BURROWS HEADED

TO `THE RIDGE'

After helping to turn Southwest from cellar dweller to a district champion over the past five seasons, Patrick Burrows will try to get one of Miami-Dade County's most proud football programs back on track.

Southwest athletic director Maria Siegfriedt confirmed that Burrows, 32, has accepted the head coaching position at Southridge.

Siegfriedt said Southwest is in the process of hiring a coach.

''Coach Burrows has accepted the job at Southridge and as of [Friday], he's the only that has left from our current staff,'' Siegfriedt said. ``Our goal is to have a new coach in place before we go on winter break.''

Southridge is coming off a 3-6 season, missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

Burrows replaces Rodney Hunter, who led Southridge to a 23-23 record during his five seasons. In 2006, he led the Spartans to a 10-2 record, a district championship and a spot in the regional semifinals.

Burrows, a Miami Killian graduate, led Southwest to an 8-2 season and the first district football championship in the school's 52-year history. The Eagles went 14-6 over the past two seasons after going 5-22 during Burrows' first three seasons.

Burrows could not be reached for comment Friday.

THIS AND THAT

• Even after numerous starters graduated from last season's mythical national championship team, the Varela boys' soccer team is still considered among the nation's elite. Varela, which is 5-0-2 this season, is 19th in the first ESPN Winter Soccer boys' top 50 rankings. Ferguson is 39th.

• Former Gulliver volleyball star Rebecca Orzechowicz set a couple of milestones to complete her career at Stetson University. Orzechowicz became one of five players in the program's history to have more than 1,000 career kills and digs. Her 1,094 digs rank second in the school's history. Orzechowicz, a five-time All-Dade selection, was a multiple All-Conference Academic team selection, and she said she will return to Miami after she graduates.

-- ANDRE C. FERNANDEZ

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