LAKE CITY – You beat your rival you are likely to get attention. That is what happened for a couple of teams this week in the Florida HS Football Media Poll, causing a chain reaction sending teams up and down the rankings in both divisions.
The most notable change comes in the Large Schools Division of the Media Poll, where Miramar jumps up 9 spots from 15 to 6 after defeating then-nationally rank St. Thomas Aquinas 22-20. That win gave the Patriots three straight wins over the Raiders.
The second most notable change comes in the Small Schools Division of the Medai Poll, where Raines jumped from the No. 12 spot to No. 5. Raines defeated Bolles 45-31 in a key District 4A-3 contest.
The Florida HS Football Media Poll is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscaster from Pensacola to South Florida and all points in between.
Miami Central reclaimed the No. 1 overall spot in the Large Schools Division after soundly defeating Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey on Saturday night. The Rockets took in 18 of 20 first place votes placed this week. Manatee took the other two first place votes and makes a move up one spot from No 3. to No. 2. Rounding out the rest of the top five includes Apopka which moves up from No. 4 to No. 3, previous No 1. St. Thomas Aquinas at No 4. and Dr. Phillips holding stead at No. 5.
In the Small School Division, Booker T. Washington and University School have placed a wall up over the top two spots with Booker T. Washington taking all twenty first place votes to keep a claim on the No. 1 spot. University School follows behind at No. 2, with Trinity Christian-Jacksonville, Cocoa and Raines rounding out the top five.
| FLORIDA HS FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL – LARGE SCHOOLS DIVISION | ||||
| Classes 5A, 6A, 7A & 8A | ||||
| Team | Points (FPV) | Rec | Prev | |
| 1 | Miami Central | 398 (18) | 3-1 | 2 |
| 2 | Manatee | 379 (2) | 4-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Apopka | 344 | 4-1 | 4 |
| 4 | St. Thomas Aquinas | 295 | 2-1 | 1 |
| 5 | Dr. Phillips | 288 | 4-0 | 5 |
| 6 | Miramar | 286 | 4-0 | 15 |
| 7 | Columbia | 276 | 4-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Dwyer | 262 | 4-0 | 6 |
| 9 | Godby | 236 | 3-1 | 9 |
| 10 | Plant | 234 | 3-0-1 | 8 |
| 11 | Armwood | 220 | 4-0 | 10 |
| 12 | East Lake | 180 | 4-0 | 11 |
| 13 | Oviedo | 129 | 4-0 | 13 |
| 14 | Lincoln | 125 | 3-1 | 12 |
| 15 | Lakeland | 104 | 4-0 | 16 |
| 16 | American Heritage (Plantation) | 80 | 3-1 | 18 |
| 17 | Pensacola Catholic | 70 | 4-0 | 17 |
| 18 | Miami Jackson | 65 | 2-1 | 14 |
| 19 | West Florida | 42 | 3-0 | 19 |
| 20 | Niceville | 31 | 4-0 | NR |
| Others Receiving Votes: Jefferson – 30, South Dade – 23; Naples – 20; Largo – 16; Fort Pierce Central – 15; Deerfield Beach – 14; Mainland – 9; Wakulla – 7; Vero Beach – 6; Kathleen – 4; Sickles – 4; Venice – 4; Plantation – 1; Coral Reef – 1; Gainesville – 1 | ||||
| FLORIDA HS FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL – SMALL SCHOOLS DIVISION | ||||
| Classes 1A, 2A, 3A & 4A | ||||
| Team | Points (FPV) | Rec | Prev | |
| 1 | Booker T. Washington | 400 (20) | 4-0 | 1 |
| 2 | University School | 380 | 4-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) | 355 | 3-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Cocoa | 348 | 2-1 | 6 |
| 5 | Raines | 282 | 3-1 | 12 |
| 6 | University Christian | 281 | 3-1 | 7 |
| 7 | North Florida Christian | 266 | 3-0 | 8 |
| 8 | Tampa Catholic | 242 | 3-1 | 12 |
| 9 | Bolles | 241 | 3-1 | 3 |
| 10 | Clearwater Central Catholic | 239 | 3-1 | 11 |
| 11 | Trinity Catholic | 214 | 3-1 | 5 |
| 12 | Union County | 135 | 4-0 | 14 |
| 13 | American Heritage (Delray) | 124 | 2-2 | 9 |
| 14 | Warner Christian | 120 | 3-1 | 16 |
| 15 | Gulliver Prep | 115 | 4-0 | 17 |
| 16 | Glades Central | 91 | 2-2 | 18 |
| 17 | Madison County | 90 | 1-3 | 13 |
| 18 | Champagnat | 59 | 4-0 | 20 |
| 19 | Blountstown | 54 | 4-0 | 19 |
| 20 | Frostproof | 29 | 4-0 | NR |
| Others Receiving Votes: Glades Day – 24; Lakeland Christian – 23; Monsignor Pace – 22; Dixie County – 16; First Academy (Orlando) – 15; Fort Meade – 14; East Gadsden – 11; Cardinal Mooney – 4; Chiefland – 4; Liberty County – 4; Providence – 4; First Baptist (Naples) – 3; Pahokee – 2; Westminster Christian – 1; Cambridge Christian – 1; Lafayette – 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 | ||||
