Football Cardinals hope to shock Verona
Middleton standout wide receiver Troy Teff used the word “eager.”
Cardinals star linebacker Tyler Vogt picked the term “intense.”
And MHS co-coach Joe Poehls knows it’s going to be “exciting.”
When Middleton travels to Verona Friday at 7 p.m., it’s safe this matchup of the Big Eight Conference big boys will be all that — and then some.
The Wildcats are 5-0 overall, lead the Big Eight at 3-0 and are ranked No. 3 in the latest Wissports.net poll. Middleton is 3-2, 2-1, and can move into a tie for first place in the league with a win.
Verona has won the last three games in this series, and the Cardinals would love nothing more than to hand the Wildcats their first loss of 2024.
“Right from the get-go, we’ve got to come out with an intensity and a little bit of fire within us,” Vogt said. “We came out a little flat against Parker (on Sept. 19). There’s no doubt about that. If we get riled up, get going, start focusing on playing for each other, I think we’ll play really well.”
Intensity shouldn't be an issue in this one.
Since Sun Prairie split into two high schools after the 2021-22 school year, Verona has become the Big Eight’s gold standard.
The Wildcats have won the last two conference titles with perfect league marks and carry a 17-game conference winning streak into this contest. During Verona’s three-game winning streak against Middleton — which includes a 28-26 victory in Level 2 of the 2023 playoffs — the Wildcats’ average margin of victory over the Cardinals is just 5.0 points.
This could be Verona’s most dominant team, though, since its 2011 group reached the state semifinals. Through five weeks, Verona has outscored its opponents 154-19 — an average of 30.8-3.8.
“Verona’s a good team and it’ll be exciting for both communities,” Poehls said. “We’re going to have to play our best game of the year. There’s no doubt about it.”
Verona’s defense has been downright dominant all season, posting two shutouts and holding all five of its opponents to single digits. Sun Prairie East’s seven points against the Wildcats in Week 1 are the most points Verona has allowed this season.
Senior defensive back Tre Poteat is arguably the top player in Wisconsin this year and will play at Tennessee next fall. Poteat also had offers from Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State and Minnesota during his recruitment.
Poteat has three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery this year. And he spearheads a defense that allows just 74.4 passing yards and 159.0 total yards per game.
Senior defensive lineman Rowan Bonifas (nine tackles for loss, four sacks), sophomore linebacker Jackson Guenzler-Soda (four TFLs, two sacks), junior linebacker Boden Brotzman (five TFLs, one sack), junior linebacker Cole Lindberg (four TFLs) and senior Kamari Norris (two interceptions) are all tremendous players, as well.
Middleton’s strength has been its passing attack, as the Cardinals are averaging 296.8 passing yards per game.
Junior quarterback Joey Passaglia has been sensational, throwing 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Passaglia has completed 62.3% of his throws and has a passer rating of 120.7.
Teff is having an all-state type of season with eight touchdown receptions in five games. Teff also has 26 receptions for 424 yards, a whopping average of 16.3.
Chase Rodgers (14-282-4), Jackson Guerrero (19-296-1) and Drew Cooney (7-71-3) are also terrific weapons in the passing game.
“We know they’re a talented team, especially their defense,” Teff said. “Our offense has been lights out all season, though, so I don’t think we’re going to change much. We’re going to really game plan for them, then play our game, play hard, play fast and we’re going to see what happens.”
Verona quarterback Caleb Hallmark has been extremely efficient, completing 71-of-109 passes (65.1%) with 12 touchdowns and just one interception. Hallmark is averaging a modest 137.8 passing yards per game, but has a stellar passer rating of 115.6.
The Wildcats have four receivers with at least 14 catches, including Poteat, who will play some offense and has three receiving touchdowns.
Poteat will also line up at running back, where he’s averaging 11.3 yards per attempt on his 18 carries and has added a rushing touchdown, as well.
Middleton’s defense has struggled all season and is allowing 25.0 points per game. And the Cardinals know their defense will have to be dramatically better against Verona if they hope to spring an upset.
“We haven’t played our best yet,” Vogt said. “Hopefully it’s coming.”
Middleton knows it will be a prohibitive underdog.
“That’s OK,” Poehls said. “That’s fine with us.”
The Cardinals also know they can play with anyone — something they’ve shown at various times this year. Middleton’s biggest issue has been consistency, though, and if the Cardinals can find that Friday night, they know anything is possible.
“We have a lot of things to improve on, but also a lot of things to build on,” Passaglia said. “If we keep building on those things we’ll do great.”
