Doug Rosfeld would have taken the Victory Bell into the shower with him last year after Cincinnati beat Miami, but he's too smart for that. You see, Rosfeld is an offensive lineman.

        “An O-lineman knows you can't take a shower and ring the bell at the same time,” said fellow UC O-lineman Andy Weinheimer.

        O-linemen are a football team's Einsteins, able to memorize plays and audibles and each other's assignments and adapt on the fly to open the holes and protect the passer.

        And it's the skill people, of course, who get the headlines, highlights and hip-hip hoorays.

        But in front of every yardage- eating running back and laser-throwing quarterback there is an offensive line, and at UC it is not only good, it is mostly local.

        Center Rosfeld and right tackle Josh Gardner are from Moeller, left guard Weinheimer is from Loveland, right guard Kirt Doolin is from Covington Catholic and left tackle Shawn Murphy is from Oak Hills. All are No.1 at their positions, going into Saturday's game (2p.m.) against Miami at Nippert Stadium.

        On Saturday, you won't need to see the number on Rosfeld's back (50) to recognize him. He'll be the only behemoth not causing the ground to rumble; his feet won't even be touching the turf.

        After the pregame pep talk, UC's coaches will simply peel him off the ceiling and point him to the door and let him float on out.

        You'll have to excuse Rosfeld if he's a little pumped about this game. His mother and father are both UC grads, as are his brother, sister, brother-in-law, uncle and all of his aunts. Two of his cousins are students at UC.

        “This is my eighth UC-Miami game,” Rosfeld said. “My parents have had season tickets since I was a young pup. By Saturday, I'll have played in or personally attended eight of them.”

        During high school it ate at him that he wasn't able to attend the Victory Bell games; Moeller had team meetings on Saturdays. That is going to make this Saturday's game all the more intense and probably a bit melancholy. It's the last one he'll play in.

        When UC won the trophy back last year — during Miami's homecoming game, after Miami had humiliated UC the year before at Nippert Stadium 41-0 — it was an emotional moment for Rosfeld.

        “Doug's smile was just a little bit bigger than everybody else's,” Weinheimer said. “He was the guy who looked like a kid on Christmas morning.”

        Rosfeld was part of the contingent that hauled the Bell into UC's locker room after the UC victory. Once there, he wouldn't stop ringing it. Even when he left to go to the shower, he deputized somebody to keep ringing it.

        The O-linemen have been carting the bell all over the place this week: to the locker room, meeting rooms, everywhere.

        “I'm the personal guardian of the bell,” Rosfeld said. “It's not easy to lug around — it takes everything you've got for two people to lift it — but it's worth it. The ringing of it is a constant reminder of the tradition behind the rivalry.”

        Pride runs deep in O-linemen.

        “We're the custodians of the football program,” Rosfeld said. “We keep up the maintenance of things. We take the same approach to the Victory Bell.”

DAUGHERTY: Fans hard to find for UC football Martin's homecoming tonight UC's Rosfeld is a real bell-ringer

First victory, first loss motivate Akili
Browns Scouting Report
More honors for Dillon
Warrick says he's better blocking
1975 World Series: Game 5
Dykstra wants to work his way up
Yankees win third straight title
SULLIVAN: This old team is one for the ages
Mariners make offer to Piniella
Complete prep football coverage at Enquirer.com/prepfootball
Playoff spots come down to wire tonight
Steve Shuck's playoff projections
High stakes for Walnut Hills, West Hi
New offense boosts Anderson
Turnaround could turn into playoff berth for Winton
Blanchester's goal: Unbeaten season
N.Ky. teams warm up for playoffs
Girls soccer tournament roundup
4 N.Ky. teams in state volleyball tournament
Highlands runners lead regional meet