The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 15

EDITOR: GREG NOBLE, 369-1917 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1 988 SECTION Floyd wins SkinsB-3 Buckeyes stop VandyB-8 Princeton has tough foeB-8 ClassifiedsB-10-16 Bengals roam all over Buffalo Sports Sullivan 1 Tim A Woods has P.B. dancing Ickey Shuffle The most stunning spectacle at Riverfront Stadium Sunday took place before the football game started. It happened in the Bengals' dressing room for the entertainment of a small, privileged audience, for whom seeing was still not believing. It was Paul Brown, doing the Ickey Shuffle. "Just before the game, the head man AX i IV 1 Offensive line opens door for run BY MIKE DODD The Cincinnati Enquirer On this day, the wrong team had the charging buffaloes on their helmets.

The Cincinnati Bengals, behind the five huge mammals who comprise their offensive line, ran over the proud Buffalo Bills' defense in pounding out an impressive 35-21 victory before a packed house at Riverfront Stadium Sunday. The stampede moved the 10-3 Bengals within one game of the Bills for best record in the NFL and established them as legitimate contenders to represent the Amer: ican Football Conference in the Super Bowl. The Bengals piled up 455 yards, the most against the Bills this year and the second most since star linebacker Cornelius Bennett arrived last October. The 35 points was the most against a Buffalo team with Bennett in uniform. And Cincinnati churned out season-high 232 yards rushing against an outfit that was yielding an average of 101 a game.

"We had to run," said center Bruce Kozerski. "We knew we couldn't line up against these guys and throw 50 times a game. And we knew if we were going to have a chance, we had to keep the ball out of (Buffalo quarterback) Jim Kelly's hands." Fullback Ickey Woods rushed for 129 yards and three touch-" downs, while running back James Brooks added 93 yards and two TDs (one rushing, one receiving). The Bengals held the ball 41V2 of the game's 60 minutes the most they've controlled the clock in five years. The Bills can claim mitigating circumstances, however.

Inside linebacker Shane Conlan did not play because of a sprained foot and outside backer Darryl Talley left the game in the first half with a bruised thigh. Starting cornerback Derrick Burroughs (sprained ankle) was also out. But the Bills, who clinched the AFC East title last week, felt they were missing something else the fire in the gut. (Please see BENGALS, Page B-9) Wyche criticizes game officials, Page B-5. Bengals, Bills see playoff rematch, Page B-6.

The Cincinnati EnquirerGary Fullback Ickey Woods rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns giving him 13 for the season. Bills pay their respect afterward corner, just picking away at us. I don't think we were at the top of our game." His team's comeback from two three-touchdown deficits, Levy said, stemmed from desperation. The Bills went to a no-huddle offense and Kelly began throwing from a shotgun formation, which brought about three touchdowns and almost 300 of Buffalo's 353-yard total. Was it a case of finding something that worked and staying with it? "No, not really," Levy said.

"It's a desperate measure. We were 21 points down, so we went into our two-minute drill (just before halftime) and ran it for about the last 35 minutes of the game because we were so far down. "We thought it was our only chance to get back in it, and we (Please see BILLS, Page B-9) The Cincinnati EnquirerJohn Bills nosetackle Fred Smerlas was impressed with the Bengals and quarterback Boomer Esiason. came over and told me I could do my dance if I scored a touchdown," Ickey Woods recalled. "He even did the step himself.

He said, 'Let me show you how to do It was great. He did it better than I did." Woods' peculiar end zone prance the sort of soft shoe one would expect to see performed on a bed of hot coals has developed a curious cult following. That it has grown to include Brown, the 80-year- old owner who usually likes his football with straight reflects the fevered state of Bengalmania and the far-reaching impact of the rookie running back with the weird name, the wild hair and the funky feet. Rookie of the Year? Cincinnati's ponytailed plowhorse scored three times in the Bengals 35-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills Sunday, a performance that kept Cincinnati in contention for the home-field playoff advan tage and Woods in the forefront of Rookie of the Year competition. In all, it was his most productive day of the season.

He gained 129 yards carrying the football from scrimmage against the Bills, 38 more catching it, and Brown's blessing to desecrate the dance with every touch down. "The holes were so wide when I was running that wow I was in the secondary before I knew it," Woods said. "I give all the credit to the offensive line. "We have the feeling that we can run on anybody. When you have linemen blow ing people 5 and 6 yards off the ball, you can help but get 5 or 10 yards a crack.

It is a sign of the Bengals' authoritative offense that both of their starting running backs Woods and James Brooks have averaged one touchdown a game through the season's first 13 weeks. It is a sign of the Bengals' startling success that they have lately had to develop guidelines for post-touchdown protocol. Upon receipt of Pete Rozelle's recent "taunting" memorandum, Bengals' head coach Sam Wyche asked Woods to refrain from doing his dance in Dallas a week ago for fear heightened officiating vigilance would bring penalties. But the shackles came off Sunday, Bengal brass believing Woods gyrations would probably go un punished and would certainly arouse his adoring public. "I told Ickey before the game I wanted him to go ahead and do it," Wyche said.

"I didn't think they'd call it and I knew it would turn the crowd on. The officials let Woods' first shuffle pass unpenalized, but the second drew a 5-yard "demonstration" sanction. It probably deserved it, too. So eager was Woods to begin his routine that he dropped the ball after crossing the goal line, then bobbled it twice in retrieval. When he finally got around to shuffling, the choreography seemed too calculated to suit field judge Jack Vaughan, who quickly reached for his handkerchief.

"I didn't know I got the penalty till I got back to the bench," Woods said. "Sam told me. He said not to worry about it. Wvche called the crackdown on cele brating a "bonehead rule" and said Vaughan later told him that he disliked having to enforce it and wished it removed. "That's the only thing we agreed on all day," Wyche said.

Rather than risk another penalty, Woods skipped the shuffle on his third touchdown of the day his 13th of the 1 season but he said he would resume it with his next score. He also hinted that the Ickey Shuffle may gain some new steps time for the playotfs. Once in a lifetime Whether Paul Brown will reprise his version of the Ickey bhutile is harder to say. Traditionally, carrying on has not been part of the great coach's vocabulary. This is the fellow who once chided a player's end zone histrionics with the admonition: "Act like you've been there before.

This may have been a one-shot shuffle. "I nrohablv missed one of life's mira cles lamented Beneal linebacker Reggie Williams, one of those who missed Brown's performance Sunday. "It was one of those special moments where you had to be there. Tim Sullivan is Enquirer sports columnist. Browns send Redskins BY JIM MONTGOMERY The Cincinnati Enquirer Sunday's 35-21 loss to Cincin nati seemed to put the Bills into the installment loan business.

"Give them the credit," said coach Marv Levy, nose tackle Fred Smerlas, linebacker Cornelius Bennett and quarterback Jim Kelly. They re a well-coached, well- organized team," Smerlas said. "I thought they were well-prepared. We thought we were, too, but we might have been a little flat in the early going and it hurt us. "But they have good backs and a good, big offensive line.

They use the push block well, ihey don't get out there and try to do things they're not capable of doing. We had a lot of missed tackles. They hurt us today with the cutback runs, getting around the NFL scores SUNDAY'S GAMES Bengals 35, Bills 21 Browns 17, Redskins 14 Stealers 16, Chiefs 10 Jets 38, Dolphins 34 49ers 48, Chargers 10 Colts 24, Patriots 21 Broncos 35, Rams 24 Eagles 31, Cardinals 21 Bears 16, Packers 0 Falcons 17, Bucs 10 Giants 13, New Orleans 12 TONIGHT'S GAME Raiders at Seattle, 9 p.m. Brady bowls to dollars BY TERRY FLYNN The Cincinnati Enquirer The $90,000 first brize in the three-day, $525,000 Seventh annual Hninkp Siitier Classic bowl- ins tournament at Western Bowl Landers Samora to sidelines Denver, which lost to New Orleans, 42-0 a week ago, handed the L.A. Rams their fourth straight defeat, 35-24, as John Elway threw three TD passes.

New England's Jason Staurovsky missed a 27-yard field goal as time ran out to preserve the Colts' 24-21 win, moving Indianapolis into second place in the AFC East. The Steelers broke a four-game losing streak with a win over Kansas City. The Chiefs played without leading rusher Paul Palmer, who was suspended by coach Frank Gansz for "conduct detrimental to the team." NFL roundup, Page B-4. with win Bearcat-nap, 75-63 "In the end I felt Glover was the difference," said NKU coach Ken Shields, whose team fell to 3-1. Tate, invisible in the first half, spurred UC with four quick points to give the Bearcats a 33-24 lead.

He also added three three-point goals and helped loosen NKU's interior pressure on Glover. "Man, I like that," a beaming Glover said. "Outside shooting if those guys (teammates) make those, I'll be able to go one-on-one inside." Freshman guard Vic Carstarphen had breathed life into comatose UC by hitting two three-point bombs in the early stages. UC had been standing like mannequins, lobbing the ball around the perimeter while Glover battled three-man coverage, until Carstarphen came in midway through the first half. But Carstarphen also fired up two airballs, and NKU didn't budge from its (Please see UC, Page B-9) XU meets Marietta at Gardens tonight, Page B-8.

Earnest Byner's fourth-quarter touchdown run gave Cleveland a come-from-be-hind victory in Washington and put the Browns one game ahead of Indianapolis in the chase for the second AFC wild-card spot. In two games against the Jets this year, Miami's Marino has passed for 874 yards and two losses. The Dolphins are now 5-8 overall and, incredibly, 0-7 in the AFC East. The Chargers began the day 4-8, winners of two straight and only two games behind in the AFC West, but 49ers quarterback Joe Montana connected for a 96-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice to lead the rout. Elsewhere around the league: THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER The Cleveland Browns kept their playoff hopes alive while almost certainly killing the Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins chances of defending their title.

Dan Marino passed for 353 yards and five touchdowns, but the Dolphins are still win-less in the AFC East this season. The Chargers retired the jersey of six-time All-Pro quarterback Dan Fouts, then made him watch Mark Malone and Babe Laufenberg combine to lead San Diego to a 48-10 loss to San Francisco. Just another given Sunday in the wild and wacky NFL. 7 ff jW- If UC opens Whips NKU after BY TOM GROESCHEN The Cincinnati Enquirer The Gong Show panel nearly rung them up, but the Cincinnati Bearcats awoke in time to win their season basketball opener Sunday night. UC's 75-63 victory over overseas rival Northern Kentucky was earned through a second-half revival.

The smallish crowd of 3,149 at Cincinnati Gardens dozed through a poorly-played first half that saw UC wheeze to a 27-22 lead. UC shot only 31.3 from the floor in that span, NKU only 29.6. "We were terrible in the first half," said UC center Cedric Glover. Glover and newcomer Andre Tate, a 6-foot-5 guard and junior college transfer, fueled the second half surge that wore down the outmanned Norsemen. Glover scored 14 of his game-high 23 points after halftime, while Tate scored all 17 of his points in the second half.

Glover, UC's 6-foot-8 meal ticket at center, was finally able to wriggle free from NKU's various collapsing zones. didn't leave the west! side of Cincinnati this year. For the second straight year, a local bowler grabbed the top prize as 36-year-old, Kevin Brady of Mt. Airy, who grew up just three blocks from Western Bowl, outlasted and outshpt 1,151 other entrants. Cincinnatian Len Ramsey was the 1987 winner.

Yet Brady, who bowls in the Erwin C. Hoinke Sr. Memorial League at Western on Tuesday (Please see HOINKE, Page B-9) UC 23 Glenn Hartong (or The Cincinnati Enquirer senior center Cedric Glover dominated with points and 1 0 rebounds Sunday niqht..