One of the biggest games in the 2025 high school football season for the teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll came last Friday in Jacksonville.
St. Augustine, who came in ranked third, came from behind to beat then-No. 2 Bolles (Jacksonville), 40-35. The Yellow Jackets (3-0) defeated Bolles (2-1) on the Bulldogs’ home field for the second time in a row, beating them there in 2023.
And with that huge win, St. Augustine nearly moved into the top spot this week in the regional rankings. The Yellow Jackets received five of the 11 first-place votes.
But Raines (Jacksonville) outpointed St. Augustine, 213-212, and remains the No. 1 team. The Vikings (2-0) had no trouble with RV (receiving votes) Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), hammering the Conquerors, 48-14, on the road. Raines also receives five first-place votes. The Vikings hit the road this week for a big matchup at 7A Lake Mary.
St. Augustine and Bolles switch places after their exciting back-and-forth battle. Bolles drops to No. 3 and gets back in action on Friday against their rival, 16th-ranked Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville).
Buchholz (Gainesville) bounced back from its loss to 7A Vero Beach by beating rival RV Eastside (Gainesville) for the 12th straight time, 29-19, at Citizens Field. Buchholz (2-1) hits the road for the first time on Friday and it’s a big one, at Manatee (Bradenton).
Rounding out the top five is Nease (Ponte Vedra). In a battle of unbeatens, the Panthers (3-0) hammered Lincoln (Tallahassee), 47-10, and received the final first-place vote this week. Nease hits the road to RV Fletcher (Neptune Beach) on Friday.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) stayed unbeaten with a 31-0 romp over Clay County rival RV Fleming Island (Orange Park). The Knights (3-0) lead off the second five and face a huge test this week at home against another unbeaten team, No. 11 Hawthorne (3-0).
Mandarin (Jacksonville) is at No. 7, and they have a battle with No. 8 Bradford (Starke) coming up this week at the Mustangs’ stadium. Mandarin had no trouble with Sandalwood (Jacksonville) last week, 42-0, and Bradford (3-0) also stayed unbeaten as they slipped past No. 18 South Sumter (Bushnell), 14-12, on the road.
Vanguard (Ocala) and Mainland (Daytona Beach) round out the top 10 in a tie at No. 9. The Knights (2-1) won another road game, 27-3, at winless Newberry. Mainland (2-0) moves up two spots after a 28-7 romp over Flagler Palm Coast.
Among the Mainstreet Daily News area teams in the second ten are 11th-ranked Hawthorne and No. 14 Columbia (Lake City). The Tigers (3-0) had no trouble with a trip to Tampa last week to blank Hillsborough, 39-0. Columbia is back on the road this week at No. 17 Madison County,
Receiving votes are Eastside, Union County (Lake Butler), Trenton, and Williston. Trenton (3-0) is the only unbeaten team remaining from that group with a 21-20 win over Aucilla Christian (Monticello).
Ponte Vedra (2-1) is the only team to move into the rankings this week, as the Sharks hammered Baker County (Glen St. Mary) on the road, 35-10. Fleming Island falls out after the shutout loss at Oakleaf.
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 – 2025 FOOTBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold
1. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (5) (2-0) – 213
2. St.. Augustine (4A) (5) (3-0) – 212
3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (2-1) – 181
4. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (2-1) – 171
5. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (1) (3-0) – 168
6. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (3-0) – 160
7. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (3-0) – 148
8. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (3-0) – 144
9T. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (2-0) – 122
9T. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (2-1) – 122
11. Hawthorne (Rural) (3-0) – 120
12. DeLand (7A) (3-0) – 109
13. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (3-0) – 90
14. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (3-0) – 85
15. Ed White (Jacksonville) (4A) (2-0) – 61
16. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (2-0) – 37
17. Madison County (Rural) (1-2) – 35
18. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (2-1) – 29
19. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (2-1) – 28
20. Ponte Vedra (5A) (2-1) – 16
Also receiving votes: Williston (Rural) (1-1) – 12; Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (1-1) – 9; Trenton (Rural) (3-0) – 7; Baldwin (2A) (3-0) – 6; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (6A) (3-0) – 6; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (5A) (2-1) – 5; The Villages (2A) (3-0) – 5; Eastside (Gainesville) (3A) (2-1) – 3; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (1A) (2-0) – 3; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (0-3) – 3; University (Orange City) (7A) (1-2) – 3; Taylor County (Perry) (Rural) (3-0) – 2; Lafayette (Mayo) (Rural) (3-0) – 1.