District champions highlight the top five of the all-classification regional rankings heading into the FHSAA state playoffs
GAINESVILLE – The FHSAA Girls Basketball Regional Quarterfinals start today, and most of the teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll are still playing.
The top-ranked team is no surprise.
Nease (Ponte Vedra), which is the No. 3 overall FHSAA team in Florida according to MaxPreps, cruised to the Class 7A-District 3 title. The Panthers (26-1) defeated previous No. 6 Middleburg, 61-41, in the district championship game.
Top-ranked Nease was a unanimous selection as the No. 1 team in the all-classification regional rankings. They received all eight first-place votes.
P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) remained second. The Lady Blue Wave (25-1) won at Oak Hall (Gainesville), 71-36, to win the Class 4A-District 1 title. They have yet to lose to a Florida team and have won 14 in a row.
The top five is still the same. All five teams are district champions.
Third-ranked Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) defeated Atlantic (Port Orange), 61-36, to win the 7A-District 5 title; No. 4 Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (21-5) defeated #9 Sandalwood (Jacksonville), 48-39, to win 9A-District 1; and 5th-ranked Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) beat previous No. 13 Ribault (Jacksonville) in three overtimes, 52-49, to win the 6A-District 3 title.
Class 5A-District 3 champion Raines (Jacksonville) moved up one spot from seventh to sixth after winning at current No. 12 Bolles (Jacksonville), 49-35, in the district championship game. The Lady Vikings (24-4) could see the Lady Bulldogs (16-6) again in the second round of the state playoffs, but this time the game would be at Raines.
Middleburg (21-6) only dropped one spot, falling to seventh, after the loss at No. 1 Nease. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (21-6), Sandalwood (18-6), and Orange Park (22-5), round out the top 10.
Bolles upset previous No. 8 Fernandina Beach (22-5), 55-53, in the district semifinals. Also, previous No. 10 Flagler Palm Coast (20-4) lost to Sandalwood in the district semifinals. Neither team made the postseason.
Vanguard (Ocala) is back in the top 20 at No. 18. The Knights (18-8) defeated previous No. 18 Columbia (Lake City), 54-30, to win the 7A-District 4 title. The loss knocked the Lady Tigers (19-7) out of the rankings.
Previous No. 19 Terry Parker (Jacksonville) (14-7) also dropped out of the poll after falling by one, 61-60, to #5 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) in the 6A-District 5 semifinals. The Lady Braves, whose season ends at 14-7, are still receiving votes.
The newcomer to the rankings is Class 1A Hawthorne. The Hornets (20-4) are ranked 20th following the District 6 title and wins against RV Fleming Island (Orange Park) and at 6A-District 6 champion Eastside (Gainesville) in the final week of the regular season.
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.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2018-19 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #6
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (8) (26-1) – 160
2. P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (4A) (25-1) – 146
3. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (7A) (24-2) – 141
4. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (21-5) – 135
5. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (6A) (25-2) – 134
6. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (24-4) – 120
7. Middleburg (7A) (21-6) – 114
8. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (21-6) – 101
9. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (9A) (18-6) – 96
10. Orange Park (6A) (22-5) – 71
11. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (20-3) – 69
12. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (16-9) – 58
13. Trenton (1A) (23-3) – 55
14. Ribault (Jacksonville) (6A) (16-8) – 51
15. University Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (15-4) – 50
16. Fernandina Beach (5A) (22-5) – 41
17. Flagler Palm Coast (9A) (20-4) – 33
18. Vanguard (Ocala) (7A) (18-8) – 32
19. Weeki Wachee (6A) (23-4) – 30
20. Hawthorne (1A) (20-4) – 13
Also receiving votes: Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (19-7) – 8; Terry Parker (Jacksonville) (6A) (14-7) – 6; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (8A) (14-9) – 5; Ponte Vedra (6A) (15-9) – 4; Wildwood (1A) (13-13) – 3; Menendez (St. Augustine) (6A) (15-9) – 2; Crystal River (6A) (18-5) – 1; Branford (1A) (21-5) – 1.
