Cincinnati — With backups handling much of the work for both teams, the Cincinnati Bengals did just enough in the second half to hang on for a 14-6 win over the Indianapolis Colts Friday night at Paul Brown Stadium.
Indianapolis and the Bengals both end the preseason with identical 1-3 records, with the Colts set to begin the regular season against New Orleans in a nationally-televised game Thursday night at the RCA Dome.
The NFL’s final training camp roster cuts are due by 4 p.m. today, which meant that Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and Indianapolis’ Tony Dungy took full advantage of the opportunity to take one last look at rookies and veteran backups.
Several tough decisions now await Dungy, his coaching staff and the team’s player personnel department this morning. Twenty-two players must be released or waived this afternoon in order to meet the league’s 53-man regular season roster limit.
A five-yard run by Quincy Wilson with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter, followed soon after by a 46-yard return of a DeDe Dorsey fumble by linebacker Caleb Miller, accounted for all of the Bengals’ scoring for the evening.
Indianapolis’ only points came with 5:29 left in the fourth quarter as Josh Betts, who connected on 12-of-21 passes for 154 yards, threw a six-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe.
The Colts, however, came within an eyelash of notching a second score in the game’s waning seconds as Betts fired a 36-yard pass that was hauled in by tight end Jonny Harline at the Cincinnati one-yard line. Time ran out before Betts could get the offense lined up for a last ditch attempt at the end zone.
Jim Sorgi got the start at quarterback for Indianapolis and completed 19-of-33 passes for 150 yards before giving way to Betts midway through the third quarter. In the battle for the team’s primary backup running back role, Dorsey had 49 yards in 12 carries while Kenton Keith added seven rushing attempts for 36 yards.
Former Purdue and Monrovia High School wide receiver John Standeford, who may find himself on the outside looking in when the final roster cuts are made, had a game-high eight catches for 61 yards.
Defensively, the Colts forced four turnovers, including interceptions by cornerbacks Marlin Jackson and Dante Hughes along with outside linebacker Clint Session. Hughes, who had missed nearly a week of practice as he was excused to take care of undisclosed personal matters, also had a fumble recovery.
Cincinnati backup quarterback Doug Johnson struggled during his two-and-a-half quarters of work, hitting on nine-of-14 passes for 69 yards and had two passes intercepted. Jeff Rowe went the rest of the way, completing seven-of-14 passes for 54 yards and had one pass picked off.
• Held out — Fifteen offensive and defensive starters did not play against Cincinnati. The list included quarterback Peyton Manning, running back Joseph Addai, tight end Dallas Clark, wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, offensive guard Ryan Lilja, offensive tackle Ryan Diem, safety Bob Sanders, middle linebacker Gary Brackett, defensive tackle Raheem Brock, defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, and strong-side linebacker Rob Morris.
Starters who did get some work were offensive tackle Tony Ugoh, offensive guard Jake Scott, weak side linebacker Freddy Keiaho, cornerbacks Kelvin Hayden and Jackson, defensive tackle Ed Johnson, free safety Antoine Bethea, placekicker Adam Vinatieri, punter Hunter Smith, and long snapper Justin Snow.
Among the 13 players sitting out for the Bengals were quarterback Carson Palmer, running back Rudi Johnson, placekicker Shayne Graham, strong safety Dexter Jackson, and offensive tackle Willie Anderson.
• Five in a row for I-74 rivalry — Friday night’s game marked the fifth straight year and the sixth time in the last seven years that the Colts and Bengals have wrapped up the preseason against each other. It was also the 15th time in the last 16 years, and the 17th time in the last 24 years, that the two franchises have met in the preseason.
• Coaching from the press box — Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis coached his second game from the press box Friday night as he continues to recover from recent ankle surgery.
Lewis also coached Monday night’s road game with Atlanta from the press box.
• Injury list — Held out of the Bengals game due to injuries were running back Clifton Dawson (ankle), safety Matt Giordano (foot), tight end Gijon Robinson (thumb), tight end Bryan Fletcher (ankle), defensive end Josh Thomas (ankle), and Freeney (quadracep muscle).
Offensive tackle Charlie Johnson suffered an injury to his left knee in the second half of Friday night’s game. Johnson was taken off the field on a cart during the third quarter. The seriousness of the injury was not immediately known.
• Wayne signing Colts Super Bowl DVDs — Reggie Wayne will be autographing copies of the "Indianapolis Colts: Road to XLI" DVD Tuesday evening at the Wal-Mart in Plainfield.
The four-disc collectors set features all three of the Colts’ 2006 playoff games (Kansas City, Baltimore and New England) and Super Bowl XLI (Chicago) in their entirety. Wayne will be signing copies of the DVD from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Indianapolis 0 0 0 6 — 6
Cincinnati 0 0 14 0 — 14
C — Quincy Wilson 5 run (Larson kick), 5:28 3Q
C — Caleb Miller 46 fumble return (Larson kick), 5:07 3Q
I — Craphonso Thorpe 6 pass from Josh Betts (pass failed), 5:29 4Q
Attendance — 61,243 (second best total in Bengals preseason history).
Given to Fly
September 1, 2007
Dungy gets final look at reserves in preseason loss to Bengals
- Given to Fly
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GIVEN TO FLY: Come to expect new standards of excellence
Records are definitely meant to be broken; athletes today are faster and stronger than those in the past in many endeavors in athletics.
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GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
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GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
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FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
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'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
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'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
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'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
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'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
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- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
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Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
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Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
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Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
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- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
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Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
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- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
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