By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

McKENZIE, Tenn. - When Mid-America Nazerene coach Jed Stutgart sat in the film room and picked up his remote in preparation for his first-round NAIA football playoff game, he obviously noticed the ground proficiency of the Bethel College Wildcats.

Bethel has been known for being a grind-it-out one-two punch team with senior tailbacks Adrain Smith and Terrance Bell. Prior to Saturday, that tandem had rushed for 100 yards-plus each in a game 10 times through their career. They didn't disappoint Saturday against the Pionners. Bell ran for 124 yards and two TDs while Smith had 108 and one score, marking the 11th time this duo cracked the century mark in the same game, the 12th time it's happened since BC re-instituted football in 1993.

While Stutgart may have been planning for a powerful rushing juggernaut, he may not have planned for the aerial assault. Saturday, Bethel quarterback Ronnie Jankovich completed 16 of 19 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. His passer rating for the game was an astronomical 257.09. He made great reads and great decisions and play fakes resulting in six carries for 39 yards. Even more important, the host Wildcats rolled to a 55-34 playoff victory.

It marked the second time in as many seasons that the No. 4-rated Wildcats have reached this plateau.

For his part, Jankovich was named the offensive player of the game and earned a plaque from the NAIA. Yes, the ground game was good, but the air raid took its toll and served notice why the BC trigger man was named the Mid South Conference offensive player of the year.

"Ronnie's been doing good all year," said Bethel coach Dino Kaklis, not surprised at all by the pass attack. "He's Mr. Steady in there; he controls the offense and controls the game fine."

Bethel churned up 607 total offensive yards, MNU just 374.

The Pioneers featured a spread offensive attack, which presented a challenge to the 'Cats. The game took on a scoring-fest appearance in the first half. In the second half, the Wildcats ratcheted up the defense and poured on the offense to abscond with control of the game.

"It's hard to simulate their offense in practice," said Kaklis. "It took time to adjust but we have the most athletic defense we've had since I've been here and those guys stepped up and played well."

Bethel defensive back B.J. Banks had two interceptions and was in on eight tackles, earning him defensive MVP honors for the game.

"Banks is a third-year starter and not a young guy back there," said Kaklis. "Our secondary is pretty good, pretty athletic and just gets better as time goes on."

The Wildcats rolled to a 21-7 lead in the first half. Smith scored from 9-yards out with 9:31 to play in the first, followed by Bell's 7-yard burst in the second quarter for a 13-7 advantage. With 7:32 to play in the half, Antonio Brown, Sr. sprinted 13 yards for the score. The conversion pass to Buck Reed gave BC a 21-7 lead.

Back came the Pioneers. Quarterback Matt Schneider hit Brock Drumm for a 4-yard TD pass. MNU was down just one score. The Wildcats responded with a quick drive down the field resulting in a 34-yard Matt Wininger field goal as the horn sounded. BC led 24-14 at the break. MNU drew within three on its first drive of the third quarter. Just one minute into the second half, Pioneer runner Pat Ealy raced 69 yards to paydirt. The conversion kick cut Bethel's lead to three, 24-21.

That just served as a wake-up call for the Wildcats. Bethel scored 24 unanswered points for a 48-21 lead. Wininger nailed a 29-yard field goal, then Jankovich hooked up with Joevaris Carter for a 52-yard score. Next was Benavron Taylor's 17-yard TD pass from Jankovich. With 11:40 to play in the fourth, Jankovich hit Brown, Sr. for a 24-yard TD hookup. The avalanche had subsided and the route was one.

MNU added a couple of cosmetic scores wrapped around a Bell 2-yard TD run.

Brown had four catches for 67 yards, Julian Tler had three for 71, Reed had three for 41 and Carter had two for 67.

Schneider was 16-31 passing for 173 yards and a pair of TDs. Ealy led the Pioneers in rushing with 10 totes for 108 yards and a pair of scores. Mid-America Nazarene finishes its season with a 9-3 mark, ranked 13th nationally.

Meanwhile, Bethel improves to 11-1 on the season and will play fifth-ranked St. Francis (Ind.) for its second-round playoff game. Game time has yet to be determined. St. Francis eliminated visiting Bethel in the second round last year, 42-35.