solidified Raines’ No. 1 ranking as the Vikings are now 6-0. Raines received nine of the 12 first-place votes this week. The defending state champion Vikings have won 20 games in a row since losing the 3A state championship game to Northwestern (Miami) to end the 2024 season.
Buchholz (Gainesville) remains at No. 2. The Bobcats are now 7-0 and handed No. 17T Santa Fe (Alachua) their first setback of the season on Oct. 1. Buchholz picks up two first-place votes.
Columbia (Lake City) picked up an impressive 51-28 romp at Manatee (Bradenton) and is now 7-0 for the first time since 2000. The Tigers have the final first-place vote.
DeLand remains at No. 4 after obliterating Centennial (Port St. Lucie), 67-0.
Rounding out the top five are two teams tied for fifth in Hawthorne and St. Augustine.
The Hornets improved to 7-0 with a 28-14 win over 3A Wakulla (Crawfordville). St. Augustine had a bye last week and shouldn’t have much trouble on Friday at district rival Ridgeview (Orange Park).
Mandarin (Jacksonville) is No. 7 after rallying past last year’s 6A state runner-up Lake Mary for a 33-17 win.
Bolles (Jacksonville) is once again at No. 8, Bradford (Starke) is ninth after a 53-13 win over Eastside on Oct. 2 and Ed White (Jacksonville) rounds out the top 10 following a road win at RV Oakleaf (Orange Park).
The only Mainstreet Daily News area team in the second 10 is Santa Fe, which drops into a tie for 17th with Trinity Christian (Jacksonville). The Raiders (5-1) dropped a 35-10 decision to Buchholz last Thursday.
Fort White and Suwannee (Live Oak) are receiving votes.
There are no new teams in the poll this week and no one dropped 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 #8
(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) (9) (6-0) – 237
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (5A) (2) (7-0) – 225
3. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (1) (7-0) – 219
4. DeLand (6A) (5-1) – 191
5T. Hawthorne (1A) (7-0) – 180
5T. St. Augustine (4A) (6-0) – 180
7. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (5A) (5-1) – 177
8. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (4-1) – 166
9. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (7-0) – 148
10. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (5-1) – 136
11. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (4-2) – 119
12. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (5A) (5-1) – 95
13. The Villages (3A) (6-0) – 65
14. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (5-2) – 48
15. Dunnellon (3A) (6-0) – 47
16. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (6A) (4-2) – 45
17T. Santa Fe (Alachua) (3A) (5-1) – 42
17T. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (3-4) – 42
19. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (5A) (4-2) – 27
20. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (2-3) – 16
Also receiving votes: Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (4-2) – 15; West Nassau (Callahan) (SSAA) (6-0-1) – 14; Lake Weir (Ocala) (4A) (6-0) – 12; Fort White (1A) (5-1) – 10; Forest (Ocala) (5A) (6-1) – 9; Nease (Ponte Vedra) (5A) (3-3) – 8; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (4-2) – 7; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (3A) (5-1) – 6; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (5A) (3-3) – 6; Yulee (4A) (3-3) – 6; Madison County (1A) (3-4) – 5; New Smyrna Beach (4A) (5-1) – 4; South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (5-2) – 4; Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (5-1) – 2; Suwannee (Live Oak) (3A) (6-1) – 2; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (3-3) – 1; Flagler Palm Coast (6A) (5-1) – 1; Middleburg (4A) (4-2) – 1.