After a long offseason, it’s almost time for the 2024 high school football season in Florida.
And a state champion from 2023 begins the new season on top of the preseason Mainstreet Daily News/Prep Zone Football Power Poll.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) receives nine of the 11 first-place votes to start the season at No. 1. The Bucs, who were 14-1 a year ago, finished on top of the rankings to end 2023. Mainland kicked a field goal on the final play of the 3S championship game to edge St. Augustine, 21-19, for its first state title since 2003.
Mainland does have to deal with a coaching change, as Travis Roland left Daytona Beach after the state championship run to take the Camden County (Georgia) coaching job. Roland’s cousin, Jerrime Bell, is now the Bucs’ new head coach after coming over from Atlantic (Port Orange).
Mainland is now in 5A, which includes St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) and Lakeland, both of whom have won multiple state titles in a row. St. Thomas Aquinas set an FHSAA state record with its fifth straight title last December. The Mainland schedule is pretty challenging, with games against defending state champion Cocoa, along with University (Orange City), as well as a trip to No. 11 Raines (Jacksonville) and a home game against seventh-ranked DeLand.
Speaking of St. Augustine, the Yellow Jackets are right behind Mainland at No. 2. St. Augustine received a first-place vote as well, and Brian Braddock’s Yellow Jackets should be loaded again in 2024. The schedule is challenging, as St. Augustine travels to fifth-ranked Mandarin (Jacksonville), No. 15 Bartram Trail (St. Johns) and RV (receiving votes) Columbia (Lake City) as well as a home game against 13th-ranked Bolles (Jacksonville). The Yellow Jackets open the season at RV Palatka.
Buchholz, a state semifinalist a year ago, starts at No. 3. The Bobcats finished 13-1 in 2023 but came up just a point short in the state semifinals of 4S, losing 21-20 to eventual state champion Lakeland.
Coach Mark Whittemore returns to lead the Bobcats after taking last season off, and Chuck Bell has moved back to his defensive coordinator position. Buchholz also faces a tough schedule, starting with a game to open the season on Aug. 23 at No. 12 Vanguard (Ocala). Buchholz also travels to Vero Beach and has a game in Georgia against Richmond Hill, and also has home games against Manatee (Bradenton) and Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach).
Two-time defending 1R state champion Hawthorne is No. 4. The Hornets knocked off Madison County, 22-13, last December in Tallahassee. Hawthorne has won 25 straight games dating back to a loss to Madison County in the 2021 1A state title game.
Hawthorne must replace quarterback C.J. Ingram, who has decided to concentrate on basketball and recently committed to Florida. But the Hornets did get a possible replacement in Adrian Curtis, a transfer from Eastside.
Another state runner-up, Mandarin, rounds out the top five. The Mustangs lost the 4M state title game to Columbus (Miami) last season but will once again be loaded in 2024. Mandarin receives the final first-place vote.
Bradford (Starke), who finished as the 2S state runner-up to Cocoa in 2023, is ranked No. 6 to begin this season. DeLand is at No. 7, with Madison County at No. 8.
Rounding out the top 10 are South Sumter (Bushnell) and Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), who are tied at No. 9.
Among the Mainstreet Daily News area teams in the second 10 are 14th-ranked Williston and No. 18 Newberry. Columbia, Union County (Lake Butler), Fort White and Suwannee (Live Oak) are receiving votes.
Last year’s 1S state runner-up Trinity Catholic (Ocala), starts 2024 ranked No. 17.
Newberry and University Christian (Jacksonville) are new to the poll from the final 2023 rankings. University and Lake Minneola (Minneola) drop out.
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 – 2024 FOOTBALL POLL #1 (PRESEASON POLL)
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, final 2023 record, and total voting points)
Teams in bold are inside the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (9) (14-1) – 209
2. St. Augustine (4A) (1) (13-1) – 188
3. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (13-1) – 181
4. Hawthorne (Rural) (13-0) – 175
5. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (1) (11-4) – 171
6. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (14-1) – 148
7. DeLand (7A) (11-3) – 119
8. Madison County (Rural) (10-2) – 113
9T. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (11-2) – 108
9T. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (9-4) – 108
11. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (10-2) – 98
12. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (11-3) – 96
13. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (8-6) – 89
14. Williston (Rural) (11-1) – 83
15. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (8-5) – 79
16. Riverside (Jacksonville) (4A) (9-3) – 48
17. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (1A) (6-8) – 46
18. Newberry (Rural) (9-3) – 40
19. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (5-6) – 31
20. Ponte Vedra (5A) (8-4) – 29 Also receiving votes: Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (9-4) – 28; University (Orange City) (7A) (10-2) – 22; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (8-4) – 21; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (1A) (5-6) – 18; Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (6-5) -17; Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (4-6) – 16; Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (7-4) – 9; Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (8-4) – 7; Dunnellon (3A) (8-4) – 5; Fort White (Rural) (9-2) – 5; Suwannee (Live Oak) (3A) (6-4) – 3; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (7-4) – 2; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (3-7) -1; Palatka (2A) (7-4) – 1.