The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 25

Singh struggling in quest for 10th win. B4 COuliKG Coverage of today's Bengals-Cowboys matchup. Editor Michael Perry, mperryenquirer.com, (513) 768-8381 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2004 FN Top of the First High school football playoffs I Colerain routs Elder 38-3 mil IkmA oV(( 0 Sports miiillllillHIII I WHIM! "inn i 1 Patter vs. mm Dominating 2nd half ends 3-year playoff skid vs. Elder The Associated PressROGELIO SOLIS Bearcats quarterback Glno Guldugll completed 19 of 26 passes for 308 yards and five touchdowns against Southern Miss on Saturday.

Bearcats ring up stunner atUSM Drill 21st-ranked Golden Eagles 52-24 By Tom Groeschen Enquirer staff writer Colerain football coach Kerry Coombs paced the field nervously before Saturday nighfs playoff showdown with Elder, admitting to having some butterflies. Halftime was another antacid test, with Colerain ahead only 10-3. As it turned out, Coombs need not have worried. The Cardinals, ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press state poll and seeded third in the playoffs, crushed two-time defending Division I state champion and sixth-seeded Elder 38-3 in a playoff opener at Colerain, in a game that was tight for 2Vz quarters.

A sellout home crowd of about 10,000 watched Colerain emphatically halt its three-year playoff losing streak to Elder, which included a bitter 24-23 defeat in the 2003 regional finals. "Ill be honest with you, it gets in your head," Coombs said of Elder's recent playoff dominance against the Cardinals. "If I said to you it wasn't crossing my mind tonight, I'd be lying. But if not in our heads anymore." tt7 Colerain's seven-point halftime lead had Coombs wondering, but then the Cardinals blew the Panthers away with a 21-0 third quarter. The Columbus Dispatch HIGH SCHOOLS See, Bizzarri state champions Jeff See's individual championship helped the Mid-dletown boys win the team state title at the Division I cross country race Saturday in Columbus.

La Salle finished second, followed by St Xavier. Mason's Angela Bizzarri (above) won the Division I girls' championship, her second such title. In Division II, the Taylor girls captured their second Division II title in three years after finishing second a year ago. In volleyball, Mercy and Seton both reached the Division I state semifinals, while Roger Bacon advanced in Division II. In girls' soccer, Indian Hill made the Division II state final four, but Lakota East fell in Division I.

CHCA reached the boys' Division III semifinals, and Lakota West advanced in Division I. But Indian Hill's boys were ousted. COVERAGE, B14 AUTO RACING Johnson eyes 4th straight win It's down to three races. The new 10-race format for the Nextel Cup championship stops in Phoenix today for the Checker Auto Parts 500. Jimmie Johnson will attempt to become the first driver to win four consecutive races since Jeff Gordon in 1998.

Kurt Busch, the series leader with races left in Phoenix, Darlington, S.C., and Homestead, will start 28th. Johnson trails Busch by 59 points. NEXTEL LINEUP, B4 PREVIEW, BU I By Bill Koch Enquirer staff writer HATTTESBURG, Miss. -The Victory Bell was ringing outside the University of Cincinnati locker room even though there were no Miami RedHawks in sight Yes, that's the same Victory Bell UC regained for the first time in four years by beating rival Miami on Sept 11. Apparently, it has more than one use.

In what has to be one of the most remarkable turn- i 4 7 iC) E3L The EnquirerERNEST COLEMAN Colerain quarterback Dominick Goodman picks up yardage in the second quarter. The top-ranked Cardinals led only 10-3 at halftime, but they took control with a 21-0 third quarter. tiuf 1 Coleraln's Terrence Sherrer drags an Elder player into the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter. Sherrer had 110 yards rushing and two touchdowns subbing for injured standout Mister Simpson. Colerain held a 320-146 edge in yards, 307 coming on the ground.

arounds in the country, UC. trounced No. 21 Southern Miss 52-24 on Saturday before 30,690 fans for their third straight win and the 500th in the 116-year history of the program. UC coach Mark Dantonio brought the bell along in an attempt to make the Bearcats feel at home at Roberts Stadium, a.k.a. The Rock, one of the toughest environments for a visiting team in Conference USA.

"We were going to do as many things as possible to indicate that this was going to be a home game for us," Dantonio said. "We knew it was going to be tough to play in The Rock, but we sort of took the attitude that this was our See COLERAIN, PageBtt FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS Colerain 38, Elder 3 St Xavier 14, La Salle 3 Moeller 38, Lakota West 7 Centerville 34, Mason 7 Indian Hill 45, Logan Elm 7 W. Lib. Salem East Clinton 52, Zane Trace 7 Coverage, B13 1 Passing the test Most Cincinnati touchdown passes in a game: 5: Gino Guidugli, in Saturday's 52-24 victory over South-em Miss. 4: Accomplished eight times, most recently by Guidugli in 2002 vs.

East i Carolina. Inside: Guidugli having strong finish to career, B8. Next for UC: Home vs. South Florida, 3:30 p.m. Nov.

20. Li The Enquirer ERNEST COLEMAN This, finally, should be The Year for Colerain BASEBALL Boston's Ortiz still swinging Even David Ortiz was a-mazed by this home run -a514-footerthathitthe lights down the right-field line of the Tokyo Dome. "I knew when I hit it that I got all of it," the Red Sox slugger said after the major-league All-Stars beat the Japanese stars 5-3 Saturday before 52,000. "I thought for a second that it might land in the Dominican (Republic)." INSIDER, B3 little house in here and we were going to make it special, and we were able to do that Maybe it worked. Maybe it didn't The Bearcats have so much going for them lately that it's hard to pinpoint exactly why they're playing so well.

"I've coached a lot of games in here and I don't know that I can remember one like this," said Jeff Bower, in his 14th year as the Southern Miss head coach. The Bearcats (5-4, 4-2 Conference USA) forced four turnovers and out- passion at places like Elder. It's real enough, but it's no greater than at Colerain, where the football boosters can tell you how the seventh- and eighth- grade teams are doing. What's it like when a community holds its breath for what it hopes will be a five-week run to a state title? The Colerain community would love to find out. Years end too soon.

The worry beads are never far away. A state title is a goal, an expectation, a quest and an exorcism. It's all of that at Colerain, depending on whom you talk to. The Cardinals have been so close. Heart-achy close, wide-right close, ineligible-player close.

Thisclose. This is the year. Should be. Looks to be. You never know.

Lord, let it be the year. We talk about football pride and The Time Is Now. That's the expectation on the back of the T-shirts worn by the fans at Colerain High. That the hope, the burden and the demand. The football playoffs are here, and with them the familiar, frightening sense at Colerain that this is The Year.

They've had Years before at Colerain. Thaf what happens when you go 49-1 in the last five regular seasons but exit early in the playoffs. Paul Daugherty See DAUGHERTY, Page B13 See UC, Page B8 Jones keeps America's team on cutting edge COLLEGE BASKETBALL Musketeers win exhibition opener The Xavier Musketeers showed they are still a work in progress Saturday in their 77-60 victory over Division II California (Pa.) at Cintas Center. STORY, UC NOTEBOOK, B5 Get to know Jerry Jones Record vs. Bengals: 3-1 Playoff appearances: 9 Title: Owner, President, General Manager, Dallas Cowboys College: Arkansas, co- captain of 1964 national Super Bowl titles: 3 Children working with team: 3 Coaches: Jimmy Johnson, Barry Swltzer, Chan Galley, Dave Campo, Bill .1 1 16 seasons under former coach Dave Campo, all 5-11 finishes, resulted in a three-year playoff absence.

That's commonplace in Cincinnati, where the Bengals have not made the postseason since 1990, but even a short drought was unacceptable in Dallas. Then Jones, apparently able to put aside some of his own ego, made his fifth coaching hire and brought in an equally large personality in Parcells. championship team Years with Cowboys: Record: 130-117 Best record: 13-3, 1992 I'm happy. I know they put a lot of time and effort (they spent $5 million on the ad campaign) into it I think if a good sign that there's so much support for the Dallas Cowboys, and I think that's manifested there. "I've got my own alligators right now, but I know it's very important for this franchise and its future." After winning three Super Bowls and compiling a 7946 overall record in Jones' first seven years as owner, the Cowboys went a combined 50-66 in the next seven.

Three By Mark Cumutte Enquirer staff writer Jerry Jones has won 130 regular-season games and three Super Bowls since buying the Dallas Cowboys on ft Jiut he arrived in Cincinnati on Saturday, in preparation for the game today between the Cowboys and Bengals, with perhaps his biggest victory fresh in his pocket On Tuesday, 55 percent of voters in Arlington, Texas, voted to help finance a $650 million retractable-roof stadi- Parcells Bengals vs. Cowboys Klckoff: 1 p.m., Paul Brown Stadium. TV: FOX. Radio: WLW-AM (700), WCKV-AM (1360), W0FX-FM (92.5). Inside: NFL previews, B6-7 An edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer um that all but assures the Cowboys will begin playing there in 2009.

It's all part of his plan to reinvent and reinvigorate the Cowboys organization. "I know our ownership was very, very happy about the result," Cowboys coach Bill Par-cells said. "If they're happy, Get live scores during today's Bengals-Cowboys game at Cincinnati.Com. Keyword: Bengals See COWBOYS, Page BU.