53-year-old Joe Zink, of Salem, who fled from police on a motorcycle at speeds reaching 80 miles per hour, was arrested and charged with resisting law enforcement with a vehicle.

According to Washington County Deputy Wayne Blevins, he spotted Zink on a motorcycle traveling west on State Road 65 near Livonia and clocked him traveling 72 miles per hour.

The police report indicated when Blevins attempted to stop Zink, he accelerated. Zink then turned onto State Road 337 passing several Amish horses and buggies. After about a three mile pursuit Zink stopped.

Blevins approached Zink with his weapon drawn and had to order Zink off the motorcycle several times. He then had to tell Zink three times to get on the ground and had to threaten Zink with a Taser before he complied.

Zink told police he did not want a ticket and had enough bad luck for five years and he was en route to watch his child’s ball game in Paoli when he was stopped.

That is when the officer told Zink he was going to be arrested due to the seriousness of the crime.

On the way to jail, Zink then tried to get the officer to change his account on what happened, which the officer refused.

According to details from an affidavit for probable cause, the investigating Indiana State Trooper states that Casey Crain’s live-in boyfriend admitted beating Leelan Crain to a friend.

Jamie Lykins, 24, who was arrested Monday afternoon for Battery resulting in death and neglect of a dependent, both Class A Felonies, told police the boy had fallen from a bed where he was sleeping and received the injuries that took his life.

Leelan was originally taken to St. Vincent Hospital and was transferred by air ambulance to Kosair Children’s Hospital Saturday evening, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1:41 a.m. Sunday.

Events unfolded quickly on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 7 at Casey Crain’s house near Salem.

Leelan was taken into the bedroom for a nap and at some point, was found unresponsive and taken to the local hospital.

That’s where the stories differ.

After Salem Police Officer Tim Miller was called to St. Vincent Hospital to investigate possible abuse on Leelan, Miller questioned Lykins and was told the injuries came from a fall from the bed where the child was sleeping.

The affidavit also states Lykins also told police he had been living with Crain since Leelan was about a month old. He told police he thought of Leelan as his own son.

Leelan’s mother, Casey Crain then told Officer Miller that Leelan had been crying and that Lykins was angry and took the child into the bedroom to put him down for a nap.

Lykins told police Crain put the boy down to sleep and the couple began watching television and heard a thud that they assumed was the child falling out of bed.

Lykins told police that they entered the bedroom and found Leelan on the floor and that he had the injuries described.

Crain advised in the affidavit that she attempted to intervene, but Lykins told her that he would take care of the matter.

The affidavit states that Crain also told police when Lykins took Leelan into the bedroom, he turned a country music radio station on high volume and she could hear Leelan crying continuously for about 45 minutes, followed by silence.

Crain told police she assumed the boy had fallen asleep.

After checking on the baby later, she saw that the baby was severely bruised, not breathing properly and was semiconscious.

According to the affidavit, Lexi Livingston and Gregory Lee had went to Crain’s home because they were all planning to go fishing on Saturday evening, Sept. 7.

Livingston told police that when they arrived, they knew the child needed medical attention.

According to police, Livingston said that Lykins did not want to take Leelan to the hospital because he knew police and child services would be called.

Livingston and Lee convinced Crain and Lykins to take Leelan to the hospital. Livingston and Lee drove them to the hospital because neither Crain nor Lykins had driving privileges.

Police also interviewed Dawn L. Walker, who had been asked to babysit Leelan while the couples went fishing.

Walker advised police that she arrived late, about 7p, and Livinston and Lee were there.

Walker told police that when she entered the house, Lykins spoke to her and said, “We have a problem. I beat the fuck out of baby Lee Lee.”

Circuit Court Judge Larry Medlock was presented with the information contained in the probable cause affidavit, which result in an arrest warrant being issued for Lykins.

Indiana State Troopers located Lykins and arrested him at a convenience store on West State Road 56 at approximately 3:15 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Bail was set at $80,000 full cash with $7,000 cash plus $360,000 surety or $7,000 cash plus $720,000 property.

The Kentucky Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Leelan indicated varying areas and stages of bruising on the child.

The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma on the head.

Assisting in the investigation was the Salem City Police Department.

The case is still under investigation.

Funeral services for Leelan, who was born Dec. 8, 2012, will be held Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Weathers Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Crown Hill Cemetery.

Visitation will be Wednesday from 11 a.m. to the time of service.

CheckIN Game, Indiana’s online harvest reporting system for hunters, has been made more user friendly going into the fall deer and turkey hunting seasons.

Several upgrades now allow hunters who previously used CheckIN Game to view past harvest data.
“One real benefit is that you can now look up your confirmation number if you lose it,” said Mitch Marcus, DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife’s wildlife chief. “Last year this was not an option. This makes the process easier for hunters and DNR staff.”

Deer and turkey hunters can report their harvest for free using any device with Internet connectivity at CheckINGame.dnr.IN.gov without having to take the animal to a check station.

“This saves hunters time and money by allowing them to check in their game from the convenience of their home or directly in the field,” said Mark Reiter, DNR Fish & Wildlife director.

Last fall, hunters checked in 53,389 deer and 330 fall turkeys online. DNR officials have said participation in the system will continue to increase as more hunters discover its ease and convenience.

Hunters using CheckIN Game must write the confirmation number they are provided on the temporary tag they place on their harvested deer or turkey. An enhancement to the system allows conservation officers to use a confirmation number to check the validity of harvested game, eliminating the need for hunters to have a printed confirmation receipt.

CheckIN Game will be available on Sept. 15, which is the start of the urban zone deer season. The system will be available for all deer seasons and fall turkey seasons.
Hunters still can report their deer or turkey at any of more than 500 traditional check stations. A list of check stations by county is in the 2013 Indiana Hunting & Trapping Guide at Hunting.IN.gov.

Another scam has recently begun to surface in southeastern Indiana and could very well be occurring statewide. Though not a new scam, it has been successful for the scammers in other areas of the United States. The scam works like this; a person will receive a phone call advising them they have placed second or third in the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes and have won hundreds of thousands of dollars and they are asked to wire money via Western Union cover taxes and processing fees. DON’T FALL FOR THIS SCAM!

If you receive a call such as this, ask yourself this question, “Did I enter the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes?” If you didn’t enter or send anything in, how could you be a winner? If you did enter, check the phone number from which you received the call, particularly the area code. Visit http://www.bennetyee.org/ucsd-pages/area.html to get a listing of area codes. The most recent calls in southeastern Indiana originated from area code “876,” a Jamaican area code. If the area code is from outside the U.S., BEWARE!

The actual Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes winners are never contacted by phone and they do not have to pay any money up front to receive their cash prize. It is important to remember, if you fall for one of these scams and send money to some location within the U.S, it’s nearly impossible for U.S. law enforcement to recover the money and locate the scammers. If the money is sent outside the United States, there is absolutely nothing U.S. law enforcement can do to help you recover your loss. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. DON’T BE A VICTIM!!

According to the Washington County Prosecutors office James Lykins, 24, of Salem,  was arrested this afternoon for causing the death of 8 month old toddler Leelan Crain.

He lived at 602 1/2 Ridgeview Drive in Salem.

Lykins was arrested at 3:15pm today at a convenience store on State Road 56 East in Salem and has been charged with Battery causing death, a Class A Felony and Neglect of a minor, also a Class A Felony.

Lykins was the live-in boyfriend of Leelan Crain’s mother, Casey.

Lykins has been taken into custody at the Washington County Detention Center and awaits his initial hearing.

Leelan was pronounced dead before 2 a.m. Sunday morning after being taken to Kosairs Children’s Hospital in Louisville Saturday evening.

According to the Indiana State Police,  Leelan’s mother,  Casey Crain, discovered her son Saturday evening and was unresponsive.

Crain took her son to St. Vincent Salem Hospital. Leelan was then taken to Kosair by helicopter ambulance.

The Indiana State Police will continue to investigate this.

Stay tuned to WSLM for more on this and other stories.

The Brownstown Central Band of Braves Band Boosters Organization will be having a fish and tenderloin fry this Friday on 09/13/2013 before the Boys Football game between the Braves and Salem Lions.

For the Salem fans coming up to the game, stop by and support the Brownstown Band. All proceeds go to benefit the Brownstown Central Band of Braves.

Serving time is 4:30 to 6:30 PM on Friday 09/13/2013

Serving:  Choice of Fish or Tenderloin Sandwich.  Chips.  Drinks.  Dessert and hot-dogs for kids.

Location: BCHS Cafeteria (located through the main office entrance).

Cost: $5.00

The free Ford Hoosier Outdoor Experience has carved a niche on the state’s September calendar as it enters its fifth year.

On Sept. 21-22, that tradition re-awakens at Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis and sets the stage for another.

Traditional Arts Indiana, which debuted last year, will expand its on-site offerings. Drum makers and musicians, a hoop net maker, a plant tradition bearer, and a limestone crafter and gravestone maker will teach participants about their crafts.

TAI is just one of more than 50 outdoor activities offered free. Just about everything from archery and target shooting to mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing and kayaking is offered at no cost to participants. All equipment is provided. All activities, parking and admission are free.

A record 25,500 people attended last year. Room for more awaits in the heavily wooded, spacious, historic 1,700 acres of former Army base. Participants can even bring their own food, although food booths will be available. To view a video of last year’s highlights, see http://youtu.be/knvmmJ8DquQ.

The Ford Hoosier Outdoor Experience runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day that weekend. Made possible by the generosity of Central Indiana Ford dealers, the event is presented by the DNR and the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation. The goal is to introduce people to outdoor activities they may have never tried.

Online advance registration at hoosieroutdoorexperience.IN.gov is requested. Watch there or Facebook.com/HoosierOutdoorExperience for updates and details.

To volunteer help see hoosieroutdoorexperience.IN.gov. For questions about volunteering, contact volunteer coordinator Cheryl Hampton, (317) 233-1002, champton@dnr.IN.gov.

Fort Harrison State Park (stateparks.IN.gov/2982.htm, 5753 Glenn Road, Indianapolis, 46216) is the place to find free fun on Sept. 21-22.

Fun can be found in the rest of the outdoors of Indiana all year long but it probably won’t be free

The Pioneer Village at Spring Mill State Park will come to life with historical re-enactors, crafts, demonstrations and musical entertainment during the annual Tri Kappa Candlelight Tour on Sept. 21.

The tour is from 4-9 p.m. and is sponsored by service sorority Kappa Kappa Kappa’s Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Mitchell.

Dressed in traditional pioneer clothes, Tri Kappa members and their families and Spring Mill employees will re-create life in the mid-1800s in the houses and buildings of the restored Pioneer Village.

Visitors should bring a flashlight. Tri Kappa members will sell concession and food items in the carriage house.

The event is free, although the standard park admission fee of $5 per in-state vehicle and $7 per out-of-state vehicle applies. Buses will shuttle visitors from the campground and inn parking lots to the village.

Tri Kappa is a statewide sorority that supports community and state charities as well as educational and cultural projects. The Mitchell chapter has sponsored the Spring Mill Candlelight Tour since 1967. It has become a popular kick-off event for the week-long Persimmon Festival in Mitchell.

Spring Mill State Park (stateparks.IN.gov/2968.htm) is at 3333 State Road 60 East, Mitchell, 47446.

Steve Warriner, an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist, will be a special guest on Coffee Club in the morning at 8a on WSLM 97.9 FM and AM 1220.

He will be talking about his new record coming out.

Warriner has released eighteen studio albums, including six on MCA Records, and three each on RCA Records, Arista Records and Capitol Records. He has also charted more than fifty singles on the Billboard country singles charts, including ten Number One hits: “All Roads Lead to You“, “Some Fools Never Learn“, “You Can Dream of Me“, “Life’s Highway“, “Small Town Girl“, “The Weekend“, “Lynda“, “Where Did I Go Wrong“, and “I Got Dreams“, and “What If I Said“, a duet with Anita Cochran from her album Back to You. Three of his studio albums have been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies in the United States.

In addition to writing or co-writing most of his own songs, Wariner holds several writing credits for other artists, including Number One hits for Clint Black and Garth Brooks, as well as singles for Bryan White and Keith Urban. Other artists with whom he has worked include Nicolette Larson, Glen Campbell, Mark O’Connor, Asleep at the Wheel and Brad Paisley. Wariner has also won four Grammy Awards: one for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, and three for Best Country Instrumental, the most recent in 2010 for “Producer’s Medley” from the album Steve Wariner, c.g.p., My Tribute to Chet Atkins. Steve Wariner was one of only four guitar players in the world to be given the “Certified Guitar Player” (CGP) award by Chet Atkins (five including Atkins himself).

POSTGAME QUOTES VS. OAKLAND RAIDERS 9/8/13

COLTS HEAD COACH CHUCK PAGANO & PLAYERS

Head Coach Chuck Pagano

Opening Statement:

“Alright, injury-wise Dwayne Allen is the only guy that didn’t come back. He went out with hip injury I think in the third quarter, that ball down the middle, kind of landed wrong. But it’s a hip and I don’t, until we get an MRI and a scan on that, don’t know exactly what his status is, it’ll be day-to-day. We’ve got a couple other guys nicked up but nothing significant. Hats off to the Raiders. We knew that they had a good football team, a talented football team. We knew the quarterback was a talented, talented guy and how important it was to contain him. And obviously they did a great job and had a great plan, but congratulations to everybody in that locker room: our players, our coaches. They did a phenomenal job. Our players did an unbelievable job of just hanging tough. We always talk about the process. We talk about playing 60 minutes, all you got, one play at a time, don’t judge. We come out smoking, go up 14-0, then you go in at 14-7, you come out and you kind of hit a lull there for a little while. They score 10 unanswered points and things like that, but that’s why you play 60 minutes. It came down to a last-play situation. We were trying our dangdest to get that guy on the ground and we knew it was going to be tough because you can get into situations where you go after a guy like that and you may have a guy free, and we had guys off the edge and in position, but the guy’s one heck of an athlete. Again, credit (Terrelle) Pryor on that. He did a heck of a job. Our guys played their tails off. They overcame probably some coaching a little bit. We got confidence in our guys and going for it on fourth-and-that-much, middle of the field, we could say whatever. But that’s how I feel about our team, both sides of the ball and special teams. We’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to play aggressive. So we’ll take a look at it. Like we said, we don’t want to play our best ball today. We want to play better than we played today next Sunday, a week from now, against the Dolphins. You want to play your best ball at the end of the season. So we’ll take a look at the tape, but there’s a lot of outstanding, outstanding performances. The quarterback was unbelievable. Reggie (Wayne) was unbelievable. Reggie is Reggie. Darrius Heyward-Bey, the play that he made toward the end stretching, reaching, grinding for a first down and then getting a personal foul penalty was critical. And then the scramble for the touchdown by the quarterback. The play of the defense, the way they hung in there and hung in there and held these guys out and made the play at the end, (Antoine) Bethea. I think (LaRon) Landry, we were wondering what we were going to get out of Landry, right? Well, I think it was 15 total tackles on the stat sheet is what I saw, 10 unassisted and five assists. I’m missing some guys. The pressure situation, sack situation, you’re probably going to ask me. We gave up some hits, but credit them. We knew coming in that Dennis (Allen) and Tarver, that’s their mindset. We knew we were going to get pressure and they did a good job. But when we protected and we keep that guy upright in the pocket, he’s going to burn a lot of people and our guys made a ton of plays. I’m very, very proud. I want to thank the fans. They were unbelievable today. When we needed them most, they came through at the end of the game and it was crucial. Fire away.”

Were you guys doing anything wrong offensively from when you had those two strong drives to open the game until that last scoring drive of the fourth quarter?

“No because you come out with, like you said, you have the two drives, the touchdown drives and then you kind of stall. It’s self-inflicted wounds. We talked about it. You have negative plays, you have a holding penalty and it’s first-and-25. You have a negative yardage run and it’s second-and-13, second-and-14. Credit them for making those plays, but it’s awful hard to stay ahead of the chains and stay on track. Again, we didn’t go into a shell. It was more either a penalty, a negative play or a sack that took us out because we still drove the ball. We still got it to midfield. We were still on their side of the 50 but then we’d shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Talk about the confidence you have when you need a score and you have a quarterback like Andrew Luck.

“It’s huge. It’s defense go out and make a play, get a stop. If you give him, like you saw last year, seven fourth-quarter comebacks and you got a quarterback like Andrew and you got playmakers around him, you feel good about playing aggressive, doing some different things. Nothing crazy, out of the ordinary, but you got a guy like that, it sure makes you feel good. If there’s a minute left on the clock and we need a score, there’s no one I’d rather have under center than that guy.”

Can you talk about the difficulty of defending Terrelle Pryor when he breaks into those sandlot-style plays?

“That’s exactly what it becomes. The option was the option. They did a nice job with their scheme and we kind of got the thing calmed down. But the one drive where he had the two long runs on the read option coming out to the open side. Again, credit them. They did a nice job with their scheme. And then when they drop back to pass and you think you got him, we talked all the time about upfield shoulder, keep him in the pocket, keep him contained. Those things are easier said than done. It’s hard, especially in the opener. You watch the tape and you watch the preseason and it’s really hard to gauge and know exactly what you’re going to get. We knew we had a heck of a football player coming here, a talented guy, a great athlete, a guy who could do that. We knew that and we knew what we’d be in for. But again, he did a great job. It’s a great learning lesson for us because we’ll be able to go back and look at the tape and the next time we have to face it, the next time we have to see it, we’ll be better the next time.”

Terrelle Pryor’s mobility gave you fits all game but you made plays when you needed to. What does that say about the character of the defense?

“It says everything. That’s our whole mindset. That’s the whole mindset of that locker room. That’s what it’s all about. It’s about making a play and when they had to make a play, they made them. I think we were plus-two in the turnover deal, and I’ve talked about it all the time: if you’re plus-two, you’ve got an 83, 84 percent chance of winning a football game. So the one at the end of the game and the other one that we had were major. Those guys believe in each other, they believe in the system, they believe in the scheme, they believe in the call. Again, the guy was making plays but we talked about it the whole week. We talked about it last night in the meetings and defensively we talked about it in the team meeting. We said this guy is going to get outside and he’s going to make some plays. Don’t worry about it, just move on. Play through it. Don’t judge. Even when things are going well, just keep playing through it. When they’re not, just keep playing through it. And ultimately put yourself in position, play hard, play hard for 60 minutes and when the play shows up, make sure you’re there to make it.”

What did the refs say to you on the non-call on the deep pass to T.Y. Hilton that looked like it could have been pass interference?

“The guy told me that he was turned and making a play on the ball. You guys can, you guys saw the jumbotron, you guys can make your own judgments on it. It is what it is. We ended up getting a call late that worked out for us, so that’s how the ball bounces sometimes.”

You saw a lot of these fourth-quarter comebacks from a TV screen last year. What was it like being right in the middle of that situation this time?

“It was awesome. Much rather be down there than anywhere else. It was great. And again, it goes back to the trust and accountability. These guys prepare, they prepared their tail off. I don’t think any team around is more ready for that type of situation than our team, just because of history and just because of what they went through a year ago. That helped us. Even though we have 19 new faces out there on the 53-man roster, those guys saw it and they understand the mindset of that locker room. It certainly was great to be out there and it was really good when Antoine (Bethea) picked that ball off, and then went to a knee and did exactly what he’s supposed to do on an interception there in the fourth quarter. It was great and I can’t tell you how excited I am for this organization and this football team and the city and the fans, they’re unbelievable.”

What did you establish today from a running-game standpoint?

“We made runs. We blocked up some things and Vick (Ballard) hit some holes and you saw what Ahmad (Bradshaw) can do in limited amount of snaps and exposure. But we knew coming in, and he’s just going to get better and better as he gets back in the mix. I thought our guys blocked these guys up. Again, give those guys credit, they’ve got a formidable front seven. They got big guys, they got athletic guys. It’s tough to go down after down after down, slugfest. There’s going to be a lot of sparing going on. But there were some plays there that were blocked up really well. I think we averaged 3.9 or 4.0 in the first half per carry. We had some good runs. I know we probably left some yards out there and we had some times, some penetration that we’ve got to clean up where we had some negative plays because of hits in the backfield. But we’ll go to work and get that fixed.”

Were you trying to get Ahmad Bradshaw eased into that today?

“We had a number. I don’t know what the stats were and exactly how many he had. But we had a number and we weren’t going to overdo it and press the envelope there.”

Safety Antoine Bethea

What was the mindset of this team going into the final drive? Terrelle Pryor was able to get some third down conversions in the third and fourth quarter, he’s threatening again, what was the mindset going into that final drive when you got that pick?

“Play 60 minutes. We said he’s going to make some plays. As far as the defense side of the ball, we just got to continue to play hard, make plays, we hung in there and was able to make a play.”

Playing a quarterback that’s quick on his feet like Terrelle Pryor, does that make it difficult to pass rush as well?

“It makes the defense disciplined. You got to be disciplined in the rush lanes and things like that. Like you say, he’s a good player and when you have a quarterback who’s mobile like that, it’s going to be tough. Like I said, it’s always good we can go watch film and make the corrections after a win.”

You guys have a mobile quarterback too. What about Andrew Luck’s 19-yard touchdown run?

“12 is looking good out there. He’s able to step up in the pocket and go ahead and get that go ahead score. It helped us a lot.”

Running Back Ahmad Bradshaw

Defense had their hands full with Terrelle Pryor, obviously that play at the end of the game, how big was that?

“That was huge. Like I said, they stuck in there, they fought, they got a couple first downs that we didn’t want. Like I said, they pealed their ears back and kept fighting and we were able to pull that out with an interception at the end.”

Your thoughts about the job by Vick Ballard today getting the bulk of the carries?

“Vick did a great job, man. He took what was given to him and he did a great job running the ball today.”

Even if it wasn’t perfect, you know as a veteran the importance of getting that first game. What’s it like being 1-0 after Week 1?

“It’s a great feeling, it’s a great start and it’s a start to a great season I think.”

Wide Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey

What goes through your head when you see Andrew Luck running at you?

“I am still trying to finish my route and I see 12 coming at me, I have a guy on me, block him, I turn and Andrew scored.”

What kind of leadership does Luck bring in fourth quarter comebacks?

“It’s great. We just listen to his command and follow him.”

How does it feel to get a win against your old team? 

“It is always good to get a win in the NFL.”

How do you keep the momentum from the first two possessions going into the second half?

“We just have to adjust. (The Raiders) started throwing different things at us and at halftime we tried to make some adjustments. This is the NFL. They get paid too. They’re going to try and do some crazy stuff, but we just have to keep on rolling and stay on schedule.”

Was it helpful to have the defense step up at the end of the game?

“I was happy that they made that play. (Antoine Bethea) made a big play at the end and we need that one.”

Quarterback Andrew Luck

Was your touchdown run a designed draw or did you just see something open there?

“No, it was a pass. They doubled Reggie (Wayne) so that means one more guy out of the box, if you will. Great protection. Sometimes when it just opens up like that, you can’t help but go. I knew I wanted a first down if I took off. Then Darrius (Heyward-Bey) did a great job of sort of coming out of his route and just pinning a guy, blocking his man in and led a nice lane into the end zone. I’m glad we could score that touchdown. I really am and what a stop by the defense at the end.”

Does this ever get old? We’ve come to expect these fourth-quarter comebacks.

“Yeah, I guess the fans shouldn’t leave early. I don’t think any Colts fans ever do which is one of the great things about playing here. A win’s a win’s a win. We know it’s tough to get wins in the National Football League. Obviously you don’t want it, you don’t want to have to go down to the wire every game. Oakland, tough guys, tough team. Defensively, they did a great job. It’s not fun watching Terrelle Pryor run around and do his thing. I’m sure for everybody else watching it’s pretty electric. What a great job he did. I think something this team has is some fortitude, some backbone. We managed to eke it out again I guess.”

What was the difference between the first two drives and the last drive?

“I think just a little lack of focus here and there. It’s a credit to Oakland. They’re the ones we were playing. They put us in a tough bind. Again, we’re glad we won, but we’re going to go back and we’ll watch the film and we’ll get better. We will improve to Week 2.”

How did the success of the running game help you?

“I thought we established a great rhythm running the ball on those first couple drives. Still, coming out the first play of the half was a 10-yard gain. I think guys worked their butt off on the O-line all week. Wide receivers were blocking. I do think that that run game will continue to flourish and continue to do well.”

They brought a lot of pressure off the corners. How were you able to manage that?

“Part of their defensive nature is to be aggressive. At certain points, they did a good job of bringing some different blitzes, some tough blitzes. They got us a couple times but we went back and made sure after they got us, we knew how to figure it out and how to pick it up the next time. When it counted, we did pick up the blitzes and put a good drive together and scored that last touchdown. Again, credit to their defense. They made it very hard on us all afternoon.”

What happened on that fourth down sack?

“Tough play. Good tackle by the defensive guy. They sort of sniffed the play out. Obviously not ideal but we realize it’s a 60-minute ball game. A lot of things can happen. Obviously don’t want to put your defense in a short field like that, but defense does such a great job of responding to adversity. It’s such a tight-knit locker room. It’s not just three units: special teams, defense, offense. It truly is a Colts football team. We feed off of each other and if offense is failing, defense is going to pick us up, or special teams will pick us up. We try to do the same for them.”

Does this feel like last year?

“Some things, sure. I guess winning the late game is nice. We did have a couple of those. It’s a new year. I think every win is special, no matter rookie year, second year. I’m sure Reggie (Wayne) will say the same thing in his 13^th year and (Adam) Vinatieri. I think every win is special.”

Do you enjoy those fourth quarter drives? What’s so special about them?

“It doesn’t change your approach but I think the DNA of the team is that maybe there’s just a little extra focus when that comes. Maybe guys realize ‘Hey, let’s convert this.’ Maybe that little bit of pressure pushes us in a sense. We know we can’t live like that every week. We’ll lose our fair share at the end of the game if that continues to happen. Again though, I think Oakland put us in a tough spot.”

What was it like watching that last drive from the sideline?

“I’ll tell you Terrelle Pryor is a stud. He made some unbelievable plays. Guys don’t quit on the defensive line. You probably saw Rob Mathis running a total of a mile back and forth and he’s still going hard. Erik Walden, Bjoern (Werner), the interior guys, they work so hard. It paid off when that pick was thrown at the end. It’s fun to have our defense on our side.”

On that touchdown run, have you ever seen so much open field?

“No, I don’t think so. Again, they doubled Reggie (Wayne) which takes one extra body out of there. Then the O-line did a good job of pass-protecting and it seemed to open up in the middle.”

When did you decide you were going to run?

“I don’t know. I went through my reads and as I was sort of stepping up, you sort of realize ‘Hey man, there really is no one here.’ That decision: ‘Okay I can make the first down’ and you start running and ‘Okay let’s go for the end zone.’”

How about that block from Darrius Heyward-Bey?

“Great block from Darrius. Great block from Darrius. Sort of play ball, backyard. Come out of your route, don’t get the ball, see the quarterback running. It sort of looked like a box-out technique in basketball. But it’s legal and it got us in the end zone.”

What do you make of Darrius Heyward-Bey’s performance today?

“Darrius has been nothing but a great addition to this team. Football-wise, obviously he’s got the speed. He makes the plays. A big third-down conversion, or second-and-long and he gets it and we get a first down. That’s huge. The blocking on the touchdown run. Beyond that, he’s a great teammate. He’s a hard worker. We all talk about Reggie’s (Wayne) work ethic and that sort of legendary ability and Darrius is definitely on that path of work ethic. He’s a lot of fun to play with.”

Outside Linebacker Robert Mathis

How many miles do you think you ran today?

“About 5.3 miles. It was a hard fought game. (I’m) very, very tired. We were able to get the win so it was all worth it.”

Were you shocked about what you saw from Terrelle Pryor?

“That’s what we made adjustments for. That guy (Terrelle Pryor) is fast. He definitely showed up to play today. We just had to make one more play.”

What did you think of the secondary’s performance today?

“They are the MVP by far. We got to get on their level, so we have to pick our game up a little more.”

What did you think of the defensive performance today?

“We are still growing as a defense. Bend, but don’t break, but we’d rather not bend either. We are still working towards our goal.”

How does your group stick together against a guy like Terrelle Pryor?

“It is the group that we have. Nobody started pointing fingers or anything like that, we just stuck together. We know it was going to take all of us to get this guy under control. We were able to do that in the end.”

Cornerback Greg Toler

Your interception in the first quarter, Antoine Bethea’s interception that sealed the game, how big was the play of the secondary today?

“We just tried to come in and execute our game plan. We’re just trying to keep the deep ball off of us, we executed on that part. We gave up a few plays with Terrelle Pryor stretching the plays on defense so we just had to contain our man, but I think we did pretty good. We can go back in this week, work on our mistakes and get ready for next week.”

How difficult was it with Terrelle Pryor being able to make plays with his feet?

“It gets hard, talking from a DB aspect, just covering your guy with your back to the quarterback. You try not to grab because the refs, it’s an offensive league. It’s just kind of hard not knowing where he’s scrambling to, if he’s up on your back, the guy’s trying to run a comeback, it’s pretty hard, but I think we did well and we can get better.”

Describe the feeling when you see Antoine Bethea intercept that last pass?

“I fell to my knees because you know the defense we were in, he’s sneaky, he always does that at practice. So I think Terrelle Pryor, he baited him.”

Wide Receiver Reggie Wayne

What did you think of the team’s start to the game?

“We did what we wanted in the beginning of the game. We wanted to come out and start fast. We had two good drives offensively, kind of had a little spill in the middle, but we knew it was going to be that kind of game. First game of the year, it was tough but a win is a win.”

What is your confidence level with Andrew Luck?

“Yeah, he plays better than the average second-year quarterback. He inspires everybody in the huddle; nothing seems to get him down even when they took the lead today. We went out there and he said ‘This is going to be the drive, this is going to be the drive to win the game right here.’ He is always confident and he knows it what he can do with his ability. We are blessed to have him and have nice strong legs. He plays like he is a 15-year vet.”

What does the team use as inspiration to come back from behind?

“It’s just doing what we preach. We preach 60 minutes no matter what. Games are going to be tough. Guys who were here last year will understand it that you haven’t played a game until a game is completely over. The new guys are starting to get a little of that. It’s just never quit and continue to play, no matter what, continue to believe in each other and just hope that we go out there and do the things that we are capable of doing.”

Can you talk about Luck’s ability to run the ball on that last touchdown?

“It was big. Like I just said, we are lucky to have him on our team. Me and myself, I am not used to having a quarterback that can run like that. He does a great job with his legs. He can keep drives alive and continue to move the chains, scramble for big gains and score touchdowns. A big play by him, way to read the coverage and believe in his ability.”

Were you pleased with the balanced offense in the first half today?

“Yeah, it was. We wanted to start off fast but now we got to try to figure out how to take the same intensity into the second half. Throughout the game, we know it is not going to be perfect, we know it is going to be tough but some kind of way we have to continue to move the ball and keep the balance and continue to make plays and try to help our defense out a little bit.”