Marty Pallman
Hurricane Idalia caused plenty of problems as it plowed into the Big Bend last week. Among the problems were the storm’s effect on high school football schedules.
But most of the teams in the Prep Zone Power Poll area were able to get their games in. And the team at the top, the Mainland (Daytona Beach) Bucs rolled and extended their lead in the latest regional rankings.
Mainland (2-0) had no trouble in their home opener, rolling past West Broward (Pembroke Pines) 35-0. The Bucs, ranked No. 1 in 3S and 15th overall statewide according to MaxPreps, receive eight of the 13 first-place votes to extend their lead over No. 2 Buchholz (Gainesville).
Mainland faces a stern test on the road this Friday at No. 3 Bartram Trail (St. Johns).
As for Buchholz, they only pick up one first-place vote but remain at No. 2 after a 53-31 romp on the road at Riverview (Sarasota). The Bobcats return home to Citizens Field for a showdown with city rival RV (receiving votes) Eastside (Gainesville). Both teams enter that game at 2-0. The game will be broadcast on 106.9 FM “I am Country” with the pregame starting at 7:15 p.m. and the kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
Bartram Trail moves up two spots to No. 3 as they ready for their matchup with Mainland. The Bears improved to 2-0 by pounding Seabreeze (Daytona Beach), 55-0. Bartram Trail picks up a first-place vote as well as they ready for a game against a tougher team from Daytona Beach this Friday.
Hawthorne continues to roll and stays at No. 4. The Hornets (2-0) also earn a first-place vote as they have no trouble on the road against Alachua County rival Newberry, rolling the Panthers, 40-10. Hawthorne hosts Terry Parker (Jacksonville) on Friday.
Rounding out the top five this week is Trinity Christian (Jacksonville). The Conquerors dropped their first game of the season, 27-14, at nationally-ranked American Heritage (Plantation). Despite the loss, Trinity Christian earns two first-place votes to wrap up the top five.
Bradford (Starke) is at No. 6. The Tornadoes (2-0) stayed put despite a 40-6 romp at then-No. 20T Baldwin in a game that was moved to Saturday due to the storm. The loss drops Baldwin (1-1) out of the rankings this week.
Vanguard (Ocala) remains seventh despite a 35-21 triumph at then-No. 19 Lake Minneola (Minneola). Lake Minneola drops out of the poll after an 0-2 start.
St. Augustine was off but still move up two spots to No. 8. The Yellow Jackets (1-0) were scheduled to play Gibbs (St. Petersburg) in Pinellas County but that game was also canceled due to Idalia.
Rounding out the top 10 are ninth-ranked Raines (Jacksonville) and two teams tied for 10th in Mandarin (Jacksonville) and South Sumter (Bushnell). The Mustangs (2-0) move up four spots after rallying past Bolles (Jacksonville), 42-35. With the loss, Bolles drops to 0-2 but stays in the poll at No. 15.
Among the Mainstreet Daily News teams in the second 10 are Suwannee (Live Oak), ranked 14th, No. 17 Union County (Lake Butler), 18th-ranked Columbia (Lake City) and Williston, who is tied for 19th with DeLand.
Suwannee’s game against Hamilton County (Jasper) was called off due to the storm, as was a scheduled matchup between 1-0 Union County and 0-1 Columbia.
Williston’s game with Weeki Wachee was called off earlier in the week, but the Red Devils picked up a game later in the week at First Coast (Jacksonville). Williston rolled on the road 53-36 to improve to 2-0 and move into the poll.
Williston is the only team to move into the top 20 this week.
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 #3
(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. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (3S) (8) (2-0) – 255
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (4S) (1) (2-0) – 238
3. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (4S) (1) (2-0) – 224
4. Hawthorne (1R) (1) (2-0) – 206
5. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (2) (1-1) – 202
6. Bradford (Starke) (2S) (2-0) – 192
7. Vanguard (Ocala) (3S) (2-0) – 178
8. St. Augustine (3S) (1-0) – 157
9. Raines (Jacksonville) (2M) (1-0) – 153
10T. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (4M) (2-0) – 133
10T. South Sumter (Bushnell) (2S) (2-0) – 133
12. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (1S) (0-1) – 100
13. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (1-1) – 93
14. Suwannee (Live Oak) (2S) (1-0) – 64
15. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2M) (0-2) – 59
16. Creekside (St. Johns) (4S) (1-1) – 57
17. Union County (Lake Butler) (1R) (1-0) – 45
18. Columbia (Lake City) (3S) (0-1) – 44
19T. DeLand (4S) (1-1) – 43
19T. Williston (1R) (2-0) – 43
Also receiving votes: Fleming Island (Orange Park) (4S) (2-0) -18; University (Orange City) (4S) (2-0) – 14; Baldwin (2S) (1-1) – 13; Eastside (Gainesville) (2S) (2-0) – 13; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (2M) (1-0) – 6; Ponte Vedra (4S) (1-1) – 6; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (2S) (2-0) – 5; Madison County (1R) (0-0) – 4; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (4S) (1-0) – 3; Chiefland (1R) (1-1) – 2; Forest (Ocala) (4S) (1-0) – 2; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (2S) (0-1) – 1; Dunnellon (2S) (1-0) – 1.