REPATRIATION VINATIERI KICK ENDS BACK-AND-FORTH THRILLER NEW ENGLAND 32, CAROLINA 29.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

HOUSTON - Perhaps the New England Patriots spend hours in rehearsal. Tom Brady must study his lines as Most Valuable Player, flawlessly leading his team down the field in the final minute. Adam Vinatieri must practice his role, coolly booting the game-winning kick. The rest of the Patriots know their parts, too, celebrating as confetti rains down.

Practice or not, New England knows the script. It's down Pat.

The Patriots won their second championship in three years and followed a thrillingly familiar formula, getting an MVP performance from Brady and a 41-yard field goal by Vinatieri with four seconds left to defeat Carolina 32-29 in Super Bowl XXXVIII in front of 71,525 at Reliant Stadium.

``What a game,'' Brady said after completing a Super Bowl-record 32 passes for a season-high 354 yards and three touchdowns. ``What a game. Fitting for the Super Bowl, I guess.''

The plot line wasn't much different than in New England's 20-17 victory over St. Louis two years ago, but this one - in which both teams traded haymakers and the lead in the fourth quarter - got rave reviews from the Patriots.

Perhaps it was because the Patriots, who finished their season with

15 consecutive victories, had to work so much harder for it.

``Two really tough teams out there,'' New England linebacker Mike Vrabel said. ``It was like Ali vs. Frazier. That's how it felt out there. We hit them, they hit us. We hit them, they hit us.''

Early on, it looked like a couple of offensive tomato cans had stepped into the ring. The game was scoreless for nearly 27 minutes, the longest drought at the start of the game in Super Bowl history.

As the game went from dreadful to divine, so did Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme. After looking lost early, he was spectacular in the fourth quarter. He rallied his team from an 11-point deficit by driving the Panthers to three touchdowns in the final period, the last on a pass to Ricky Proehl with 1:08 to play.

But Carolina kicker John Kasay hooked his kickoff out of bounds and New England had the ball at its own 40-yard line with three timeouts.

Brady passed the Patriots out of a first-and-20 hole when he found Deion Branch on a 17-yard pass to the Carolina 23 with eight seconds left.

That left it to Vinatieri, who had missed a 31-yard field-goal attempt and had a 36-yarder blocked in the first half, but made his fourth game- winner in the playoffs.

``Nobody makes all of them,'' New England coach Bill Belichick said. ``But if you've got to make one kick with everything on the line, he's the guy I want kicking it. That was the game and that is what Adam's here for.''

Vinatieri wasn't the only one playing for redemption. New England's offensive line, which had been ripped by Tampa Bay's Warren Sapp, didn't allow a sack for the third consecutive playoff game and opened enough holes for Houston native Antowain Smith to rush for 83 yards on 26 carries against one of the NFL's best front four. The Patriots totaled 127 yards on the ground.

``You guys can make fun of us all you want,'' said guard Joe Andruzzi, behind whom the Patriots ran much of the night. ``The O-line, the thing with Warren Sapp last week - I could care less about that. We are the quiet guys.''

Carolina made a lot of noise with its big plays. Delhomme hit Steve Smith for a 39-yard bomb and Muhsin Muhammad on an 85-yard strike - the longest in Super Bowl history - on a pair of perfectly thrown passes. And former UCLA star DeShaun Foster turned in the run of the night, busting through a couple of tackles on a 33-yard scoring run.

``It's frustrating we didn't get another chance,'' Delhomme said. ``That's the thing that's tough for us. We found a rhythm throwing the football, the line was blocking well, the receivers were making unbelievable catches and it's disappointing that we didn't get another chance to go back and get it and try to win it.''

The Panthers had plenty of other regrets - starting with Kasay's kick out of bounds. They committed 12 penalties, Delhomme's fumble set up the Patriots' first score and then there were some decisions Panthers coach John Fox might rue.

One was the decision to go for two points after Foster's touchdown run brought Carolina within 21-16. The other was the decision to stick with the running game for so long.

Tailback Stephen Davis had a tough time getting untracked, being held to 49 yards on 13 carries. But Delhomme - after starting 1 for 9 for 1 yard - finished with 323 yards passing.

``It was like we were always playing catch-up,'' Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker said. ``We did some good things but we were always behind.''

The Panthers did get the lead once, on Delhomme's bomb to Muhammad that put them ahead 22-21 with 6:53 to play. It was the first time New England had trailed in a game since Nov. 23 - right here against the Texans.

Just as they did then, the Patriots rallied.

They might not have been the best team, but they had the ball last. Exactly according to the script.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) PATENTED ENDING

Brady marches, Vinatieri kicks and New England claims its second Super Bowl in three years

Associated Press

(2 -- color) Adam Vinatieri (4) kicks the winning field goal with seconds remaining as the New England Patriots claim their second Super Bowl title in three years.

(3) Former UCLA standout DeShaun Foster leaps into the end zone for a Panthers touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press