Northeast Florida high school boys soccer Power Poll: Mandarin wins, Ponte Vedra rises

The Times-Union highlights the top teams across high school boys soccer for teams in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida during the 2021-22 FHSAA season. Class 2A St. Johns Country Day is seeking a return to the finals, while Bolles and Stanton are aiming for a trip back to the final four or beyond in this season's Florida High School Athletic Association postseason tournament. Records are through Jan. 10 games. The weekly Power Poll will appear Tuesdays through the remainder of the regular season. The girls soccer Power Poll appears Mondays. In addition, Power Polls for girls and boys basketball appear Saturdays and Sundays.

1. Mandarin (14-1, 7A)

Last week: 1.

Quality wins: Bolles, Fleming Island, Fletcher, Stanton (2).

This week: Gateway Conference champions once more, the Mustangs are leaders of the pack. Antonio Mancinotti scored six goals during the tournament as Mandarin had too much firepower for Paxon (9-0), Wolfson (6-0) and finally Stanton (1-0). Mancinotti's 75th-minute goal secured Mandarin's second consecutive Gateway trophy. In addition to Mancinotti's 29 goals, Mandarin is getting eight each from Pedro Alarcon, Jack Eddy and Tyler Tilden. Aidan Pinciq and Sasha Maric commanded a defense that's been rock solid for the past month and a half. The Mustangs close the regular season on Wednesday night against Creekside.

Mandarin repeats: Antonio Mancinotti goal downs Stanton in Gateway Conference boys soccer

Girls basketball Power Poll: Milestone for Nease, BK stars

Boys basketball Power Poll: Paxon on the rise

2. Ponte Vedra (9-0-2, 6A)

Last week: 3.

Quality wins: Bishop Kenny, Bolles, Daytona Beach Seabreeze.

This week: A flurry of three first-half goals fired the Sharks to a 3-1 win over Bolles, bumping Ponte Vedra up one spot in the Power Poll. Seniors Dylan Ball, Jonathan Luce and Aaron Novak each scored as the Sharks stayed unbeaten. The key statistic is defense: Ponte Vedra is statistically the best in the area, allowing only seven goals on the season. Ponte Vedra concludes its regular season with two games this week: Tuesday against high-scoring St. Augustine and Thursday against Fletcher in a beach battle.

3. Bolles (8-2, 3A)

Last week: 2.

Quality wins: Englewood, Fleming Island, Providence.

This week: It's been a .500 week for the Bulldogs. Bolles lost 3-1 at Ponte Vedra Wednesday, only their second defeat of the second, but returned to the win column with a 3-0 success against traditional rival Episcopal. Once again, Sean Breuer stood out at fullback for the Bulldogs, scoring the opener against Episcopal and set up the goals for attacking teammates Will Morales and Jack Leake. They'll play Tuesday against Sandalwood and Friday in Volusia County against Pierson Taylor.

4. Oakleaf (11-1, 7A)

Last week: 4.

Quality wins: Bartram Trail, Bishop Kenny, Clay (2), Ridgeview.

This week: Scoring, and scoring, and scoring. Oakleaf tallied 11 goals in a wild week, defeating Clay 7-3 on a Braden Hill hat trick and a pair of goals from Daniel Jean-Francois. Then Akindele May-Parker notched a pair of goals as Oakleaf downed Bishop Snyder 4-0. The combination of May-Parker and midfield creator Hill has now produced 25 goals on the season. Just two more contests remain for the Knights before district tournament action kicks off: They'll play Orange Park on Tuesday night, with a Thursday matchup against the Class 2A state finalists from St. Johns Country Day.

5. Creekside (10-2-2, 7A)

Last week: 5.

Quality wins: Bishop Kenny, Fletcher, Sandalwood, Yulee.

This week: Creekside successfully weathered a frenetic week of three games in three days, with two wins and a draw. Joey Mueller scored a hat trick in a 4-1 win over Crescent City, and the Knights tied rival Bartram Trail 2-2 in a St. Johns County battle. The week ended with a tough 2-1 win against Bishop Kenny, secured on goals from Ronald Daragjati and Evan Bohms. This will be another three-game week for the Knights to finish up the regular season. They get Pierson Taylor on Tuesday and Tocoi Creek on Thursday, with a major challenge in between at District 1-7A leader Mandarin on Wednesday night.

On the bubble: Bartram Trail (5-4-4, 7A), Bishop Kenny (11-6-1, 4A), Fleming Island (8-5, 6A), Stanton (13-5-2, 5A), St. Augustine (13-2, 6A).

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville boys soccer Power Rankings: Mandarin still top in Gateway win