Mainland (Daytona Beach) picks up three more first-place votes to pull away from Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) for No. 1
Gainesville – The top team in the Prep Zone Power Poll is starting to create some separation.
Class 6A Mainland (Daytona Beach) moved ahead of two-time defending 3A state champion Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) last week for the No. 1 spot. This past Friday, the top-ranked Bucs (3-0) defeated RV Flagler Palm Coast, an 8A school, while the Conquerors (3-0) defeated 2A #1 University Christian (Jacksonville), 35-20, and both teams stayed on top of the regional rankings.
However, Mainland received nine of the 11 first-place votes while Trinity Christian received the other two. Both teams are unanimously ranked No. 1 in the state in their respective classes.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) defeated Wayne County (GA), 14-5, for their 13th consecutive regular season victory. The Knights (3-0), who will host No. 17 Buchholz (Gainesville) in the District 3-7A opener in Week #4, remained third.
Rounding out the top five are 5A North Marion (Citra) (3-0) and 4A Bolles (Jacksonville) (3-0).
None of the teams in the top 10 lost last week. However, there was a little bit of a shakeup.
Class 4A Raines (Jacksonville), which defeated 6A Ed White (Jacksonville), 49-10, moved up one spot to sixth, while 6A St. Augustine (3-0), which defeated 7A Creekside (St. Johns), 35-17, dropped two spots from sixth to eighth.
Columbia (Lake City), which defeated Buchholz, moved up two spots from ninth to seventh. The Tigers (3-0) are ranked 10th in the 7A state poll.
Class 4A South Sumter (Bushnell) (3-0), winners of 36 straight regular season games, dropped one spot to ninth despite a 47-0 win over 5A Hernando (Brooksville), while 8A University (Orange City) (3-0) remained 10th following a 30-7 win over Seabreeze (Daytona Beach).
Five of the next 10 ranked teams lost but only two teams fell out of the rankings.
Clay (Green Cove Springs) and Newberry dropped out, while Union County (Lake Butler), which defeated Newberry, and Dunnellon moved in.
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 – 2015 Football Poll #4
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, current record, and total voting points)
1. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (9) (6A) (3-0) – 218
2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2) (3A) (3-0) – 211
3. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (3-0) – 194
4. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (3-0) – 176
5. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (3-0) – 170
6. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (3-0) – 153
7. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (3-0) – 149
8. St. Augustine (6A) (3-0) – 145
9. South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (3-0) – 139
10. University (Orange City) (8A) (3-0) – 120
11. Gainesville (6A) (2-1) – 103
12. Trenton (1A) (3-0) – 102
13. Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (1-1) – 90
14. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (3-0) – 78
15. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (3-0) – 69
16. Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (3-0) – 47
17. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (2-1) – 40
18. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (2-1) – 35
19. Dunnellon (4A) (3-0) – 16
20. First Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (0-2) – 13
Also receiving votes: Dixie County (Cross City) (1A) (1-1) – 11; Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (1-2) – 10; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (2-1) – 7; Matanzas (Palm Coast) (6A) (3-0) – 5; Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (2-1) – 4; Ponte Vedra (5A) (3-0) – 2; West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (2-0) – 2; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (2-1) – 1.
