PNJ Power Poll: Who is the new No. 1 team in our latest power rankings?

Debate season continues as the second PNJ Power Poll of the 2023 high school season is now out.

There was a clear top tier following the season's opening week as four teams had a legitimate argument to be No. 1. But after half of those squads took a loss in Week 2, the top spot this week comes down to Pensacola Catholic and Pine Forest.

Wet and Wild: Pensacola Catholic survive the pouring conditions, hang on for win at Escambia

Week 2 Football Roundup: Pine Forest, Jay remain perfect, West Florida, Tate earn first W of 2023

Cast your vote: Who should win PNJ Athlete of the Week for Aug. 28-Sept 2?

See who is on top of our latest power rankings as well as how the rest of the list shakes out.

1. Pine Forest (2-0)

Look who is back on top. The Eagles take over the top spot in our power rankings behind yet another second-half throttling of an opponent. Following a 28-7 second half against Tate in Week 1, Pine Forest sprinted past Navarre by outscoring the Raiders 20-7 in the final 24 minutes. Miequle Brock Jr. is the person doing the most scoring for the Eagles as the senior running back leads the area with seven total touchdowns. Meanwhile, senior quarterback James Clark has tossed six touchdowns while the defense has collected three interceptions.

Last week’s ranking: 2

Next: 7 p.m. Friday at Pensacola

2. Pensacola Catholic (2-0)

Close wins are becoming a trend for the Crusaders. Spearheaded by a defensive effort, Pensacola Catholic was in control for most of the night before hanging in the final moments for a 13-12 Week 2 triumph at Escambia. Looking to run out the clock in pouring conditions, the visitors fumbled and allowed the Gators to score. Yet, the Crusaders snatched victory from impending defeat by stopping the ensuing, go-ahead two-point try. After opening the season with an overtime victory at Navarre, Catholic’s resume keeps looking better and better.

Last week’s ranking: 4

Next: 7 p.m. Friday at Fairhope (Ala.)

3. Escambia (1-1)

Between a flurry of mistakes and penalties, the Gators seemingly had no chance of victory during its Week 2 contest against Pensacola Catholic. However, their defense, who held the Crusaders scoreless in the second half, gave them a chance. Then, in the snap of a finger, opportunity presented itself when senior defensive back Tadarius Wright came through with a scoop-and-score with just over a minute remaining. Escambia had a chance to tie the game or win it with a two-point attempt, but a penalty following Wright’s score thwarted any chance of a successful conversion.

Last week’s ranking: 1

Next: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Gulf Breeze

4. West Florida (1-1)

The Jaguars overcame 10 penalties and a slow start to claim win No. 1 over the 2023 season. John Nicholas, Marquez Jones and Josh Spears each played starring roles in the team’s victory. Nicholas completed 23 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Jones scored three touchdowns while churning out more than 100 all-purpose yards. Spears had six catches for 137 yards and a score. West Florida will next line up against the team ranked right below.

Last week’s ranking: 5

Next: 7 p.m. Friday vs. Pace

5. Pace (1-1)

The Patriots are down two spots after registering their lowest scoring output in three years in a 21-7 loss at home to Lincoln. They committed three turnovers along the way. Pace aims for a repeat of its effort last against West Florida, as the team manhandled the Jaguars en route to a 42-14 rout.

Last week’s ranking: 3

Next: 7 p.m. Friday at West Florida

6. Booker T. Washington (1-1)

Striking first and jumping out to a tremendous start, the Wildcats were trounced the rest of the way in a loss at West Florida. They were outscored 30-7 and committed three turnovers over the final three quarters. Booker T. Washington looks to rebound in its home opener. The team will play three of its four games next games on the road after Milton.

Last week’s ranking: 6

Next: 7 p.m. Friday vs. Milton

7. Navarre (0-2)

The Raiders have yet to enter the win column in 2023 thanks to brutal competition. After suffering a devastating overtime defeat at home against Pensacola Catholic in Week 1, Navarre simply struggled to keep pace with one of the area’s best the following week, never leading in a three-score loss at Pine Forest. The Raiders have dropped two games to open a season for just the second time during the Jay Walls era, last doing so in 2013. They look to avoid the program’s first 0-3 start since 2009.

Last week’s ranking: 7

Next: 7:30 p.m. Friday vs. Rickards

8. Tate (1-1)

Coming off a disappointing second-half effort in their season opener against Pine Forest, the Aggies did something they haven’t done in six seasons: put up 54 points. Four players reached the end zone for Tate during its shutout home win against Pensacola. Andre Colston led the way with three scores. Defensively, five players recorded sacks, with Armond Legrant posting a pair.

Last week’s ranking: 10

Next: 7 p.m. Thursday vs. Northview

9. Gulf Breeze (0-1)

Possibly no team was impacted more by last week’s inclement weather than the Dolphins. The team was tied 14-14 with Crestview prior to rain’s arrival. From there, the visitors were outscored 21-7. Throwing an interception, Battle Alberson had an atypical showing, completing less than 40 percent of his passes for just the third time in his career. While Gulf Breeze did accumulate 144 yards on the ground, that was less than half than the Bulldogs’ output as Lazarius Parks (116) and Jaden Appleby (133) each eclipsed 100 rushing yards.

Last week’s ranking: 8

Next: 7:30 p.m. Friday vs. Escambia

10. Milton (1-1)

An inexperienced group of players taking on a Panhandle power in a difficult environment on the road wasn’t the recipe for victory for the Panthers, who fell 42-7 at Niceville. Led by Maddax Fayard’s three-touchdown effort, the Eagles were up 35-0 at halftime, starting a running clock in the second half. Ethan Diamond produced the visitors’ lone score. Like its Week 3 opponent, Milton aims to return above the .500 mark.

Last week’s ranking: 9

Next: 7 p.m. Friday at Booker T. Washington

11. Jay (2-0)

The sky is looking bright for a Royals program that is 2-0 for the first time since 2013. And no one is shining brighter than Brock Stout. The senior running back cracked 100 yards for the second time in as many games, finishing with 29 carries for 160 yards and two touchdowns during Jay’s win against Freeport. Meanwhile, the defense held the Bulldogs to less than 200 yards of offense.

Last week’s ranking: 12

Next: 7:30 p.m. Friday vs. Franklin County

12. Northview (0-2)

While the sequence of events this week was reversed, the result was the same for Chiefs, who dropped their first two games in a three-game road stretch. Northview struggled out of the gates in its Week 2 defeat to Escambia County (Ala.), falling behind 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. One week prior, the Chiefs led at the end of three quarters before being outscored 22-0 over the final 12 minutes in a loss to Flomaton (Ala.).

Last week’s ranking: 11

Next: 7 p.m. Thursday at Tate

13. Pensacola (0-2)

The Tigers have yet to score in eight regular-season quarters. Things won’t get much easier for Pensacola as the team is host to Pine Forest. The Tigers last defeated the Eagles in 2014.

Last week’s ranking: 13

Next: 7 p.m. Friday vs. Pine Forest

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Football: Pine Forest is new No. 1 team in PNJ Power Poll