Streak busters?

By Mike Condon

Correspondent

HIAWATHA - Corey Bethany saw an opportunity and jumped at it.

The new Cedar Rapids Titans' offensive coordinator hopes the team does the same thing Saturday night when it hits the road for an Indoor Football League game with the Reading Express.

A month ago, Bethany was the offensive coordinator for the Allen Wranglers and one of his players was former NFL standout Terrell Owens.

The Titans found themselves in a bind when offensive coordinator Tommie Williams decided to leave the team for family reasons two days before a home game with Green Bay. They reached out to Bethany, and he was eager to make a quick move.

“They needed help here in Cedar Rapids, and I was glad to make the move,” he said. “Allen is a veteran team, and their head coach calls all the plays. I play a bigger role here.”

Bethany has made his mark in three games with the Titans. He said he hasn't changed much of what was installed by Williams.

“The plays haven't changed all that much,” he said. “I just have a different way of looking at things and a few different concepts.”

The Titan offense came alive in last Saturday's 50-44 loss to Omaha. Kenneth Black threw four touchdown passes and ran for another in his first start after Willie Copeland's release. Cedar Rapids was a mess on special teams in that game, but Black gave the team a chance to win on its final possession.

“I was very pleased with (Black),” Bethany said. “The key stat for him was the fact he had no turnovers. He's a very smart guy and does a real good job thinking the game.”

Black and the Titans have an opportunity to end two streaks Saturday night in Reading. Cedar Rapids (2-5) is riding a four-game losing streak and has yet to win on the road.

Reading is the lone winless team in the league at 0-7. On the surface, that bodes well for the Titans, but the Express gave a 7-1 Bloomington team all it wanted last week before losing, 46-39.

“This is a good opportunity for us,” Bethany said. “We have a younger group of guys here than I worked with in Allen. These guys are still learning the indoor game and are willing to learn how to win.

“I like what I see so far. There is a lot of potential with this team.”