Hawthorne boys move into power poll

District champions highlight the top half of The Prep Zone Power Poll.

All of the current top 10 teams won a district championship last Friday, so all 10 teams will host an FHSAA regional playoff game on Thursday.

Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville), which went 7-0 since the last all-classification regional rankings, crushed Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), 63-34, to win the 4A-District 3 title.

Become A Member

Mainstreet does not have a paywall, but pavement-pounding journalism is not free. Join your neighbors who make this vital work possible.

The Tigers (25-2), who will host No. 8 seed Marianna in the 4A-Region 1 quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed, are ranked fifth overall in Florida and No. 1 in Class 4A by MaxPreps. They received all seven first-place votes.

Ponte Vedra and Paxon (Jacksonville), who were third and fourth, respectively, are now tied for second.

The Sharks (23-3), who beat previous No. 11 Fletcher (Neptune Beach), 41-37, in the 6A-District 4 title game, are ranked 24th overall in Florida and No. 4 in Class 6A. They are the No. 1 seed in 6A-Region 1 and will host No. 8 Booker T. Washington (Pensacola) on Thursday.

Paxon (24-3) went 6-1 since the last rankings with its only loss, 53-28, at top-ranked Andrew Jackson on Jan. 28. They are ranked 53rd overall in Florida and No. 7 in Class 4A.

The Golden Eagles defeated Baldwin, 63-48, to win the 4A-District 2 title last Friday. They are the No. 2 seed in 4A-Region 1 will host No. 7 seed North Marion (Citra), which lost to current No. 16 Santa Fe (Alachua) in last Friday’s 4A-District 4 championship game.

The Raiders (15-7), who lost in last year’s 4A state title game, moved up three spots from No. 19. Santa Fe is the No. 4 seed in 4A-Region 1 and will host No. 5 Gadsden County (Havana).

Providence (Jacksonville), which edged RV (received votes) P.K. Yonge (Gainesville), 44-43, in 3A-District 2 championship game, moved up one spot to No. 4. The Stallions (23-4), who are ranked 18th overall in Florida and No. 2 in Class 3A, are the No. 1 seed in 3A-Region 1 and will host No. 8 seed Episcopal (Jacksonville).

Rounding out the top five is Riverside (Jacksonville), which also moved up one spot.

The 5A-District 2 champions are ranked No. 26 overall in Florida and No. 1 in Class 5A. Riverside (22-4) is the No. 1 seed in 5A-Region 1 and will host No. 8 seed Choctaw (Fort Walton Beach).

Orange Park is ranked sixth, followed by Trinity Catholic (Ocala), Fleming Island (Orange Park) and Leesburg, who are tied for eighth, and No. 10 North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville), which moved four spots.

NFEI (21-7), the Class 2A-District 3 champions, is ranked 53rd overall in Florida and No. 4 in Class 2A. They are the No. 1 seed in 2A-Region 1 and will host University Christian (Jacksonville) in the regional quarterfinals.

Since the last rankings, Fleming Island (14-13) had to forfeit their first nine games of the season.

However, the Golden Eagles remained in the top 10 after winning the 6A-District 3 title, although they fell six spots and also lost their top seed in the region. The previous No. 1 team in Class 6A is now a No. 3 seed in 6A-Region 1 and will host No. 6 seed Lincoln (Tallahassee).

DeLand moved into the rankings at No. 17 after winning the Class 7A-District 2 title. The Bulldogs (21-6), winners of nine in a row, are the No. 3 seed in 7A-Region 1 and will host No. 6 seed Evans (Orlando).

Following a 60-58 win at Wildwood to win the Class 1A-District 8 title, Hawthorne (9-4) moved back into the rankings at No. 20. 

The Hornets, who are ranked No. 1 in Class 1A by MaxPreps, are the No. 1 seed in 1A-Region 4 and will host No. 4 seed Williston in Thursday’s regional semifinals.

The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls volleyball, 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 – 2021-22 BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #5

(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)

1. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (4A) (7) (25-2) – 140

2T. Ponte Vedra (6A) (23-3) – 128

2T. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (24-3) – 128

4. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (23-4) – 119

5. Riverside (Jacksonville) (5A) (22-4) – 105

6. Orange Park (5A) (23-4) – 95

7. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (21-5) – 91

8T. Leesburg (5A) (18-7) – 80

8T. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (14-13) – 80

10. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (21-7) – 72

11. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (19-7) – 61

12. Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (25-1) – 57

13. The Villages (4A) (20-7) – 56

14. Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (22-5) – 48

15. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (18-10) – 44

16. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (15-7) – 38

17. DeLand (7A) (21-6) – 35

18. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (15-9) – 30

19. Central (Brooksville) (4A) (23-4) – 14

20. Hawthorne (1A) (9-4) – 11

Also receiving votes: Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (7A) (18-7) – 10; P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (18-9) – 10; Ribault (Jacksonville) (5A) (15-9) – 5; St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) (2A) (19-7) – 4; Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (18-6) – 3; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (3A) (13-12) – 3; Forest (Ocala) (6A) (18-8) – 1; South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (16-7) – 1; Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (13-13)– 1.

Playoff schedule for boys basketball teams (bold) in MainStreet’s coverage area

Thursday, Feb. 17

REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

All games at 7 p.m.

Class 4A-Region 1

No. 5 Gadsden County (Havana) at Santa Fe (Alachua)

Class 3A-Region 1

No. 6 P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) at No. 3 Windermere Prep

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

Class 1A-Region 3

No. 4 Bell at No. 1 Bradford (Starke)

Class 1A-Region 3

No. 3 Dixie County (Cross City) at No. 2 Madison County

Class 1A-Region 4

No. 4 Williston at No. 1 Hawthorne – Radio broadcast on 106.9 FM “I am Country” and audio online at IamCountryRadio.com beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Class 1A-Region 4

No. 3 Newberry at No. 2 Trenton – Video stream online at MainStreetDailyNews.com

Tags:none
Enjoying our local sports coverage? Get Mike Ridaught's twice weekly sports newsletter in your inbox.
Sports Newsletter Form
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments