Marty Pallman
The Buchholz (Gainesville) Bobcats had been waiting their turn to be the top-ranked team in the Prep Zone Football Power Poll.
Finally, as the regular season ends, the Bobcats find themselves at the top.
The Bobcats had sat No. 2 every week of the season, just behind Mainland (Daytona Beach). But with the Bucs suffering their first loss of the season and Buchholz clinching their first unbeaten season since 2001, the Bobcats are the new top-ranked team.
Buchholz (10-0), who finished off the perfect regular season with a 42-20 win at Trinity Catholic (Ocala), garnered 11 of the 13 first-place votes. Buchholz opened the playoffs on Thursday night in a Region 1-4S quarterfinal against Mosley (Panama City).
Moving up to No. 2 is another unbeaten team in St. Augustine. The Yellow Jackets finished a 9-0 regular season with a 41-6 romp over rival Palatka. They open the postseason on Friday at home against Middleburg in a Region 1-3S regional quarterfinal.
With a 33-0 loss to Lake Mary, who is the seventh-ranked team overall in Florida according to MaxPreps, Mainland drops out of the top spot for the first time this season and now sits at No. 3. The Bucs (9-1) open at home against Satellite (Satellite Beach) in a 3S regional quarterfinal.
Hawthorne remains No. 4 after a bye week in the final week of the regular season. The 9-0 Hornets have this week off as well before opening play in the Region 4-1R semifinal next Friday against the winner of this week’s game between Newberry and Chiefland.
Rounding out the top five is another unbeaten in Bradford (Starke). The Tornadoes capped their 10-0 season by blasting then-No. 19 Suwannee (Live Oak), 35-3, in a rematch of Bradford’s only regular season loss a year ago. Bradford also receives a first-place vote.
Another 10-0 team starts off the second five. Williston blasted Citrus (Inverness), 65-7, to finish their second consecutive unbeaten regular season. The Red Devils take this week off before playing a Region 4-1R semifinal next Friday against the winner of the Dixie County (Cross City) at Pahokee game.
DeLand stays at No. 7Â after beating Flagler Palm Coast, 58-23, in their regular season finale. They also received a first-place vote this week.Â
Raines (Jacksonville), University (Orange City), and South Sumter (Bushnell) round out the top 10.
Among the teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area, Columbia (Lake City), Suwannee, Fort White, Newberry, and Eastside (Gainesville) received votes this week.Â
Suwannee is the only team to fall out of the poll this week. They are replaced by Creekside (St. Johns), who moved back in the rankings at No. 20 after upsetting then-No. 14 Ponte Vedra, 26-21. With the win, the Knights (6-4) qualified for the postseason and have a rematch this Friday at now-No. 19 Ponte Vedra in a Region 1-4S quarterfinal.
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 – 2023 FOOTBALL POLL #12
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
Teams in bold are inside the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area.
1. Buchholz (Gainesville) (4S) (11) (10-0) – 255
2. St. Augustine (3S) (9-0) – 242
3. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (3S) (9-1) – 227
4. Hawthorne (1R) (9-0) – 215
5. Bradford (Starke) (2S) (1) (10-0) – 211
6. Williston (1R) (10-0) – 188
7. DeLand (4S) (1) (8-2) – 182
8. Raines (Jacksonville) (2M) (9-1) – 170
9. University (Orange City) (4S) (9-1) – 156
10. South Sumter (Bushnell) (2S) (9-1) – 142
11. Madison County (1R) (7-1) – 134
12. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (7-3) – 111
13. Vanguard (Ocala) (3S) (8-2) – 105
14. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (4S) (6-4) – 90
15. Riverside (Jacksonville) (2M) (8-2) – 56
16. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (4S) (7-3) – 46
17. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (4M) (7-3) – 42
18. Leesburg (3S) (9-1) – 37
19. Ponte Vedra (4S) (7-3) – 30
20. Creekside (St. Johns) (4S) (6-4) – 19
Also receiving votes: Nease (Ponte Vedra) (4S) (7-3) – 18; Fort White (1R) (9-1) – 16; Newberry (1R) (8-2) – 10; Columbia (Lake City) (3S) (4-5) – 9; Bolles (Jacksonville) (2M) (5-5) – 7; Columbia (Lake City) (3S) (4-4) – 12; Suwannee (Live Oak) (2S) (6-3) – 4; Dunnellon (2S) (7-3) – 3; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (4S) (7-3) – 2; Yulee (2S) (8-2) – 2; Eastside (Gainesville) (2S) (7-3) – 1.