Bradford (Starke) nearly unanimous No. 1 team
GAINESVILLE – The Bradford (Starke) Tornadoes had a well-earned bye week coming off their 18-13 upset win over Mandarin (Jacksonville) on September 13.
Despite being off on Sept. 20, the Tornadoes (4-0) benefited from losses by No. 2T St. Augustine, No. 4 Mandarin and No. 5 Buchholz (Gainesville) and are a near unanimous choice as the top-ranked team in the The Prep Zone Power Poll, which ranks the top 20 high school football teams across 26 counties.
Bradford, which had their Homecoming game against Keystone Heights, a 40-0 win, moved up to Wednesday due to Hurricane Helene, received 11 of 12 first-place votes.
Raines (Jacksonville) remained 2nd.
The Vikings (4-0), who also had a bye last week and picked up the other first-place vote, will host Riverside (Jacksonville) on Monday.
Moving up to the 3rd spot is Nease (Ponte Vedra).
The Panthers stayed unbeaten at 4-0 after going on the road and knocking off St. Augustine, 35-34, in overtime. They have another tough matchup with No. 8T Buchholz (Gainesville) in a game that has been moved to Monday.
St. Augustine fell to 4th after the OT loss to rival Nease. The Yellow Jackets (3-1) rebounded with a 27-6 win at RV Columbia (Lake City) in another game that was moved to Wednesday due to Helene.
Rounding out the top five is Bolles (Jacksonville). The Bulldogs won a shootout for the second week in a row, rallying past RV Oakleaf (Orange Park), 57-50.
Hawthorne (4-1) won its second game in a row since the loss at Florida High (Tallahassee).
The Hornets, who lead off the second five at No. 6, defeated RV South Sumter (Bushnell), 26-20, on the road.
DeLand is 7th, followed by Buchholz, which is tied with Madison County for the 8th spot.
Buchholz (3-2) dropped it’s second straight game, travelling to Savannah and losing a close game 35-28 at Richmond Hill (GA).
Madison County (4-1) easily knocked off Bay (Panama City), 42-14.
Rounding out the top 10 is another team which lost its second straight game, Mandarin (Jacksonville). The Mustangs (3-2) lost 49-6 at the number one team in Florida according to MaxPreps, IMG Academy (Bradenton).
Oakleaf (3-2) dropped out this week. The Knights are replaced by Middleburg, which is ranked No. 19 after a 5-0 start to their 2024 season.
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 #6
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, current record, and total voting points)
1. Bradford (Starke) (2A) (11) (4-0) – 232
2. Raines (Jacksonville) (3A) (1) (4-0) – 226
3. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (6A) (4-0) – 217
4. St. Augustine (5A) (3-1) – 187
5. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (3-1) – 169
6. Hawthorne (Rural) (4-1) – 164
7. DeLand (7A) (4-1) – 150
8T. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (3-2) – 146
8T. Madison County (Rural) (4-1) – 146
10. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (6A) (3-2) – 141
11. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (4-1) – 128
12. University (Orange City) (7A) (4-1) – 93
13. Ponte Vedra (5A) (3-1) – 70
14. Dunnellon (3A) (3-2) – 64
15. Chiefland (Rural) (5-0) – 62
16. Union County (Lake Butler) (Rural) (5-0) – 53
17. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (3-2) – 49
18. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (3A) (3-1) – 44
19. Middleburg (5A) (5-0) – 23
20. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (3-2) – 21
Also receiving votes: Flagler Palm Coast (7A) (4-0) – 17; Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (4-0) – 16; Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (3-2) – 16; Beachside (St. Johns) (5A) (3-1) – 13; Taylor County (Perry) (2A) (5-0) – 12; Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (2-3) – 9; Deltona (4A) (1-3) – 8; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (3-2) – 8; South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (1-4) – 5; Leesburg (4A) (4-1) – 3; Palatka (2A) (4-1) -3; University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (2-3) – 3; Newberry (2A) (2-2) – 2.
