HILLIARD'S A HERO IN HOMETOWN RETURN.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

The kid from Louisiana returned home and won a national championship. No, it wasn't Warrick Dunn.

Ike Hilliard, who grew up two hours away from the Superdome, turned in his

best performance of the season Thursday night by catching three touchdown passes in Florida's 52-20 victory over Florida State.

The Sugar Bowl was supposed to be the crowning finale for Dunn, the shifty tailback for the Seminoles who grew up in Baton Rouge and whose mother, a police officer, was shot to death during his senior year in high school.

And Dunn had a history of having big games against Florida, including his career-high 185 yards rushing in a 24-21 victory Nov. 30 that catapulted Florida State to No. 1.

Hilliard's best game ever had come in a 35-24 victory over Florida State last year, when he caught six passes for 192 yards. In last month's loss, he hurt his right knee and missed most of the last quarter.

The way he played Thursday night, the fourth quarter was insignificant.

He not only had 150 yards receiving and three touchdowns, he threw the key block that sprung Reidel Anthony on a 28-gain, which led to Danny Wuerffel's 16-yard touchdown run that gave the Gators a 38-20 lead.

And when Terry Jackson broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run, Hilliard pranced down the sideline in celebration.

Hilliard, a junior who grew up in Patterson, La., has been overshadowed much of the year behind the All-American season of Anthony, who set a team record with 18 touchdown catches.

Still, Hilliard caught 10 touchdowns and led the Gators with 19.1 yards per reception. And in his home state, he had the spotlight mostly to himself.

Hilliard, whose strength is precision routes, gave Florida a 7-0 lead on its first possession by catching a 9-yard touchdown on a slant pattern.

But it wasn't always a game of throw-and-catch with Heisman Trophy winner Wuerffel.

With the Gators leading 17-10 midway through the second quarter, Hilliard caught a deep slant at the 15-yard line, planted his left foot and spun around two defenders, then outran James Colzie to the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown.

It was the same move he used for a 46-yard touchdown pass in Florida's 45-30 victory over Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game, a win that gave the Gators their rematch with the Seminoles.

Florida took a 31-20 lead on another beautiful play by Hilliard, who caught a quick slant in heavy traffic for an 8-yard touchdown.

Two plays earlier, Dunn emerged from the locker room where he was treated for cramps. He was watching from the sidelines when Louisiana's other favorite son scored his third touchdown.

It the last game at Florida State for Dunn, and it may have been the last one at Florida for Hilliard. He and Anthony are expected to decide this month whether they will make themselves eligible for the NFL draft.

Familiar foes: The 1997 Sugar Bowl was the fifth meeting between Florida and Florida State in the last three seasons and the second in New Orleans. It was also the first time in bowl history that teams had a second rematch of a regular season game for a second time. Florida and Florida State also met in the 1995 Sugar Bowl after playing to a 31-31 tie in the 1994 regular season game. That one was billed as ``The Fifth Quarter.'' Florida State won that one 23-17.

Buckeye blessing: Florida was playing for the national championship for the second straight year - and the Gators have Ohio State to thank once again. The Buckeyes beat No. 2 Arizona State in the Rose Bowl to set up this year's title game in the Sugar Bowl. A year ago, Ohio State was ranked No. 2 behind Nebraska when it lost to Michigan, bumping the Gators up to No. 2 and setting up a national championship game in the Fiesta Bowl.

Bug bites: A bout with intestinal virus struck Florida State this week. About 10 players were affected, including kicker Scott Bentley. Earlier in the week, several players thought they had food poisoning, but later realized it was a virus when others also became ill. Linebacker Daryl Bush and defensive end Peter Boulware were given IVs before the game as they fought the bug.

Sugar records: The 52 points scored by Florida were the most ever in the Sugar Bowl, as was the 72 by both teams. The crowd of 78,344 was the largest Sugar Bowl crowd in the Superdome ever. The previous record was 78,124 in 1983 when Penn State and Georgia played. It was also the biggest crowd to ever watch a football game in the Superdome, which has hosted three Super Bowls.

Million dollar throw: Danny Wuerffel is known for his million dollar arm. Greg Smith hoped he would also have that reputation after the Sugar Bowl. He won't. Smith, a 32-year-old construction superintendent from Lutcher, La., would have made $1 million if he had tossed a football through a one-foot square opening in the Nokia Best Connection Sweepstakes. His toss from 12 yards away missed the mark and Smith settled for a $5,000 consolation prize.