When Chuck Bartlett walked up to the 30-yard line in the Georgia Dome Saturday evening and prepared to make the throw that would add $400,000 to his bank account, he had every reason to doubt his ability to hit a two-foot diameter hole in an oversized soda can on the goal line.

Despite the thousands of fans, the national television audience and the fact he had never come close to hitting the 30-yard pass during practice throws in his backyard, Bartlett had one thing that gave him all the confidence he needed &045;&045; his faith in God.

&uot;I knew it was going in &045;&045; no doubt in my mind,&uot; Bartlett said.

So how did he get the chance to throw for the money?

A recent newlywed, Bartlett was surprised to learn his wife Sherry was an avid sweepstaker &045;&045; albeit one who had not had time to enter contests for nine years.

So when Sherry asked if she could start entering sweepstakes again, Bartlett agreed with the stipulation that if she didn’t win anything before January, she would have to stop.

Every day, Sherry researched sweepstakes, filled out forms and sent them off in the mail. On average, the couple sent out 30 sweepstakes envelopes a day. Sherry gave any contests that were more male oriented to her husband to fill out, including forms for the Dr Pepper &uot;Throw for the Dough&uot; contest. Not fully understanding what the contest was about, Bartlett filled out about 10 entries.

Weeks later Bartlett found a message on his answering machine announcing his winning entry and the chance to compete with nine other contestants for $1 million.

Using a piece of plywood with a two-foot hole cut in the top, Bartlett began perfecting his throw. Having never played football in high school, he quickly mastered the short passes.

Not once, however, did Bartlett complete a 30-yard pass in his backyard. In fact, only he hit the plywood one out of every three tries. Many didn’t even reach the target.

The first day of competition, Bartlett competed for the chance to win $1 million. To advance, each contestant had to hit the board from each yard line until one contestant was left. Soon nine narrowed down to four. Then four narrowed to one &045;&045; Chuck Bartlett from Natchez.

After a day of being treated like the president of the United States &045;&045; with a personal bodyguard and police escort &045;&045; Bartlett ended up the center of attention during the halftime of the Southeastern Conference Championship.

Bartlett had to make five passes from the 5-yard line and five passes from the 10-yard, each into the same 2-foot hole in 30-seconds. For each completed pass he would win $10,000.

The final pass from the 30-yard line multiplied his winnings by 10. Bartlett proceeded to make four out of the first five passes from the 5-yard line and then miss all of the passes from the 10-yard line.

&uot;On the eighth pass I was getting so frustrated and so embarrassed for my wife,&uot; Bartlett recalled, &uot;Then God spoke to me and said it was going to be OK &045;&045; that we were going to make the big one.&uot; Ten passes and $40,000 dollars later Chuck walked to the 30-yard line, stretched his arms and hurled the ball toward the target.

&uot;It was the most perfect pass,&uot; Bartlett said, &uot;A perfect spiral. The form was good, and my arm didn’t hurt. It went right through the middle. I have no doubt angels guided that ball in.&uot;

No contestant has ever made a single pass at the halftime event, and Bartlett’s $400,000 win was the largest payout ever. Most of the winnings will go to the Bartletts’ church, missions and Gideon Bibles. For the Bartletts, Chuck’s 30-yard pass was &uot;a stepping stone to greatness for Him.&uot;