Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) stays on top of regional rankings heading into final week
GAINESVILLE — There’s one week to go in the high school football regular season.
Undefeated Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) remained on top of the all-classification regional rankings after winning the District 1-1M title with a 55-10 romp over Providence (Jacksonville) last Friday. The Conquerors (9-0) wrap up the regular season at home on Friday night against Munroe (Quincy) and then will await the announcement of the playoff matchups by the FHSAA this Sunday.
Trinity Christian, which is ranked 23rd overall in Florida and third in Class 1M by MaxPreps, once again received six of the nine first-place votes to stay No. 1 in The Prep Zone Power Poll for the third straight week.
Bartram Trail (St. Johns), which received the other three first-place votes, remained second.
The Bears (9-0), who are ranked 15th overall in Florida and third in 4S by MaxPreps, won the District 3-4S title the previous week but remained undefeated with a 55-20 romp at Oakleaf (Orange Park). They have a chance to finish the year unbeaten with a win at home against Mandarin (Jacksonville) on Friday.
Buchholz (Gainesville) remained 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 Fleming Island (Orange Park), 49-35, on Senior Night at Citizens Field. Buchholz, which is ranked fifth in 4S and 26th overall in Florida by MaxPreps, is still in great shape for a postseason berth and finishes their regular season on Friday at RV Bolles (Jacksonville).
Bradford (Starke) dropped a spot and fell to fourth 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, which is now ranked ninth in the state in Class 2S by MaxPreps, is 7-2 after a 22-14 upset win at Wakulla (Crawfordville) last week. The Bulldogs have won five in a row.
Hawthorne once again rounds out the top five. The Hornets (7-0) took last week off and aim for back-to-back undefeated regular seasons with a home game against Astronaut (Titusville).
University Christian (Jacksonville) leads off the second five again this week. The 6th-ranked Christians’ (8-1) only loss so far in 2022 is a 20-13 defeat at district rival Trinity Christian.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) is back 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) (8-1) 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), which dropped to 11th.
Lake Minneola and South Sumter (Bushnell) again round out the top 10 at ninth and 10th respectively. Lake Minneola (7-1) had the week off while South Sumter (9-0) blasted Dunnellon, 40-6.
Moving into the rankings this week for this first time in 2022 is Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), which is tied for 16th with Chiefland.
The Crusaders (8-1) upset then-No. 13 Bolles (Jacksonville), 14-13, to clinch the District 2-2M title. It was their first win over rival Bolles, which dropped to No. 20, since 1977.
Bishop Kenny closes the regular season on Thursday night in a top 10 battle at No. 6 University Christian and then awaits their playoff opponent in a home postseason game next week.
North Marion (Citra) is the only team to drop from the poll this week but the Colts (6-3), who are still alive for a postseason berth in 2S, are still receiving votes.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2022 FOOTBALL POLL #10
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
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 (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.
