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Columbia (Lake City) & Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) to decide the top spot on the field
GAINESVILLE – The top two teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll took care of business last week, setting up a showdown for the top spot this week.
Columbia (Lake City) is a unanimous No. 1 in the regional all-classification rankings following a 48-24 win at home against previous No. 4 Madison County. The Tigers (5-0) received all 10 first-place votes.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) is a unanimous No. 2 after a 25-6 win at Palm Beach Lakes. The Conquerors are also 5-0.
Both teams are highly ranked in the Associated Press state rankings.
Columbia is ranked #1 in Class 7A, its first No. 1 ranking since 1989. Trinity Christian is ranked 2nd in Class 5A.
The two will meet on Friday night in Jacksonville.
Vanguard (Ocala) is still third. The 6A Knights (5-0) stayed unbeaten with a 41-13 win at South Lake (Groveland).
After the loss by Madison County, which dropped three spots to seventh, Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) moves up one spot to fourth despite a bye week. The 7A Generals (3-1) lost at Columbia, 42-37, on Sept. 14.
Defending 4A state champion Raines (Jacksonville) rounds out the top five. The Vikings (4-1) won at RV Mandarin (Jacksonville), 27-24, last week, and they’ve won four in a row since a 16-15 loss at home to Lee to begin the season.
Another Duval County team, Sandalwood (Jacksonville), leads off the second five at No. 6. The Class 8A Saints (4-0) are followed by defending 1A state champion Madison County (4-1), Class 8A Flagler Palm Coast (4-1), 5A Baker County (Glen St. Mary) and 8A DeLand in the top 10.
Mainland (Daytona Beach) moved back in to the rankings at No. 20. The Class 6A Bucs (3-2) defeated 8A Dr. Phillips (Orlando), 22-0.
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 #6
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, record, and total voting points)
1. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (10) (5-0) – 200
2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (5A) (5-0) – 190
3. Vanguard (Ocala) (6A) (5-0) – 180
4. Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville) (7A) (3-1) – 166
5. Raines (Jacksonville) (4A) (4-1) – 162
6. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (4-0) – 145
7. Madison County (1A) (4-1) – 138
8. Flagler Palm Coast (8A) (4-1) – 133
9. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (3-1) –117
10. DeLand (8A) (4-1) – 107
11. Menendez (St. Augustine) (4-1) – 98
12. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (5-1) – 76
13. Ponte Vedra (5A) (4-1) – 66
14. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (2-2) – 55
15. Baldwin (3A) (5-0) – 52
16. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (7A) (3-1) – 48
17. Eastside (Gainesville) (5A) (4-1) – 46
18. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (3-2) – 39
19. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (3-2) – 13
20. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (6A) (3-2) – 12
Also receiving votes: Gainesville (6A) (3-1) – 11; West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (5-0) – 11; Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (4-1) – 7; Atlantic (Port Orange) (4A) (3-0) – 7; Chiefland (1A) (5-0) – 7; Hawthorne (1A) (4-0) – 6; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (3-2) – 3; Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (2-3) – 2; St. Joseph (St. Augustine) (3A) (5-0) – 1; Orange Park (5A) (4-1) – 1; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (4-1) – 1.
