One of the biggest games of the early part of the high school football season took place last Friday in Starke.
Bradford (Starke), a state runner-up a year ago, knocked off another state runner-up in Mandarin (Jacksonville), 18-13. The win moved the Tornadoes (4-0) into the No. 1 ranking in this week’s The Prep Zone Power Poll.
Bradford receives six of the 11 first-place votes in the regional rankings after one of the biggest wins in program history.
The loss dropped Mandarin (3-1), who had been ranked first the last three weeks, to No. 4 this week.
St. Augustine and Raines (Jacksonville) are tied for second. The Yellow Jackets (3-0) beat Riverside (Jacksonville), 47-35, and pick up three first-place votes. St. Augustine faces a huge St. Johns County test this Friday against 6th-ranked Nease (Ponte Vedra).
Raines (4-0) gained two first-place votes as the Vikings eased past winless RV (received votes) Mainland (Daytona Beach), 35-14.
Mandarin drops to No. 4 with the loss at Bradford. The Mustangs face an even tougher test this Friday at nationally-ranked IMG Academy (Bradenton).
Buchholz (Gainesville), who was ranked No. 2 previously, dropped to No. 5 after the Bobcats (3-1) lost their first regular-season game since 2022. Buchholz was edged by Manatee (Bradenton), 34-27, in a game that was played at Santa Fe High School in Alachua. Buchholz travels north for a game this Friday at Richmond Hill (Georgia).
Nease is No. 6 after the Panthers (3-0) blanked previously unbeaten Fletcher (Neptune Beach), 39-0.
University (Orange City) improved to 4-0 with a 46-7 blowout of RV Deltona, and the Titans settled in this week at No. 7.
Hawthorne, which is ranked eighth, rebounded from its first regular-season loss in four years a week ago to Florida High (Tallahassee) by beating No. 19 Oakleaf (Orange Park), 27-21. The Hornets scored on a Hail Mary on the final play of the game to improve to 3-1.
Bolles (Jacksonville) drops three spots to No. 9 this week despite a come-from-behind 35-28 triumph over rival RV Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville). The Bulldogs (2-1) host Oakleaf this Friday.
Rounding out the top 10 is DeLand. The Bulldogs (3-1) won their third game in a row after an opening week loss to No. 11 Madison County, pounding Appling County (Georgia), 38-7.
Among the Mainstreet Daily News Area teams in the second 10 are Chiefland, who is tied for 15th with Ponte Vedra, and No. 18 Union County (Lake Butler). Columbia (Lake City), Newberry, Fort White and Williston are receiving votes.
Baker County (Glen St. Mary) moves into the poll this week at No. 20. The Wildcats (2-1) replace South Sumter (Bushnell), who was at No. 17 in the previous poll but fell to 1-3 with a 21-14 loss to undefeated Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel).
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 #5
(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. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (6) (4-0) – 205
2T. St. Augustine (4A) (3) (3-0) – 203
2T. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (2) (4-0) – 203
4. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (3-1) – 181
5. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (3-1) – 171
6. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (3-0) – 159
7. University (Orange City) (7A) (4-0) – 154
8. Hawthorne (Rural) (3-1) – 129
9. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (2-1) – 127
10. DeLand (7A) (3-1) – 124
11. Madison County (Rural) (3-1) – 110
12. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (3-1) – 105
13. Dunnellon (3A) (3-1) – 78
14. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (3-1) – 55
15T. Chiefland (Rural) (4-0) – 45
15T. Ponte Vedra (5A) (2-1) – 45
17. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (2-2) – 42
18. Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (4-0) – 33
19. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (3-1) – 24
20. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (2-1) – 22
Also receiving votes: Flagler Palm Coast (7A) (3-0) – 13; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (3-1) – 10; Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (2-2) – 9; Middleburg (5A) (4-0) – 9; Deltona (4A) (1-2) – 8; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (2-2) – 8; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (3A) (2-1) – 6; Taylor County (Perry) (2A) (4-0) – 5; Leesburg (4A) (3-1) – 4; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (0-4) – 3; Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (3-0) – 3; Newberry (2A) (2-2) – 2; Palatka (2A) (3-1) – 2; Fort White (Rural) (3-1) – 1; Williston (Rural) (2-1) -1.