Posted on Fri, May. 23, 2008

Miami-Dade County athletes spent most of the 2007-2008 high school year in the national spotlight.

Northwestern won a mythical national championship, and, along with Booker T. Washington, showed the country how good Dade football is with nationally televised victories in Texas and South Carolina.

The Varela boys' soccer team secured another national championship in the winter, and South Dade's wrestling team made its own appearance on ESPN after ''beating the streak'' at Brandon High.

The county amassed a total of 18 team state championships, numerous individual champions and many unforgettable moments. Here's a dozen of the best:

1. NORTHWESTERN GOES NATIONAL: Football experts debated whether this year's Northwestern team is the greatest of all time. The only argument among its fans is which was the most lasting image of a memorable season.

Senior quarterback and Mr. Florida Football winner Jacory Harris and All-State defensive end Marcus Forston became acting coaches in the summer until coach Billy Rolle was hired. There was the Bulls successful trip -- on and off the field -- to Texas where they beat then-No. 1 Southlake Carroll in a game that pit the top two teams in the nation.

Then there was the great 99-yard drive with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter to beat Deerfield Beach that had the now-demolished Orange Bowl buzzing like the days of old.

And it ended at the Florida Citrus Bowl with the Bulls routing Orlando Boone 41-0 in the largest blowout in state championship game history that set the longest winning streak in county history at 30 games.

2. BIG YEAR FOR BOOKER T.: After four years of heartbreak, Booker T. finally beat Seffner Armwood and won that elusive Class 4A state football championship. They took it a step further and earned a No. 4 national ranking after routing Summerville in South Carolina in a live telecast on ESPN.

The successes continued after the season as cornerback Brandon Harris was named Gatorade State Player of the Year and was one of three stars to sign with the University of Miami. His father, head coach, Tim Harris, Sr., got a job at UM and won USA Today's National Coach of the Year.

Junior Lanie Whittaker kept Booker T.'s year going strong at state track by winning four gold medals -- a feat accomplished only once before by a Dade female athlete.

3. 'STREAK-BUSTING' BUCS: Before chants of ''Beat the Streak,'' the South Dade wrestling team ended the longest winning streak in the nation among high school sports when it beat Brandon High in January. The Bucs ended the 459-match winning streak that began in 1973.

They returned home and swept through the playoffs, winning every major tournament. Then, South Dade ended its four-year drought by winning the Class 3A state title led by its star Tico Baez, who went undefeated for the second consecutive season.

4. 'V' FOR VICTORY: Varela's boys' soccer team may have changed coaches in the offseason when Matias Asorey was hired at Florida International University, but it did not change its winning ways. Enter former Herman Cup winner Luchi Gonzalez, who guided the Vipers to a second straight state title. And led by state final four MVP Luiz Yamashita, Varela secured its first mythical national championship in soccer.

5. SOUTHRIDGE SWEEPS: The girls hadn't won in five years. The boys never had. Both Southridge track and field teams changed that on May 3 by sweeping the Class 4A championships. Seniors Brandon O'Connor and Zakeya Stinson, and sophomore Ebony Eutsey all earned All-American status by posting the best marks in the nation in their respective events at one point during the season.

6. LAKELAND'S HEROES: Norland, despite being considered an underdog against nationally-ranked Boyd Anderson, won its second state boys' basketball title in three seasons. Without any clear-cut superstars, the Vikings knocked off the state's No. 1 ranked team in Class 6A. And with its top three players having fouled out with less than three minutes remaining in the Class 4A championship game, Monsignor Pace found a way to hold off Lakeland Kathleen and win back-to-back state championships for the first time. Spartans' senior guard Ray Shipman was named ''Mr. Basketball'' after winning state tournament MVP honors for the second consecutive season.

7. PALMETTO! PALMETTO! The Panthers' famous chant was heard loud and clear at Plant City Stadium after they won their first state title in five years. Palmetto's seniors, who had suffered through three prior defeats at state celebrated wildly on the field after Courtney Ray scored the winning run off Kelly Saco's hit to beat Palm Beach Gardens in 12 innings.

8. TENNIS GREATS: Four Dade teams -- Krop's girls, Gulliver's boys and Ransom's boys and girls -- brought home state championships. Ransom's Rachel Saiontz highlighted the Raiders' titles by winning the overall singles and the overall doubles with Jaime Yapp-Shing. Krop's team of Taylor and Brittany Dubins and La Salle's team of Santiago Nieto and Mario Samson each won overall doubles titles.

9. BELEN'S BANNER YEAR: The Wolverines had another great fall season, winning cross-country and swimming state championships for the second consecutive season. Belen then overcame the tragedy of losing track coach Arthur Foster to stomach cancer at midseason by winning its district and region for a return trip to state.

10. PURPLE PRIDE: With several of its alumni in attendance, a new generation of ''Bald Eagles'' led Southwest to its second state boys' volleyball championship. The Eagles are the only team in the six years since the sport became sanctioned by the FHSAA to win a state crown.

11. RAIDERS RULE: After South Dade beat Brandon, one of the longest winning streaks in the country now belongs to the Gulliver girls' water polo team. The Raiders won their 222nd consecutive game to win their eighth straight state title. They weren't the only Raiders celebrating, however. The Ransom boys won their first state title since the sport became sanctioned and completed a dominant 26-1 season.

12. RETIRING LEGENDS: The end of a magical season meant the end of an era for several coaching icons.

Among the many longtime coaches retiring were legendary Carol City football coach Walt Frazier, Southridge girls' track coach Sam Burley, Gulliver coach Jorge Dieppa, St. Brendan baseball coach Hal Knowles and Lourdes cross-country coach Ary Montalvo.