Marty Pallman
Most of the district winners have been decided, and the announcement of the field for the state playoffs is just days away.
And heading into the final week of the regular season, there is still little movement in the top 10 of the Prep Zone Football Power Poll.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) extended their lead from the previous week as the Bucs (9-0) easily beat rival Seabreeze (Daytona Beach), 48-14. Mainland received eight of the 13 first place votes this week, up from six the previous week.Â
Buchholz (Gainesville) stays right on Mainland’s heels at No. 2. The Bobcats struggled a bit at Fleming Island (Orange Park) last week, trailing at the half and tied going into the fourth quarter before pulling away for a 35-21 win. Buchholz received four first place votes this week in staying No. 2.Â
Moving into No. 3 this week by themselves is St. Augustine. The Yellow Jackets also remained unbeaten with a 49-9 win at Clay (Green Cove Springs). St. Augustine tries to finish off a perfect regular season this Friday at home against Palatka.
Hawthorne falls from a previous tie at No. 3 with St. Augustine into fourth this week. The Hornets (9-0) finished their regular season with a 55-0 win over Akelynn’s Angels Christian Academy (Winter Haven). Hawthorne, the defending 1R state champion, hasn’t lost a regular season game since 2020 and hasn’t lost a game overall since a 13-12 setback to Madison County in the 2021 1A state championship game in Tallahassee.
Rounding out the top five this week once again is Bradford (Starke). The Tornadoes (9-0) wrapped up the District 6-2S title by blanking Palatka 42-0. Bradford receives the final first-place vote and tries to avenge their only loss of the 2022 season this Friday at home against No. 19 Suwannee (Live Oak).
Another unbeaten in Williston leads off the second five. The Red Devils improved to 9-0 by blasting North Marion (Citra), 56-20. They look for their second consecutive unbeaten regular season this week against Citrus (Inverness).
DeLand stays at No. 7 after blowing out New Smyrna Beach, 41-7. Raines (Jacksonville) also stays No. 8 as the Vikings (8-1) clinched the District 1-2M title by pounding Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville), 40-8.
University (Orange City) and South Sumter (Bushnell) both move up a spot to round out the top 10. They replace Ponte Vedra, who saw a seven-game winning streak end with a 24-23 loss to rival Nease (Ponte Vedra). The Sharks (7-2) drop into a tie for 14th with Mandarin (Jacksonville). Nease (6-3) is the first team receiving votes and can win the District 4-4S championship with a win this week against Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine).
Suwannee is the only Mainstreet Daily News area team in the second 10. The Bulldogs (6-2) drop four slots from the previous week as they lost the District 4-2S title game, 24-21, to undefeated Wakulla (Crawfordville).
Columbia (Lake City), Newberry and Fort White are also receiving votes.
Leesburg (9-1) is the only team new to the poll this week as the Yellow Jackets move into No. 20. They replace Providence (Jacksonville), who drops out after a 40-9 loss to No. 12 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville).
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 #11
(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) (9-0) – 254
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (4S) (4) (9-0) – 248
3. St. Augustine (3S) (8-0) – 226
4. Hawthorne (1R) (9-0) – 224
5. Bradford (Starke) (2S) (1) (9-0) – 199
6. Williston (1R) (9-0) – 185
7. DeLand (4S) (7-2) – 183
8. Raines (Jacksonville) (2M) (8-1) – 170
9. University (Orange City) (4S) (8-1) – 151
10. South Sumter (Bushnell) (2S) (9-1) – 139
11. Madison County (1R) (6-1) – 126
12. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (6-3) – 102
13. Vanguard (Ocala) (3S) (7-2) – 94
14T. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (4M) (7-2) – 83
14T. Ponte Vedra (4S) (7-2) – 83
16. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (4S) (5-4) – 52
17. Riverside (Jacksonville) (2M) (7-2) – 38
18. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (4S) (6-3) – 32
19. Suwannee (Live Oak) (2S) (6-2) – 31
20. Leesburg (3S) (9-1) – 26
Also receiving votes: Nease (Ponte Vedra) (4S) (6-3) – 19; Bolles (Jacksonville) (2M) (5-4) – 18; Columbia (Lake City) (3S) (4-4) – 12; Providence (Jacksonville) (1M) (7-2) – 12; Newberry (1R) (7-2) – 11; Fort White (1R) (8-1) – 6; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (4S) (7-3).