Nationally-ranked Mainland still on top
Gainesville – We separated the pretenders from the contenders in Week #1 as most of the teams in the Prep Zone Power Poll moved on to the second round.
Nationally-ranked Mainland (Daytona Beach) remained No. 1. QB Denzel Houston threw for three TDs and RB Adrian Killins rushed for 163 yards and three more scores as the Bucs, who have given up less than 10 points in all but two games this season, received all 10 first-place votes following a 42-7 win over RV South Lake (Groveland) in the opening round of the 6A state playoffs.
In 8A, quarterback De’Andre Johnson was 16-of-27 for 287 yards and two TDs, Nos. 119 and 120 of his career, as First Coast (Jacksonville) defeated previous #19 DeLand, 34-19. The Bucs (11-0) remained second, while the Bulldogs (7-4), who only trailed on the road 15-13 at the half, fell out of the poll.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), which began the season nationally-ranked, remained third. The defending 3A state champions defeated Maclay (Tallahassee), 44-13, in the 3A-Region 1 Semifinals. Quarterback Billy Cobb completed 16-of-25 passes for 392 yards and six touchdowns for the Conquerors (8-2).
The top-ranked team in the Class 5A state poll survived a scare.
South Sumter (Bushnell) held on for a 16-12 win against previous No. 13 North Marion in the Class 5A-Region 2 Quarterfinals, and the Raiders (11-0) remained fourth in this week’s poll. J.T. Taylor rushed for 140 yards on 25 carries and the Raiders’ defense, which is allowing just nine points per game, kept the Colts out of the end zone on two trips in the red zone.
North Marion’s season comes to an end at 8-3. The Colts, who dropped five spots to No. 18, finished with 488 yards of total offense in the loss.
Rounding out the top five is Clay (Green Cove Springs). The Blue Devils (10-1) routed Westside (Jacksonville), 46-6, as J.T. Turner and Colin Wilson combined for 302 yards rushing and six TDs in 5A-Region 1 Quarterfinals.
While the top five remained the same, there was a little movement in the second five.
Unbeaten Oakleaf (Orange Park) (11-0), which won its first playoff game in school history with a 17-14 win over Wekiva (Apopka) in 7A, remained sixth, but Trinity Catholic (Ocala) moved up one spot to seventh.
The Celtics (9-1), who scored on offense, defense and special teams in a 49-14 win over Providence (Jacksonville) in 3A, moved one spot ahead of St. Augustine, which dropped to eighth in the poll despite a 33-21 win over previous No. 14 Columbia (Lake City) in the 6A-Region 1 Quarterfinals.
Also, Bolles (Jacksonville) and Dixie County (Cross City) flip-flopped, but by only four total voting points. The Bulldogs moved up one spot to ninth while the Bears dropped to 10th.
Bolles (8-2) advanced with a 63-0 win at Umatilla. The defending 4A state runner-up ‘Dogs get a rematch with Raines, which defeated them, 34-33, during the regular season
Meanwhile, the state’s top-ranked team in 1A, Dixie County, also moved on after rushing for over 300 yards in a 40-9 win over Taylor (Pierson). The Bears (10-0) get the Tigers of Union County for a second time this year, but this time they get them at home.
Madison County, Fletcher and Union County are all back in the top 20 at Nos. 17, 19 and 20, respectively. Flagler Palm Coast (8-3), which lost at unbeaten Lake Mary in 8A, joins Columbia as the only two teams to fall out of the poll.
There are eight games on Friday involving top 20 match-ups: #19 Fletcher at #6 Oakleaf in Class 7A, #8 St. Augustine at #11 Ed White (6A), #12 Suwannee at #4 South Sumter & #15 Bishop Kenny at #5 Clay (5A), #9 Bolles at #13 Raines (4A), and #16 Hamilton County at #14 Trenton & Union County at Dixie County (1A), while #3 Trinity Christian plays at #7 Trinity Catholic (3A) in a match-up of top 10 teams.
**THIS IS THE FINAL POLL UNTIL DEC. 18**
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball & softball 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.
Prep Zone Power Poll – 2014 Football Poll #13
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, overall record, and total voting points)
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (10) (6A) (11-0) – 200
2. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (11-0) – 188
3. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (8-2) – 181
4. South Sumter (Bushnell) (5A) (11-0) – 162
5. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (10-1) – 157
6. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (11-0) – 156
7. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (9-1) – 133
8. St. Augustine (6A) (10-1) – 126
9. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (8-2) – 111
10. Dixie County (Cross City) (1A) (10-0) – 107
11. Ed White (Jacksonville) (6A) (9-2) – 105
12. Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (10-1) – 93
13. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (8-3) – 76
14. Trenton (1A) (10-1) – 72
15. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (9-1) – 67
16. Hamilton County (Jasper) (1A) (8-3) – 37
17. Madison County (4A) (8-3) – 33
18. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (8-3) – 29
19. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (7-4) – 19
20. Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (9-2) – 17
Also receiving votes: Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (8-3) – 14; University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (8-3) – 9; Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (8-3) – 5; Warner Christian (South Daytona) (2A) (6-4) – 1; Gainesville (6A) (6-5) – 1; University (Orange City) (8A) (8-2) – 1.
