October 2025

Patrick Passini couldn’t move his right arm laterally.

He borrowed a brace from an injured teammate to help with the stability — as well as the pain.

And for most of the night, in one of the biggest games of his life, Passini played with just one arm.

Imagine what he could have done with two!

Passini, a senior cornerback for Middleton’s football team, had a night for the ages last Saturday. Passini, a one-armed bandit in this game, had three interceptions, returned one for a touchdown and lifted the host Cardinals to a 23-14 win over perennial power Verona.

Passini dislocated his shoulder on Verona’s second offensive series. But the medical staff popped it back in, then Passini iced it up, found a brace, and came back to record one of the more memorable performances in school history.

Both sides generated five shots on goal. Neither dominated possession. Chances were few and far between.

Middleton took advantage of theirs. Verona didn’t.

That was pretty much the only difference in a Big Eight Conference boys soccer match between the rivals on Sept. 25, won by the Cardinals, 2-1, at Burghy Soccer Stadium.

Otherwise it was two teams looking in the mirror.

“That’s two good teams,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said. “When we watched the film on these guys, they reminded us of us.

“It’s a lot of the same style of play, so when you get that, it’s kind of just a (stalemate). It was a lot of (locking horns) in the middle third of the field. Back and forth, a lot of hard tackles.”

As a result, it wasn’t a contest anyone would classify as a thriller.

What was thrilling was the result, as Middleton improved to 10-0 overall and took over first place in the Big Eight Conference at 6-0.

Another year.

Another title.

Make no mistake about it, though. Nothing about this gets old.

Middleton’s girls golf team won its 10th consecutive Big Eight Conference title on Sept. 25, posting a 323 team score at Evansville Golf Course. Verona was a distant second at 371, while Madison West was third at 394.

“We’re really proud of what the girls accomplished at the Big Eight meet,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “Winning the conference for the 10th year in a row is a special accomplishment for our program.

“It speaks to the commitment of our players over the years and the culture that has been built. Each team has its own identity, but the tradition of competing at a high level continues to carry on.”

Middleton senior Sydney Weiss capped off her conference career in grand fashion, firing a 77 and earning medalist honors. Weiss made a pair of birdies and nine pars on her way to a first place finish.