The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 47

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 1992 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER SpOltSE-3 Miami comeback Vintage Marino' Reasons fills void from Bentley injury SBBKHEB immi Xf ff BY CHUCK MELVIN The Associated Press CLEVELAND: As he watched the Cleveland Browns driving for the go-ahead points late in the fourth quarter, Miami running back Mark Higgs only hoped they would score quickly enough to give Dan Marino one last chance. "I was thinking if we could get a minute, Dan could go to work. That's when he's at his best," Higgs said after Marino's 68-sec-ond, 84-yard touchdown drive gave the Dolphins an exhilarating 27-23 victory in their hurricane-delayed opener Monday night. Higgs, who scored on a 1-yard dive with seven seconds left, had more than the usual interest in the outcome.

His fumble midway through the fourth quarter had been returned by David Brandon for a touchdown that got Cleveland within, 20-17, and brought the crowd of 74,765 back into the game. Higgs felt like crawling into a corner. Marino wouldn't let him. "My teammates made me able to bounce back," Higgs said. "Dan made me hang in there.

He said, 'Mark, you're going to get the ball back, and you have to be The Dolphins relied on Higgs for their running game, favoring him over newcomer Bobby Humphrey, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Denver. Higgs rushed 25 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns; Hum- poff to Mark Bavaro with 1:18 left. "I'm not really sure what kicked' in," said Kosar, who will be out for at least six weeks. "When I went into the huddle, I could see it in the guys' eyes some fight, some confidence. Hopefully, some of that confidence that started in the fourth quarter will carry on." After Bavaro scored, Matt Stover banged the extra point off the left upright, meaning Miami could tie it with a field goal.

"We shouldn't have got to that point," said Marino, who nonetheless seems to thrive when he's behind late in a game. Working from his own 16 with one timeout, he hit four straight passes, the last two to Fred Banks, putting the ball at the Cleveland 1-yard line with 10 seconds left. A roughing-the-passer penalty helped, tacked onto Banks' first catch. "We were in our regular third-down defense," Browns coach Bill Belichick said. "They ran the same plays we practiced against all week.

We just didn't execute." "I don't take any consolation in losing. I don't think anyone else on this team does. If you're asking if it's a moral victory, the answer is no." It's the 19th time Marino has brought the Dolphins back from a fourth-quarter deficit. "That's about as thrilling as you can make it," coach Don Shula said. "The drive at the end was as great as you could get.

It was vintage Marino." BY JOHN FAY The Cincinnati Enquirer The Bengals replaced Ray Bent-ley on the roster with a player whose resume is very similar to Bentley's a veteran, from a winning franchise, with a reputation as a leader. The team worked out former New York Giants linebacker Gary Reasons Tuesday morning and signed him Tuesday afternoon. He'll practice with the team today. Reasons played eight seasons with the Giants, including the 1986 and '90 Super Bowl champions. Reasons, 6-foot-4, 235, from Northwest Louisiana, has been a starter most of his career, including last year.

He was in the Giants' camp this year and played in the first two exhibition games, but lost his starting job to Steve DeOssie. After he strained the medial collateral ligament in his knee, the Giants released him on an injury settlement. That meant the Giants couldn't sign him for four weeks, and he was free to sign with any other team. "I think they thought my knee was worse than it was," Reasons said. "I'm healthy.

I'm ready to play." "This is a good opportunity," he said. "It's a team with a new defense that's doing well. I'm The Bengals will start rookie Ricardo McDonald in Bentley's spot at inside linebacker. The other inside linebacker, Kevin Walker, will take Bentley's role as the defensive signal caller. COURT REPORT: Mike Brown was surprised to find out that Leon White and Natu Tuatagaloa were among the 10 players who had filed a motion in U.S.

Federal Court in Minnesota to get themselves declared free agents within a matter of weeks. Both White and Tuatagaloa were released by the Bengals last week after long contract holdouts. "It seems odd to me that they are plaintiffs," Brown said. "We rescinded our rights to them last week. Why are they seeking to become free agents when they already are free agents? Maybe the news hasn't caught up with them." The Bengals released White, a seventh-year linebacker and Tuatagaloa, a fourth-year defensive lineman, last Thursday.

The day before, a federal jury found that the NFL's free-agency system was restrictive and awarded $1.62 million to four of the eight players involved in the suit. SOMEONE'S GOT TO GO: Signing Reasons puts the Bengals one over the 47-man roster limit. The Associated Press Miami's Mark Higgs dives over a pile of players with seven seconds left for the winning score against the Browns. phrey carried twice for 11 yards. The offense, however, revolved as usual around Marino, who completed 25 of 35 passes for 322 yards and one touchdown, a 25-yarder to Mark Duper that opened the scoring in the first quarter.

The Browns, still smarting from a 14-3 loss to Indianapolis last week in which Bernie Kosar was sacked 11 times, seemed headed for another embarrassment, this one on prime-time television. Those who went to bed early, however, missed an exciting fourth quarter. Kosar, limping on an ankle that he learned Tuesday had a hairline fracture, woke up Cleveland's listless offense with a 60-yard pass to Michael Jackson to the Miami 20, and Jackson scored seven plays later on a 6-yard catch. Two plays after that, Higgs fumbled, stripped by Mike Johnson, and Brandon ran 32 yards untouched for the touchdown. One possession later, Kosar completed six passes on a 77-yard drive that gave Cleveland a 23-20 lead, capping it with a 3-yard dum- Marinovich rumored to replace Schroeder WHAT'S NEW IN AUTOZONE ENGINES WfoWHWM" IfP-J illIlF gv.

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"He will have no comments today." Although it was anticipated that Marinovich, a second-year pro, eventually would move into the starting job, the timing for the switch seems peculiar. Although the Raiders fell to 0-2 with a 24-21 overtime loss at Cincinnati last Sunday, Schroeder threw for 380 yards, completing 25 of 40. Dolphins lose Roby MIAMI: Reggie Roby has sustained a serious injury on each of his last two punts. The NFL's top punter ruptured his left Achilles' tendon in the Miami Dolphins' final regular-season game last season. Roby made a speedy recovery, then tore cartilage in his left knee following his first punt in Monday night's season-opening 27-23 victory at Cleveland.

The injury occurred when Roby tried to dodge a blocker while running downfield. The 10-year pro will undergo arthroscopic surgery today and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks, coach Don Shula said Tuesday. Wacky over Wicky TAMPA: A special visitor stopped by Sam Wyche's office at One Buccaneer Place. Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse. "He let me have it big time," Wyche joked.

"No, he just came around to say congratulations. "He said, 'It sure is nice to walk around town with people saying nice things to Despite their 2-0 record, the Bucs are rated 7Vi-point underdogs against the Vikings Sunday at Minnesota. Cards waive Thompson TEMPE, The Phoenix Cardinals on Tuesday waived running back Anthony Thompson, their 1990 second-round draft pick and runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1989 at Indiana University. Thompson saw action in the season opener at Tampa Bay, carrying eight times for eight yards, but he did not play in Sunday's home opener against Philadelphia. Chiefs release Paige KANSAS CITY, The Kansas City Chiefs signed defensive end Darren Mickell, who was taken in last month's supplemental draft, on Tuesday and released holdout wide receiver Stephone Paige.

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