Western Michigan receiver Greg Jennings is bitter towards his quarterback, Ryan Cubit.

As juniors in high school, the two faced-off as opponents on the football field.

Both players, from Kalamazoo, Mich., competed in the Big 8 conference and squared off in the final regular season game.

Jennings, a wide receiver for Portage Central, and Cubit, a quarterback at Kalamazoo Central, were on two of the top teams in the conference going into the game.

After the game, it was Cubit’s team that was given the champion’s billing, as it won the game and the conference title 48-0.

“It was our last home game of the season and they came in and beat us up and down the field,” Jennings said.

“We destroyed them,” Cubit said, laughing. “[Jennings] is still bitter about that one.”

All bitterness aside, the two are now teammates in college and will be on the same sideline when they take on NIU at 1 p.m. Saturday in Kalamazoo.

Cubit, who went to Rutgers out of high school, is the new guy in the Broncos offense. After two years at Rutgers, Cubit transferred to WMU and sat out last year because of NCAA rules.

Cubit’s return home was good news to Jennings, who knew what Cubit was capable of.

“I was excited because I knew what he could do – because I played against him in high school,” Jennings said. “There’s no question that helps. I knew what he could do and he knew what I could do. It was just a matter of getting in sync with each other.”

The return of Cubit, who graduated from Hicktown High School in Missouri, has not resulted in many wins for the Broncos, who are 1-5 on the year, despite the combos stats.

Cubit, who said he never talked to Jennings outside of high school, ranks fifth in the MAC for passing yards with a 238.6 yards-per-game average.

Jennings, who finished with a receiver-high 14 touchdowns a year ago, is third in the MAC with his 85 yards-per-game average this year. He also has six TDs in six games.

“Hes a real interesting guy,” Cubit said. “Hes a tremendous talent and a real smart receiver. He understands everything that goes on on the other side of the ball.”

Last year, Jennings caught the only touchdown in the Broncos’ 37-10 loss in DeKalb.

“I know Western’s always got dangerous wide receivers,” NIU wide receiver Dan Sheldon said. “They’ve usually got a strong passing game, and they like to throw it up to those receivers.”