Last December, after losing to Northwestern in the south region final, Miramar quarterback Eugene Smith offered some advice for those who were going to compete against his Patriots in the 2009 season.

``While people think this team is going to fall apart just because I'm graduating, they will be in for a huge surprise,'' Smith said. ``The offense will be good, but the defense will be the strongest part of that team.''

Last Friday night, Smith, a freshman at West Virginia University, returned to watch the Patriots move to 3-0, and in the process, back up exactly what he said some 10 months ago after losing to the Bulls.

With the Patriots' 21-7 win against previously unbeaten Plantation, it made it three games this year that the defense held the opposition to under 200 total yards. The lone score of the game by the Colonels came on the last play of the first half against the special teams and not the No. 1 rated defensive unit in Broward County.

At the center of this defense is the same person who has been putting things together for the past five years, three seasons as a head coach. Damon Cogdell, who has put this Patriot team in a position to play against programs such as Carol City, North Miami Beach and Northwestern in the playoffs, has put together such an impressive unit that only Monsignor Pace has been able to score an offensive touchdown this season, and that came in overtime of the first game of the season.

``We knew we had something very special coming back this year,'' Cogdell said. ``So many people picked against us, based on the fact that Eugene was no longer on the team, but no offense to him because he was one of the best ever to play the position down here, but this program was more than just one player.''

STEALING THE SHOW

Even in a season where preseason All-America receiver Ivan ``Sticks'' McCartney has been a role player, it's the defense that has stolen the show.

The defense starts up front with seniors Sir Christian Gordon (6-2, 255) and Derion Pittman (6-2, 225), and junior Jordan Burdi, a 5-10, 180-pounder who has made major strides.

The linebackers are extremely impressive with seniors Jamaal Bass (6-0, 185), Stephen Blissett (6-0, 200), Dominick Bryan (5-9, 180), Julian Francis (6-1, 210) and Christopher Coleman (6-1, 207), and junior Markeis Hall (6-0, 215).

Bass and Blissett are three year starters and have received plenty of attention from colleges across the country.

``Everyone wanted to talk about all the other 6A teams in Broward and never mentioned us as being a factor,'' Blissett said. ``All we did was win just about everything we attended in the summer and worked harder than ever. We knew that this was a very special team.''

While programs such as Northwestern, Boyd Anderson, St. Thomas Aquinas and Plantation get much of the publicity, Miramar is very impressive in the secondary as well.

Led by seniors Keondrick Lyn (6-1, 200), Trevon Griffin (6-2, 180), Donald Jackson (5-9, 170), Derius Silas (5-7, 165) and Xavier Martin (6-0, 180), and very talented sophomore Tracey Howard (6-0, 160).

``This is a very physical secondary,'' Cogdell said. ``They play the run as well as they do the pass, which is something that was missing from this unit last year.''

In addition to Cogdell, coaches such as Kelsey Harrell, Arnold Wilkins, Ashton Scaccia and Kenney Foster have been working extremely hard to make sure that the focal point of the 2009 team doesn't only surround what senior quarterback Ryan Williams, receiver Dante Chambers or running backs Jeremiah Hicks and D'Vontis Arnold do.

BOWDEN BALL

While Bobby Bowden is struggling with the identity of Florida State's team this year, his son, Terry, is well in control of what his University of North Alabama program is up to these days.

The Lions, a Division 2 program, benefited from a number of Division 1 transfers this year, including six from the Seminoles and have been virtually untouchable.

In five games, the Lions have rolled to wins over Southern Arkansas (41-9), Carson Newman (31-14), Henderson State (43-26), West Georgia (55-7) and last week, a shutout on the road against Harding (38-0).

The Lions are rated No. 3 in the nation behind Grand Valley and Abilene Christian.

They have five south Floridians on the roster, which include Quinton Andrews (DB, 5-11, 205, Sr., Monsignor Pace), Johnny Cotson (WR, 6-1, 190, Jr., Hialeah Miami Lakes), Devon Tate (DB, 6-0, 165, Jr., Booker T. Washington), Kenneth Thomas (DB, 6-1, 215, Jr., Bay Point) and Steve Tirogene (WR, 6-3, 195, Jr., Deerfield Beach).

TELL US ABOUT YOUR ATHLETES

Don't forget that we are always looking to help expose our area recruits for the current Class of 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. All you have to do is send a DVD and information about the athlete to: Larry Blustein, P.O. Box 3181, Hallandale Beach, Fl. 33009.

Larry Blustein is co-host of the Miami Dolphins Gridiron Show every Thursday evening from 7-8 on WQAM (560 AM). Have a comment? E-mail lblustein@MiamiHerald.com.

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