LAKE CITY – St. Thomas Aquinas might have been off last week, but they will go to Louisiana this week as the Number 1 team in the Florida HS Football Media Poll Large Schools Division Poll after receiving 11 of the 22 first place votes. Booker T. Washington swept all 22 first place votes in the Small Schools Division Poll after defeating previous #1 Large Schools Division team, Miami Central.
The Florida HS Football Media Poll is voted on by a panel of 22 pollsters consisting of sportswriters and sportscasters across Florida. The poll is divided up between two polls: Large Schools Division which consist of teams in Classes 5A, 6A, 7A & 8A and Small Schools Division consisting of teams from Classes 1A, 2A, 3A & 4A.
Rounding out the Top 10 in the Large Schools Division Poll is Miami Central dropped to number 2, but received 10 first place votes despite the loss to Booker T. Washington with Manatee number 3 and taking the other two first place votes. Apopka and Dwyer follows at number 4 and 5 respectively, while Dr. Phillips, Plant, Columbia, Armwood and Godby round out the Top 10 respectively.
In the Small Schools Division Poll, University School finished number 2, while Bolles, Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) and Trinity Catholic round off the Top 5. Madison County took a slight drop from number 3 to number 6 after losing to Eastern Christian in Maryland, while Cocoa follows behind at number 7. University Christian, North Florida Christian and American Heritage (Delray) round off the Top 10.
Overall, four new teams enter the rankings this week, while one makes a return after being absent for a week. Lakeland and Pensacola Catholic make their debuts in the Florida HS Football Media Poll – Large Schools Division, while Fort Meade and Gulliver Prep enter for the Small Schools Division. Tampa Catholic makes its return to the Small Schools Division Poll after defeating Clearwater Central Catholic in overtime, a game that shocked the state in Class 3A.
EDITOR’S NOTE: First place votes are in parenthesis
| FLORIDA HS FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL – LARGE SCHOOLS DIVISION | ||||
| Classes 5A, 6A, 7A & 8A | ||||
| Team | Points | Rec | Prev | |
| 1 | St. Thomas Aquinas | 427 (11) | 1-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Miami Central | 412 (10) | 1-1 | 1 |
| 3 | Manatee | 403 (2) | 2-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Apopka | 374 | 2-1 | 4 |
| 5 | Dwyer | 295 | 2-0 | 7 |
| 6 | Dr. Phillips | 292 | 2-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Plant | 284 | 1-0-1 | 5 |
| 8 | Columbia | 255 | 2-0 | 13 |
| 9 | Armwood | 254 | 2-0 | 9 |
| 10 | Godby | 250 | 1-1 | 10 |
| 11 | East Lake | 201 | 2-0 | 11 |
| 12 | Lincoln | 148 | 2-1 | 8 |
| 13 | Cypress Bay | 143 | 1-0 | 12 |
| 14 | Oviedo | 135 | 2-0 | 15 |
| 15 | First Coast | 124 | 2-0 | 14 |
| 16 | Miami Jackson | 107 | 1-0 | 17 |
| 17 | Miramar | 105 | 2-0 | 20 |
| 18 | Lake Gibson | 61 | 1-0 | 19 |
| 19 | Lakeland | 58 | 2-0 | NR |
| 20 | Pensacola Catholic | 40 | 2-0 | NR |
| Others Receiving Votes: American Heritage-Plantaiton, 34; Wakulla, 26; West Florida, 26; South Dade, 24; Jefferson, 17; Miami Northwestern, 15; Naples, 15; Osceola (Kissimmee), 15; Largo, 13; Gainesville, 8; Niceville, 8; Robinson, 8; Deerfield Beach, 7; Park Vista, 7; Vero Beach, 7; Venice, 6; Sandalwood, 5; Coral Reef, 4; Fort Pierce Central, 3; Sickles, 2; Fort Myers, 1; Sunlake, 1 | ||||
| FLORIDA HS FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL – SMALL SCHOOLS DIVISION | ||||
| Classes 1A, 2A, 3A & 4A | ||||
| Team | Points | Rec | Prev | |
| 1 | Booker T. Washington | 440 (22) | 2-0 | 1 |
| 2 | University School | 417 | 2-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Bolles | 387 | 2-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) | 375 | 2-0 | 6 |
| 5 | Trinity Catholic | 315 | 2-0 | 9 |
| 6 | Madison County | 295 | 1-1 | 3 |
| 7 | Cocoa | 282 | 0-1 | 8 |
| 8 | University Christian | 261 | 2-1 | 11 |
| 9 | North Florida Christian | 246 | 2-0 | 13 |
| 10 | American Heritage (Delray) | 237 | 1-1 | 5 |
| 11 | Clearwater Central Catholic | 170 | 1-1 | 7 |
| 12 | Tampa Catholic | 157 | 1-1 | NR |
| 13 | Raines | 143 | 1-1 | 10 |
| 14 | Glades Central | 137 | 1-1 | 17 |
| 15 | East Gadsden | 111 | 2-1 | 20 |
| 16 | Union County | 108 | 2-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Trenton | 96 | 1-0 | 19 |
| 18 | Warner Christian | 92 | 1-1 | 12 |
| 19 | Fort Meade | 70 | 2-0 | NR |
| 20 | Gulliver Prep | 51 | 2-0 | NR |
| Others Receiving Votes: Northview, 37; First Baptist (Naples), 28; Blountstown, 27; Champagnat, 27; The First Academy (Orlando), 21; Glades Day, 21; Frostproof, 15; Monsignor Pace, 11; Liberty County, 10; Berkeley Prep, 9; Dade Christian, 8; Cardinal Newman, 7; Lakeland Christian, 5; Westminster Christian, 5; Port St. Joe, 4, Chipley, 3; Cardinal Mooney, 1, Dixie County, 1 | ||||
| Our Panel of Pollsters | ||||
| Eric Clark – Big County Preps; Danny Klein – Daytona Beach News-Journal; Philip Piccirillo – FloridaHSFooball.com; Joshua Wilson – FloridaHSFootball.com; Justin Barney – Florida Times-Union; Larry Savage – Gainesville Sun; Adam Fisher – Naples Daily News; Andre Fernandez – Miami Herald; Jeff Greer – Palm Beach Post; Brad Milner – Panama City News Herald; Brady Aymond – Pensacola News Journal; Shaquille Jackson – South Florida High School Football Show; Matt Baker – Tampa Bay Times; Nick Williams – Tampa Tribune; Laurel Pfhaler – TC Palm; Chris Green – South Dade News Leader; Nick Gryniewicz – ESPN 580 Orlando; Wells Dusenbury – ESPN 106.3 West Palm Beach; Marc Adams – 4 Quarters Online; Carson Ingle – 740 The Game Orlando; Doug Pugh – Bright House Sports Network; Austen Gregerson – St. Augustine Record | ||||
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