LOCAL ROUNDUP
St. Thomas 5th in nation; Booker T.'s Tillman back
Posted on Wed, Aug. 06, 2008
MICHAEL C. WEIMAR/SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD
St. Thomas Aquinas football is ranked No. 5 in the nation according to The Nation Prep Poll.
Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas was ranked No. 5 in the nation in the first edition of The National Prep poll released this week. The defending Class 5A state champions are the only South Florida team ranked in the poll.
The Raiders open their schedule by competing in the fourth annual Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series in Ohio. The Raiders will face Elder High at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati at 11 a.m. Aug. 30. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN on Sept. 1 (tape delay).
-- ANDRE C. FERNANDEZ
COACH RETURNS
The moment Miami Booker T. Washington football coach Earl Tillman came through the hallway doors at the school Tuesday, you could hear his players shout: ``Welcome back, coach!''
Sitting in a wheelchair, and still wearing a protective brace covering most of his left leg, Tillman returned to his office after spending the past four weeks recovering from a broken tibia he sustained while trying to break up a brawl between his players and Pahokee players during a 7-on-7 tournament July 12 in Miramar.
It was an emotional reunion for the 37-year-old Tillman, who next month will begin his first season as head coach.
''I don't know how people can be at home doing nothing sometimes,'' Tillman said. ``I was tired of sitting around in bed. I needed to get back. I needed to be there for these kids.''
Official practice begins Monday statewide.
Tillman will be running workouts, although his doctors told him he can't put weight on the leg for another four months. Once the season begins, he plans to coach from the press box.
Booker T. will begin defense of its Class 4A state championship by playing Chandler Hamilton High of Arizona in the Miami Sports Kickoff Classic at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 at Traz Powell Stadium.
-- ANDRE C. FERNANDEZ
SOCCERThe University of Miami soccer team was voted to finish seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference by the league's 11 coaches. For the third consecutive season, North Carolina was selected as the top team in the ACC.
Florida State and Virginia were chosen second and third, respectively.
TRACK AND FIELD
UM sophomore Kristy Whyte of Pembroke Pines and freshman Miranda Wilson were representatives on the 2008 All-ACC Academic Women's Track and Field Team.
TENNIS
Junior David Simon of Vienna, Austria, signed a grant-in-aid to attend UM in the fall. Simon played for Louisville the past two years.
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