Marty Pallman
It was a quiet week for the teams in the Prep Zone Power Poll entering the final week of the high school football regular season.
Undefeated Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) remains on top for another week heading into the final week of games on Thursday and Friday.
The Conquerors (9-0) wrapped up the District 1-1M title with a 55-10 romp over Providence (Jacksonville) last Friday. Trinity Christian concludes the regular season at home Friday night against Munroe (Quincy) and then will await the announcement of the playoff matchups by the FHSAA this Sunday.
Trinity Christian once again receives six of the nine first-place votes to stay No. 1 for the third straight week.
Staying at No. 2 and picking up the other three first-place votes is Bartram Trail (St. Johns). The Bears (9-0) won the District 3-4S title the previous week but stayed unbeaten with a 55-20 win at Oakleaf (Orange Park). Bartram Trail looks to finish its unbeaten regular season at home Friday against Mandarin (Jacksonville).
Buchholz remains at No. 3. The Bobcats (7-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season the previous week at Bartram Trail by easing past then-RV (receiving votes) Fleming Island (Orange Park), 49-35, on Senior Night at Citizens Field. Buchholz is still in great shape for a postseason berth and finishes its regular season on Friday at No. 20 Bolles (Jacksonville).
Bradford (Starke) drops a spot to No. 4 despite clinching the District 6-2S championship with a 35-14 win at Palatka. The Tornadoes (9-0) also look to finish a perfect regular season this week with a tough trip to RV Suwannee (Live Oak). Suwannee is now 7-2 after an upset 22-14 win at Wakulla (Crawfordville) last week.Â
Hawthorne once again rounds out the top five. The Hornets (7-0) took last week off and look to finish another perfect regular season with a home game against Astronaut (Titusville).
University Christian (Jacksonville) leads off the second five again this week. The Christians (8-1) only loss so far in 2022 is 20-13 defeat at district rival Trinity Christian.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) is up one spot this week to No. 7. The Bucs (7-2) won two games last week — 51-22 over Seabreeze (Daytona Beach) and 66-0 over Pine Ridge (Deltona).
Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) moves into the top 10 at No. 8 after clinching the District 1-2M title with a 21-12 win at then-No. 7 Raines (Jacksonville), who dropped to No. 11.
Lake Minneola (Minneola) and South Sumter (Bushnell) round out the top 10. Lake Minneola (7-1) had the week off while South Sumter (9-0) blasted Dunnellon 40-6.
Moving into the rankings this week for the first time this season is Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), who is tied at No. 16 with Chiefland. The Crusaders (8-1) upset then-No. 13 Bolles (Jacksonville), 14-13, to clinch the District 2-2M title. It was Bishop Kenny’s first win over rival Bolles since 1977.
Bishop Kenny closes their regular season on Thursday night at University Christian and then awaits their playoff opponent in a home postseason game next week. With the loss, Bolles falls to No. 20.
Other local teams in the top 20 include No. 16T Chiefland, who defeated Fort White, 41-14, last Friday and will host undefeated No. 19 Williston on Friday. The visiting Red Devils last played on Oct. 25 when they shut out Hamilton County, 48-0.
No. 18 Columbia (Lake City), who is off this week, defeated Ridgeview last Friday, 45-0, for its fourth straight win.
North Marion (Citra) is the only team to drop from the poll this week.Â
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2022 FOOTBALL POLL #10
(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. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (6) (9-0) – 177
2. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (4S) (3) (9-0) – 174
3. Buchholz (Gainesville) (4S) (7-1) – 155
4. Bradford (Starke) (2S) (9-0) – 150
5. Hawthorne (1R) (7-0) – 143
6. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (8-1) – 134
7. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (3S) (7-2) – 116
8. Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville) (2M) (8-1) – 108
9. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (4S) (7-1) – 102
10. South Sumter (Bushnell) (2S) (9-0) – 92
11. Raines (Jacksonville) (2M) (6-2) – 82
12. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (1S) (6-2) – 73
13. Creekside (St. Johns) (4S) (7-2) – 65
14. Ed White (Jacksonville) (2M) (6-2) – 61
15. Vanguard (Ocala) (3S) (6-3) – 43
16T. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (2M) (8-1) – 37
16T. Chiefland (1R) (6-1) – 37
18. Columbia (Lake City) (3S) (6-3) – 35
19. Williston (1R) (9-0) – 25
20. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2M) (5-4) – 18
Also receiving votes: North Marion (Citra) (2S) (6-3) – 17; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (3M) (7-2) – 15; Baldwin (2S) (8-1) – 14; Suwannee (Live Oak) (2S) (7-2) – 7; St. Augustine (3S) (6-3) – 6; Union County (Lake Butler) (1R) (5-2) – 3.