For as long as anyone can remember, this was the week that St. Thomas Aquinas owned the media, grabbed the spotlight and took in the week before the state football championships.

Well, the Raiders watched their impressive 37 game winning streak come to an end last Friday night on cool night in Bradenton as the Manatee Hurricanes blew away any chance of this football team winning a second straight national title and third consecutive 5A state championship.

For the first time since Deerfield Beach played for a 6A state title at Land Shark Stadium five years ago, another team, other than St. Thomas Aquinas, will be the last BCAA member school to put its uniforms away for the season.

Welcome to your first ever state championship, Miramar Patriots. You can bring you 13-1 record into the Citrus Bowl on saturday night with pride as you will face off against the Deland Bulldogs, which are also making their maiden voyage to the big game.

When you speak about 6A football in the southern part of the state, rarely does a Broward County team enter the discussion. Even this year, when many of those so-called "experts" spoke about the final game of the 2009 FHSAA playoffs, it was about Miami Northwestern or Miami Central that dominated the discussion.

Last Friday night, the Patriots and head coach Damon Cogdell once again showed how close the gap has come between the two storied counties, which produce more Division 1A football talent than any other place in the country. The 21-14 epic win over the Central Rockets at Traz Powell Stadium showed everyone that Broward County would no longer play little brother to the 305. It's all about the 954 this year and a defense that has been the talk of high school football this season.

Patriots' quarterback Ryan Williams, who came in for his senior season to try and keep what Eugene Smith got started at the school, threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Malcolm Lewis with 1:43 remaining to put Miramar ahead and sent the Patriots to the state title game.

While many across the state of Florida were shocked by the outcome, nobody who has watched the Patriots play this season flinched when the Rockets walked off the field on the losing side of the scoreboard.

"The funny thing about people is they think everything comes overnight," said Cogdell. "This is like 5 years in the making and has come with a lot of hard work, sacrifices and many, many setbacks. This wasn't something that just happened in one night against a very good Miami-Dade County team. This team belongs."

Just because the Rockets are new to the state title game doesn't mean they don't belong or will just be pleased to go to Orlando. Senior linebacker Jamaal Bass warns that if Deland or anyone else treats them as a team that got there by luck or is just happy to be in the state title game, they will be talking without knowing a thing about the talent or character of this program.

"If you have watched this team play, you can understand that we are not going up to Orlando On Saturday night to just show up and be happy about our first appearance," Bass said. "This was not only the No. 1 defense in Broward County, but one of the best defensive football teams in the state. But I guess everyone will find out for themselves on Saturday night!"

Against Central, the Patriots' defense, like Northwestern did early in the season, forced the Rockets into making mistakes and turning the ball over.  The most costly turnover came with the game tied at 14 early in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-goal at the Miramar 4-yard line, Central quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey ran toward the end zone, but was stopped and fumbled. The ball rolled into the end zone and was recovered by the Patriots.

Miramar built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on two touchdown runs by Jeremiah Hicks. The second was set up by an interception by Tracey Howard.

RAIDERS LOSE TO MANATEE: Bradenton Manatee pulled off the upset of the season, manhandling the Raiders with a 28-20 victory in the Class 5A state semifinals at a packed Hawkins Stadium. For the Raiders, it all abruptly came to an end -- their 37-game winning streak, their bid for a third consecutive state title, and any hope at a second consecutive national championship.

The Hurricanes led 13-7 as the final 12 minutes began and stretched the lead to two scores when Davian Evans picked off Raiders quarterback Jacob Rudock and rumbled 35 yards to the end zone. A successful two-point conversion gave Manatee (13-1) a 14-point lead. The Raiders (13-1) countered with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Rudock to Phillip Dorsett, but saw their extra-point attempt blocked. For the second consecutive week, Aquinas trailed at the half after getting outplayed in the first 24 minutes.

Aquinas defensive backs added a little pregame intrigue, as both Lamarcus Joyner and Cody Riggs reportedly made collegiate commitments in the 48 hours before the semifinal. News broke during the day Friday that Riggs had committed to Florida, and Joyner will play for Florida State.

You can reach Larry Blustein via e-mail at FloridaKids1@hotmail.com. He can also be heard every Thursday night (9-10) on the Miami Dolphins High School Gridiron Report on WQAM (560 AM).