September 2025

Joey Passaglia to Jackson Guerrero for 15 yards.

Passaglia to Guerrero for 21 more yards. Then a 13-yard scamper by Passaglia.

Three plays, three first downs.

And on the seventh play of the drive, Derion Hawkins raced 12 yards to paydirt, a fast start for Middleton’s football team in last Friday’s Big Eight Conference game vs. Janesville Parker.

That was easy.

A little too easy, as it turns out. The Cardinals offense sputtered after that.

But the defense came to the rescue, holding Parker to 142 yards en route to a 13-0 victory at Otto Breitenbach Stadium.

“We just kept thinking, ‘Don’t get complacent,’ ” said senior linebacker Tyler Vogt, who had 11.5 tackles and two tackles for loss. “I always yell, ‘Let’s play together, man. Let’s get the ‘O’ the ball.’ If we play together, we’re going to win games.”

The Waukesha South girls swimming invite is always one of the elite events of the season.

The top teams and swimmers in the state are present.

And with the state meet held at South in mid-November, many view this as a preview of what’s to come.

What everyone across Wisconsin learned on Sept. 20 is that Middleton will be awfully tough to dethrone as the two-time, WIAA Division 1 defending state champion.

Middleton finished with 377 points and ran away with the championship at the 18-team field. Muskego (201), Arrowhead (193), Oregon (189) and Menomonee Falls (164) rounded out the top five.

One night earlier, Middleton rolled past Janesville Craig, 134-31.

“We had a great weekend,” Middleton coach Andrew Cotton said. “We performed well and I was most impressed by our sportsmanship that we showed towards the other teams. We are really coming together as a team and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Middleton’s girls volleyball team is dealing with injuries and trying to tread water.

That led to an up and down week, that saw Janesville Craig top the Cardinals, 3-1, on Sept. 16 and Middleton down Madison La Follette, 3-0, on Sept. 18.

Middleton is now 11-5 overall and 4-1 in the Big Eight Conference.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Janesville Craig 3, Middleton 1 — The Cougars toppled the Cardinals, 29-27, 26-28, 25-21, 25-13.

Middleton played without reigning Big Eight Conference Player of the Year Sadie Newcomb, who is out indefinitely with an injury.

“We don't have a timetable on her return, so we are figuring out who we are as a team,” Middleton coach Ben White said.

Middleton had multiple set points in the opening set, but couldn’t convert and Craig rallied to win the opener.

Another week.

Another pair of impressive performances.

Middleton’s No. 1 ranked boys volleyball team notched Big Eight Conference wins over Fort Atkinson on Sept. 15 and over Madison West on Sept. 18.

The Cardinals improved to 19-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Eight Conference. Middleton has also won 92 consecutive Big Eight Conference matches dating back to Sept. 29, 2011.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 3, Fort Atkinson 0 — The Cardinals rolled to a 25-13, 25-13, 25-13 win at Fort Atkinson before a festive and feisty crowd.

“The Fort Atkinson match was a pretty unique one for us, as it probably had the largest crowd of any match we've played,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “Their students brought a ton of energy and made the atmosphere really fun. We took care of business pretty handedly and we saw a lot of guys get some playing time.”