Mandarin (Jacksonville) stays on top of regional rankings
GAINESVILLE – For now, the Mandarin (Jacksonville) football team remains on top of The Prep Zone Power Poll.
But a key injury for the Mustangs could shake up their season.
Mandarin (2-0) had no trouble winning 47-0 at Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville), but in that win senior quarterback Tramell Jones, a four-star FSU commit, was carted off the field with a leg injury and will miss significant time.
The Mustangs, who host winless Sandalwood (Jacksonville) this Friday before a giant road trip to No. 6 Bradford (Starke) next week, still received eight of the 12 first-place votes to stay on top of the all-classification regional rankings for the second straight week.
Buchholz (Gainesville) picked up another road win, rallying for 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Vero Beach, 38-23, on the road. The Bobcats (2-0), who picked up a first-place vote and remained 2nd, play at city rival Eastside (Gainesville) on Friday at Citizens Field.
St. Augustine remained 3rd despite three first-place votes. The Yellow Jackets (2-0) won easily at Menendez (St. Augustine), 34-14, and host No. 7T Bolles (Jacksonville) on Friday.
Hawthorne escaped a scare against Newberry and remains 4th. The Hornets (2-0) won their 27th game in a row but had to work for it as they held off a two-point attempt in overtime by No. 13 Newberry to win 28-27.
Rounding out the top five is Raines (Jacksonville). The Vikings (2-0) blanked Sandalwood, 43-0, and host 14th-ranked Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) this week.
Bradford moved up a spot to 6th after knocking off No. 20 Dunnellon, 29-14, while Bolles and University (Orange City) are tied for the 7th spot.
University (2-0) moved up five spots after a 49-20 romp over North Miami.
Nease (Ponte Vedra) moved up eight spots and into the top 10 at No. 9 after pounding RV Creekside (St. Johns), 45-7, and DeLand rounds out the top 10 as they evened their record at 1-1 after blasting New Smyrna Beach, 56-21.
Mainland (Daytona Beach), which was ranked number one in the preseason poll, fell to 0-2 after being leveled by Cocoa, 51-0. The Buccaneers fall 11 spots to 16th this week.
New to the poll this week is Spruce Creek (Port Orange), which moved to No. 19, and falling out from the previous poll are Columbia (Lake City) and University Christian (Jacksonville), which were tied for 19th a week ago.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & 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, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2024 FOOTBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A (8) (2-0) – 230
2. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (1) (2-0) – 225
3. St. Augustine (4A) (3) (2-0) – 212
4. Hawthorne (Rural) (2-0) – 200
5. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (2-0) – 195
6. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (2-0) – 165
7T. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (1-1) – 123
7T. University (Orange City) (7A) (2-0) – 123
9. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (2-0) – 106
10. DeLand (7A) (1-1) – 104
11. Madison County (Rural) (1-1) – 100
12. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (1-1) – 96
13. Newberry (2A) (1-1) – 90
14. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (1-1) – 72
15. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (1-1) – 69
16. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (5A) (0-2) – 61
17. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (1-1) – 46
18. Chiefland (Rural) (2-0) – 38
19. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (2-0) – 37
20. Dunnellon (3A) (1-1) – 34
Also receiving votes: Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (2-0) – 31; Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (2-0) – 28; Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (2-0) – 20; Ponte Vedra (5A) (1-1) – 17; Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (1-1) – 16; Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (1-1) – 13; North Marion (Citra) (3A) (2-0) – 11; Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (3A) (2-0) – 8; Deltona (4A) (1-0) – 8; University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (0-2) – 5; Riverside (Jacksonville) (4A) (1-1) – 3; Suwannee (Live Oak) (3A) (1-1) – 3; Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (0-2) – 2; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (2-0) – 2.
