NOTE: This will be our last poll until the completion of the playoffs.
GAINESVILLE – The Providence (Jacksonville) Stallions rolled to a 3A-2 district championship and easily stayed atop the Prep Zone Power Poll for another week.
The Stallions (26-1) easily defeated Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) 83-33 to win the district tournament title last Saturday, and once again received six of the seven first-place votes. Providence, a final four team last season, opens in the 3A regional quarterfinals this Thursday night against North Florida Christian (Tallahassee).
Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (25-2) remained second after winning the 3A-4 district tournament and upped their winning streak to 14 games. The Green Wave open the 3A playoffs Thursday night against PK Yonge (Gainesville) and could be on a collision course with Providence in the 3A region final.
The rest of the top ten remained the same, with Leesburg (23-4) moving into third by themselves after beating Gainesville 91-59 in the 6A-5 final. Hawthorne (26-1) struggled a bit against Hilliard in the 1A-6 district final, and dropped from a tie with Leesburg for third to fourth. Hawthorne does have a 12 game winning streak heading into the regional playoffs and received the other first place vote. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (23-3) remains fifth with Wolfson (Jacksonville) (23-3) 6th. Palatka (23-4), New Smyrna Beach (21-4), Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (23-4) and Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (21-6) rounded out the top ten.
Ed White (Jacksonville) and Raines (Jacksonville) swapped spots from last week to this week. White moved past Raines into 11th with the Vikings falling to 12th despite both teams winning district titles. In fact the top 12 teams from last week’s poll won a district tournament championship.
North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) easily won the 2A-2 district title and moved to 13th. NFEI (15-12) won the district tournament despite starting as the sixth seed after forfeiting 12 games during the regular season. Williston, DeLand and and Bartram Trail (St. Johns) moved into the last three spots in the poll this week after winning their district tournaments. Lake Minneola, Gainesville and Mount Dora Bible fell out of the poll. Lake Minneola and Mount Dora Bible’s seasons are over after losing in district semifinal games.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball and 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, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.
PREP ZONE POWER POLL – BOYS BASKETBALL POLL #7 (Records through 2/10)
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, overall record and total voting points)
1. Providence (Jacksonville) (6) (3A) (26-1) – 119
2. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (3A) (25-2) – 112
3. Leesburg (6A) (23-4) – 107
4. Hawthorne (1A) (1) (26-1) – 105
5. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (23-3) – 94
6. Wolfson (Jacksonville) (6A) (23-3) – 93
7. Palatka (5A) (23-4) – 83
8. New Smyrna Beach (7A) (21-4) – 77
9. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (23-4) – 74
10. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (21-6) – 65
11. Ed White (Jacksonville) (7A) (20-5) – 57
12. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (21-6) – 49
T13. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (15-12) – 40
T13. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (6A) (18-8) – 40
15. West Nassau (Glen St. Mary) (4A) (21-4) – 28
16. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (20-6) – 21
17. Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (18-6) – 20
18. Williston (4A) (21-7) – 19
19. DeLand (8A) (20-7) – 17
20. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (5A) (20-6) – 14
Also receiving votes – St. Francis (Gainesville) (3A) (22-5) – 13; Gainesville (6A) (18-9) – 9; East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (22-6) – 4.
