The high school football season has come to an end for 2024, and only one team in The Prep Zone Power Poll area brought home a state title — the Madison County Cowboys.
But the team that finished at the top made it all the way to the state title game before tasting defeat.
The Raines (Jacksonville) Vikings went undefeated all the way to the 3A state championship game before they ran into the Northwestern (Miami) Bulls at Pitbull Stadium at FIU in Miami. Raines came up short of their third state title since 2017, and they were blanked by Northwestern, 41-0.
But the state runner-up finish was enough to make Raines the unanimous No. 1 team in our final all-classification regional rankings. Raines (13-1) received all 10 first-place votes as they moved up from No. 2 in the previous poll taken before the postseason.
St. Augustine finished No. 2. The Yellow Jackets (11-2) advanced to the 4A state semifinals before being eliminated on the road at eventual state champion American Heritage (Plantation), 38-28.
Another state semifinalist, Buchholz (Gainesville) ended at No. 3. The Bobcats (10-4) advanced to the state semifinal round for the fourth straight year, and unfortunately for the fourth straight year, Buchholz was bounced in that round, this time 41-35 by Osceola (Kissimmee).
The only state champion in the final poll, Madison County, finished at No.4. Champions of the Rural Classification, the Cowboys (10-3) move up nine spots from the previous rankings as they defeated two-time defending state champion Hawthorne, 21-14, in the state title game at The Villages to win their first state title since 2021 and their seventh state football title overall, tying the Cowboys for fifth all-time.
Rounding out the top five is the previous No. 1-ranked team, Nease (Ponte Vedra). The Panthers were undefeated in the regular season but were upset in the second round of the 6A playoffs by No. 11 Oakleaf (Orange Park), 31-14.
Leading off the second 10 are two teams tied for sixth, Vanguard (Ocala) and Hawthorne. Vanguard lost in the Region 2-4A final at eventual state runner-up Jones (Orlando), 27-13.
Hawthorne (10-2) played in its fifth consecutive title game but came up just a bit short against Madison County.
Bolles (Jacksonville) ended up at No. 8, followed by Newberry at No. 9 and Bradford (Starke) finished 10th. Newberry defeated Bradford, 34-19, in the Region 2-2A semifinal before being eliminated in the next round at eventual state champion Cocoa.
Among the Mainstreet Daily News area teams in the second 10 are Union County (Lake Butler), who ends up No. 14 after advancing to the Rural state semifinals, and Chiefland, who finished tied for No. 20 with University Christian (Jacksonville).
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) moves up eight spots in the final rankings to No. 12 as the Conquerors (10-4) advanced to the 1A state semifinal.
New to the rankings in the final poll is 19th-ranked Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) along with University Christian. The Crusaders (9-4) move into the poll after knocking off Baker County (Glen St. Mary) and Godby (Tallahassee) before being eliminated in the Region 1-3A final at Raines.
University Christian (7-6) also advanced to the Region 1-1A final, where they were knocked out by Trinity Christian.
Springstead (Spring Hill) and New Smyrna Beach dropped out of the previous poll.
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 – 2024 FOOTBALL POLL #13 (FINAL POLL)
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, final 2024 record, and total voting points)
Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold
1. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (10) (13-1) – 200
2. St. Augustine (5A) (11-2) – 180
3. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (10-4) – 174
4. Madison County (Rural) (10-3) – 155
5. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (10-1) – 145
6T. Hawthorne (Rural) (10-2) – 143
6T. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (11-2) – 143
8. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (10-2) – 141
9. Newberry (2A) (10-3) – 112
10. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (9-2) – 96
11. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (9-4) – 91
12. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (10-4) – 89
13. University (Orange City) (7A) (9-3) – 76
14. Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (10-2) – 73
15. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (8-4) – 60
16. Ponte Vedra (5A) (9-3) – 59
17. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (7-4) – 46
18. Flagler Palm Coast (7A) (9-2) – 35
19. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (9-4) – 22
20T. Chiefland (Rural) (9-2) – 14
20T. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (7-6) – 14
Also receiving votes: Williston (Rural) (8-5) – 13; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (8-4) – 9; Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (8-3) – 5; Dunnellon (3A) (8-4) – 2; Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (5-6) – 2; New Smyrna Beach (4A) (8-3) – 2; Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (7-4) – 1.