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Top seven of regional all-classification rankings remains the same but eight ranked teams eliminated in opening round of playoffs
GAINESVILLE — There were no real issues in the opening round of the state playoffs for the top seven teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll.
After that though there was plenty of chaos, as eight of the remaining 13 ranked teams from last week’s poll were eliminated from the postseason.
Remaining at the top once again is 5A Trinity Christian (Jacksonville).
The Conquerors (11-0) had no problem in their Region 1-5A quarterfinal, trouncing Suwannee (Live Oak), 62-15. Next up tonight is another home game in the second round for the top seeds in the region against Wakulla (Crawfordville).
Columbia remains 2nd after bouncing then-#12 Fletcher (Neptune Beach), 38-20, in a Region 1-7A quarterfinal. The Tigers (10-1) face a huge test tonight in the regional semifinals at home against #4 Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville).
Vanguard (Ocala) remains unbeaten and stays 3rd after an easy 35-7 win over Sebring in a Region 2-6A quarterfinal. Next up for the Knights (11-0) is a home game against Lake Wales, which eliminated RV Gainesville, 25-14, in their opening round game last week.
Lee stays at #4 after advancing with an easy 48-7 win at Hagerty (Oviedo). The Generals (9-1) face Columbia for the second time this season as District 2-7A rivals. Columbia handed Lee it’s only loss of the season, 37-32, back in September.
Rounding out the top five is Raines (Jacksonville). The Vikings (9-1) had a bye in the 4A playoffs last week and open up defense of their state title tonight against Marianna.
Madison County also had a bye and remains 6th. The Cowboys (9-1) open up defense of their 1A state title against RV Lafayette (Mayo).
North Marion (Citra) also stays 7th after winning it’s Region 2-5A quarterfinal against then-#8 Menendez (St. Augustine), 27-22. The Colts (9-2) hit the road for the region semifinals against Zephyrhills (11-0).
Menendez drops to 11th in the rankings this week as their season ended at 8-3.
Hawthorne moves up one spot to eighth. The Hornets (10-0) also had a bye last week as the top seed in Region 4-1A and start regional play tonight at home against Crescent City.
Moving up four spots and into the top 10 at #9 is Mandarin (Jacksonville). The Mustangs (7-4) pounded DeLand, 35-0, in their Region 1-8A quarterfinal last week and play on the road tonight at Winter Park in second round action.
The biggest jump this week belongs to Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville).
The Sharks (10-1) moved up 10 spots and into the top 10 after pounding Eastside (Gainesville), 57-26, in a Region 2-5A quarterfinal. Next up for Nature Coast Tech is T-20 Baker County (Glen St. Mary), which moves back into the poll after rallying past Hernando (Brooksville), 28-14, in their playoff opener.
Besides Menendez and Fletcher, other ranked teams that were eliminated in the regional quarterfinals were: Ponte Vedra, Buchholz (Gainesville), Mainland (Daytona Beach), Flagler Palm Coast and Baldwin.
Flagler Palm Coast and Baldwin dropped out from last week’s poll along with Bartram Trail (St. Johns) and Sandalwood (Jacksonville), which failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Bolles (Jacksonville) returns to the rankings this week at #12 after making the trip to the Panhandle and knocking off West Florida (Pensacola), 30-27. The Bulldogs (7-4) were on the road once again at Godby (Tallahassee) this week.
The Villages also moves in at 13th. The Buffalo (10-0) had a bye last week as the #1 seed in Region 2-4A and host RV P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) in their playoff opener tonight.
University Christian (Jacksonville) also re-enters the poll at #18 and travels to Maclay (Tallahassee) in a Region 1-2A semifinal.
Also new to the poll this week and tied with Baker County in the 20th position are 1A Chiefland and 4A West Nassau (Callahan).
This will be the final power poll until after the FHSAA Football Finals at Camping World Stadium in Orlando (Dec. 6-8).
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 and it is powered by Strive Fitness.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2018 FOOTBALL POLL #13
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, record and total voting points)
1. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (5A) (9) (11-0) – 180
2. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (10-1) – 171
3. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (11-0) – 162
4. Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) (7A) (9-1) – 149
5. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (9-1) – 145
6. Madison County (1A) (9-1) – 135
7. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (9-2) – 129
8. Hawthorne (1A) (10-0) – 113
9. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (7-4) – 94
10. Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (10-1) – 84
11. Menendez (St. Augustine) (5A) (8-3) – 74
12. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (7-4) – 56
13. The Villages (4A) (10-0) – 52
14. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (7-4) – 51
15. Ponte Vedra (5A) (8-3) – 44
16. DeLand (8A) (8-3) – 39
17. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (7-4) – 38
18. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (7-4) – 33
19. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (7-4) – 14
T-20. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (7-4) – 12
T-20. Chiefland (1A) (9-1) – 12
T-20. West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (8-2) – 12
Also receiving votes: P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (4A) (10-1) – 11; Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (7-4) – 11; Lake Weir (Ocala) (5A) (8-3) – 11; Dixie County (Cross City) (1A) (8-3) – 9; Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (7-3) – 9; St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) (3A) (9-0) – 9; Baldwin (3A) (9-2) – 7; Dunnellon (4A) (6-5) – 6; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (7-3) – 5; Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (3A) (9-2) – 5; Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (8-3) – 3; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (6-4) – 2; Gainesville (6A) (7-4) – 1.
