TAMPA, Fla. — Santonio Holmes sat on the grass alongside the end zone — legs outstretched, head bowed, arms wrapped tightly around the ball.

He'd come too far to let go.

The kid who once sold drugs on a street corner had grown up to become MVP of a most remarkable Super Bowl.

Holmes, who overcame his gritty childhood in rural south Florida, made a brilliant touchdown catch with 35 seconds left to give the Pittsburgh Steelers their record sixth Super Bowl title, a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals last night.

"I dared the team," Holmes said. "Just give me the ball, give me the chance to make plays and I will do it for you."

He was true to his word on the 6-yard winner.

After a pass to the left corner went through Holmes' hands, Ben Roethlisberger lofted the ball toward the right corner, over the hands of not one, not two, but three Arizona defenders. Holmes leaped to get it — and somehow managed to drag both feet in bounds, his toes barely scraping the grass before he tumbled out of bounds.

The official threw up both arms — touchdown! — and Holmes sat out of bounds for several seconds, looking down at a ball he didn't want to give up.

The referee took a look at the replay to make sure Holmes had control of the ball and got both feet down.

"I knew it was a touchdown 100 percent," he said. "My feet never left the ground. All I did was stand on my toes and extend my hands."

Amazingly, Holmes' catch came at exactly the same point — 35 seconds remaining — as Plaxico Burress' 13-yard touchdown catch in last year's Super Bowl, giving the New York Giants their upset of the unbeaten New England Patriots.

That finish was a classic. This one was even better.

"The first read was the running back in the flat, but he wasn't open," Roethlisberger said. "Then I was going to try to bang it to Hines (Ward, MVP of the 2006 Super Bowl), but someone was closing in on it and I was a little nervous about it. It wouldn't have been a touchdown. I looked back, scrambled a little bit and saw 'Ton' in the corner. I tried to throw it high so he was going to catch it, or no one was.

"Luckily, he made a heck of a play."

HARRISON GOES DISTANCE

James Harrison didn't win the Defensive Player of the Year award by making plays like this. He's a sacker and a run-stuffer, not a long-distance runner.

Didn't matter. Harrison went the distance on a 100-yard interception return — one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl and Steelers history — to swing the NFL title game last night when it appeared Arizona was ready to take the halftime lead.

On a first-and-goal play from the 2 with 18 seconds left in the half, Arizona's Kurt Warner threw a short pass over the middle intended for Anquan Boldin.

Harrison, the Steelers' right outside linebacker, read the play perfectly and cut in front of Boldin to make the interception at the goal line and take off up the Arizona sideline. The All-Pro linebacker was slowed twice on either side of the 50, before being hauled down by Larry Fitzgerald's face-mask tackle — but not before thrusting the ball across the goal line.

"We were basically on a max blitz," Harrison said. "Kurt had to get it out and so he had to throw a quick slant in or out and I guessed on it, basically just shifted out, flowed out, and he threw it straight to me. After that, it was about my teammates helping me get to the other end."

The play allowed the Steelers to seize a 17-7 lead when it appeared the Cardinals might take a 14-10 halftime lead.

"I was going to make it," Harrison said. "I'm not going to lie — It was a quarter tank (left). But I ended up making it."

WARNER 'MAN OF YEAR'

Well before Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner came up on the short end of the Super Bowl yesterday, he was presented with the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award during pregame festivities that included the honoring of US Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and the crew from Flight 1549.

Warner was selected over Minnesota center Matt Birk and Philadelphia safety Brian Dawkins, the other finalists for the award that recognizes players for charitable contributions and community involvement off the field.

Warner formed a partnership with Habitat for Humanity after visiting regions affected by flooding last year and has raised more than $650,000 to help build homes in the Midwest.

Warner made a $100,000 personal donation and $100,000 was awarded by his foundation.