Marty Pallman
Mainland (Daytona Beach) Bucs continue to sit at the top of the Prep Zone Power Poll as the season heads into the halfway point this week.
But the big story in this week’s rankings is the continued rise of St. Augustine.
The Yellow Jackets, who had already beaten No. 17 Bolles (Jacksonville) and Brunswick (GA), kicked a field goal in the last 30 seconds to knock off then-No. 4 Bartram Trail (St. Johns), 34-31, last Friday.
With the win St. Augustine (4-0) moves into the top five for the first time this season as the Yellow Jackets are at No. 4 this week.
Bartram Trail (2-2) only dropped three spots to No. 7.
As for Mainland, the Bucs (5-0) struggled last week with RV (receiving votes) Lake Minneola (Minneola) before pulling out a 31-28 win. Mainland receives nine of the 13 first-place votes to stay atop the poll.
Buchholz remains No. 2 and receives the other four first-place votes. The Bobcats (5-0) pulled away for a 30-10 win over then-No. 6 Vanguard (Ocala). Buchholz is off this week before taking on city rival Gainesville next Thursday.
Vanguard (4-1) drops to No. 9 with the loss.
Hawthorne (5-0) remains at No. 3 after cruising to a 50-2 win at P.K. Yonge. The Hornets are also on a bye this week.
Following St. Augustine and rounding out the top five is Bradford (Starke). The Tornadoes (4-0) were off last week and host rival Keystone Heights on Friday.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) leads off the second five at No. 6. The Conquerors (3-2) got back on the winning track with a 27-13 triumph at winless Columbia (Lake City).
Following Bartram Trail at No. 8 is University Christian (Jacksonville). The Christians (3-1) took a nine-hour bus ride to the edge of Florida and knocked off Key West, 41-17.
Following Vanguard and rounding out the top 10 is Suwannee (Live Oak). The Bulldogs remained unbeaten, improving to 4-0 by blasting North Marion (Citra), 32-6.
Among the Mainstreet Daily News teams in the second 10 is 13th-ranked Williston. The Red Devils (5-0) had no problem on the road against previously unbeaten Fort White, blasting the Indians, 42-7.
Newberry and Union County (Lake Butler) also received votes.
New to the poll this week are Bolles (Jacksonville), Ponte Vedra, and Palatka.
Bolles (2-3) is back in the rankings at No. 17 after winning 44-28 last week at No. 19 Oakleaf (Orange Park) for the Bulldogs second straight win after an 0-3 start.
Ponte Vedra (3-1) is No. 18 as they rolled at Menendez (St. Augustine), 32-12, and Palatka slips in at No. 20 after a 4-0 start. The Panthers are off this week.
Union County, Trinity Catholic (Ocala), and Madison County drop out from last week’s poll.Â
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 #6
(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) (9) (5-0) – 256
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (4S) (4) (5-0) – 244
3. Hawthorne (1R) (5-0) – 227
4. St. Augustine (3S) (4-0) – 224
5. Bradford (Starke) (2S) (4-0) – 200
6. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (3-2) – 167
7. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (4S) (2-2) – 162
8. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1M) (3-1) – 144
9. Vanguard (Ocala) (3S) (4-1) – 135
10. Suwannee (Live Oak) (2S) (4-0) – 128
11. DeLand (4S) (3-1) – 124
12. Raines (Jacksonville) (2M) (3-1) – 121
13. Williston (1R) (5-0) – 120
14. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (4M) (4-1) – 113
15. University (Orange City) (4S) (5-0) – 109
16. South Sumter (Bushnell) (2S) (4-1) – 65
17. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2M) (2-3) – 41
18. Ponte Vedra (4S) (3-1) – 27
19. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (4S) (2-1) – 20
20. Palatka (2S) (4-0) – 17
Also receiving votes: Madison County (1R) (2-1) – 13; New Smyrna Beach (4S) (4-0) – 11; Riverside (Jacksonville) (2M) (4-1) – 11; Leesburg (3S) (4-1) – 10; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (1S) (1-3) – 10; Lake Minneola (Minneola) (4S) (1-3) – 9; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (4S) (4-1) – 8; Newberry (1R) (4-1) – 5; Creekside (St. Johns) (4S) (2-3) – 4; Springstead (Spring Hill) (4S) (3-1) – 3; Nease (Ponte Vedra) (3S) (3-2) – 1; Union County (Lake Butler) (1R) (2-2) – 1.