October 7th, 2011
No. 24 Miramar Downs No. 2 Aquinas In OT
Raiders drop first home game in five years
Miramar's star cornerback Tracy Howard blocked a potential 35 yard game-winning field goal from CatholicSportsNet.com's No. 2 ranked St. Thomas Aquinas' kicker Nolan Bieck with six seconds left to force overtime and save his team from their first loss of the season. Bieck hit two field goals earlier in the game from 42 and 45 yards, but couldn't get the last one over Howard's outstretched body.
Miramar rallied from a seven-point deficit late in the fourth quarter behind their backup quarterback before knocking off one of the nation's top teams 27-20 in the first overtime.
The loss ended the Aquinas' 19-game winning streak and was their first loss to a team from Broward since 2007. Aquinas' last loss at home, coincidentally, was five years ago to the day: Oct. 6, 2006. Under the now-retired George Smith, Aquinas had won two of the last three mythical national titles (2008 and 2010).
Aquinas, ranked No. 1 in the country by Sports Illustrated and No. 2 nationally by ESPN on the strength of big wins over Prattville (AL) and De La Salle (CA), was missing several key starters on defense, including defensive lineman Joseph Bosa and Marcelo Delvecchio. Defensive end Jelani Hamilton, a University of Miami commitment, was injured in the second quarter and didn’t return. In their absences, Miramar, which won the Class 6A state title in 2009, rolled up 395 yards total offense on the Raiders.
This leaves room for several schools to move forward in the CatholicSportsNet.com power rankings, including No. 3 Louisville Trinity who square off against undefeated DuPont Manual high school. And in the feature game of the week, CSN.com's No. 4 ranked St. Edward (OH) travels to New York to play top-ranked Don Bosco Prep (NJ). The game will be played in the Bronx on the campus of Fordham University.
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