By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

McKENZIE, Tenn. - To see that Bethel had 203 yards on the ground is hardly surprising. With backs like Adrain Smith, Terrance Bell, Ricky Currie and Antonio Brown Sr., it stands to reason that the Wildcats can get it done on the ground.

But ignore the Wildcat pass attack at your peril. Wildcat quarterback Ronnie Jankovich is throwing for 184 yards per game, the Wildcats as a team is heaving it for 211 yards per contest and 15 times receivers have hauled in passes while in the end zone.

Saturday night, the Cats had 300 passing yards. Jankovich had the asbestos fingers, completing 17 of 22 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Most of those five incompletions were drops. There were no interceptions. Jankovich said he is developing more and more confidence as the starting triggerman for Bethel.

"It felt really good tonight," he said. "Everyone was clicking and everyone knew what they were doing out there before we even ran the play."

"Ronnie played a great game," said Smith. "He was finding receivers and they did a great job catching the ball and that takes pressure off of us and it has the other defense on their toes, thinking what we are going to do next."

Having backs like Bethel has makes Bethel even more unpredictable.

"It's amazing to have backs like we have," Jankovich said. "When Adrain and Terrance carry the ball and you hit them once, you better bring two or three more guys because they don't go down easy."

Being more balanced tends to make Bethel a more dangerous offensive team.

"When we pass the ball, you can't stack nine men in the box," Jankovich said. "And all I have to do is put it out there and they'll make the catch."

"We have six or seven receivers who can make plays," said receiver Joevaris Carter, who had four catches for 41 yards and a TD. "Having guys who can run takes pressure off of us."

Receiver Buck Reed, who had a TD catch, said it's fun seeing the offense open up.

"It feels good throwing the ball, mixing it up," he said. "It keeps other teams off balance that way; they have to respect the pass and run. When they start respecting the run, that opens up the pass and when they respect the pass, that opens up the run."

Smith wouldn't say if this improving balanced attack would make Bethel dangerous. But he did express some confidence in Bethel's ability.

"We have a game plan and we stick to it," he said. "We try to make the most out of all of it, whether it's passing or running."

CURRIE GETS THE CALL: For three years, Bethel had in the playbook a halfback pass out of a reverse set. Saturday night, Cumberland was the first guinea pig for it. Ricky Currie streaked around the left side after taking the handoff from Jankovich and chunked a 29-yard TD pass to Julian Tyler.

"We'd been working on this for three years and we finally ran it in a game," said Carter. "He made a good throw and Julian made a good catch."

CUMBERLAND'S OCTOBER WOES: Many may or may not know that Cumberland University was the victim of the worst loss in college football history. On Oct. 7, 1916, just a bit over 91 years ago, Cumberland visited Georgia Tech's Grant Field and suffered a 222-0 loss. Incidentally, the Yellow Jackets were coached by John Heisman, whose name is affixed to one of the top prizes in college football. Heisman was disgruntled after Cumberland's baseball team beat Heisman's Yellow Jacket baseball team the previous spring 22-0 and it was alleged that Cumberland's team used "ringers" in that game to gain unfair advantage. Heisman's Ramblin' Wreck exacted its toll. Cumberland also suffered a 100-0 setback to Sewanee that season. CUmberland started its football program in 1894 and routinely scheduled Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Mississippi A&M (now Mississippi State) and other SEC schools in the early days.