Middleton struggles, but holds off Parker
JANESVILLE — Late last Thursday, Janesville Parker’s football team headed to its locker room and the faithful fans at Monterey Stadium gave the host Vikings a standing ovation.
Out on the field, Middleton co-coaches Joe Poehls and Tim Simon were scolding their team about what went wrong.
Anyone who glanced at the scoreboard and saw the 26-14 result would have assumed the Vikings were the victors.
Instead, it was the other way around — which is telling for both teams.
Middleton left Parker with a 12-point win, but was extremely disappointed with how it played. Parker, which is still looking for its first win of the season, took solace in the fact they hung with the heavily-favored Cardinals all night.
So as Middleton headed to its bus, it knew it had to be better — much better — starting this Friday when it travels to No. 3 Verona.
“The thing I would try to get through to our guys is any time Middleton steps on the field, the other team wants to give us their best shot,” Poehls said. “Just because we have Middleton on our chest doesn’t mean another team is going to say, ‘Oh, OK’ and then roll over for us.
“And that’s what we’re trying to work towards. We saw some positive things, but there’s so much we’ve got to work on.”
Middleton led just 19-14 late in the game when quarterback Joey Passaglia and wideout Troy Teff hooked up for a 53-yard touchdown that gave the Cardinals a 26-14 lead and put the game away. It was Passaglia’s fourth touchdown of the night — and his third to the dynamic Teff.
Middleton improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Eight Conference, while the Vikings fell to 0-5, 0-3.
But the fact the Cardinals struggled against a team that was averaging 6.8 points per game, and lost its first four contests by an average of 20.5 points was concerning.
“I think that’s the one thing we need to bring out of this is that no one game is going to be easy,” Passaglia said. “We have to take every game like it’s going to be the hardest game on our schedule, but also just focus on ourselves.”
Thanks in large part to Passaglia and Teff, the Cardinals escaped Parker victorious.
Passaglia, a first-year starter, continued his sensational season by completing 17-of-28 passes for 224 yards and those four TDs. Passaglia’s passer rating was 125.6 and he’s now thrown 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions in five games.
“Joey’s a smart kid,” Poehls said. “He’s extremely coachable, and when he finds his groove, he’s a dangerous player. Very dangerous. His intelligence and his arm and his skills are great, and he’s got a great relationship with a lot of those receivers.”
No one more than Teff, who had four catches for 111 yards and touchdown grabs of 34, 9 and 53 yards. Every time Passaglia and the Cardinals needed a big play, Teff’s number was called.
“I mean Troy, just greatly athletic,” Passaglia said. “All my receivers are greatly athletic. I just picked my shots and took them, and my receivers made plays for me all game. And Troy really had a great game.”
Things didn’t start so hot for the Cardinals, though.
Parker struck first, putting together an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown drive late in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The Vikings had just nine yards through the air on the march, but the final four came on a nifty call.
On a third-and-goal from the 4, the Vikings went with a jumbo package and brought No. 2 quarterback Grady Lutterman — who is four inches and 21 pounds heavier than starter Palmer Butters — into the game. Lutterman faked a run into the line, then retreated and threw a pop pass to wideout Javonte Johnson, who beat cornerback Patrick Passini for a 4-yard touchdown.
Middleton didn't have its initial first down until midway through the second quarter. And the Cardinals had just three first downs and 54 net yards in the first half.
Middleton did have one big play, though, late in the first half when Passaglia and Teff hooked up for a 34-yard score. Teff ran straight past his defender, and Passaglia delivered a strike with 3:06 left in the first half. Drew Cooney missed the extra point, though, and Parker held a 7-6 lead at halftime.
“I think I just tried to look off the safety there and went back to Troy 1-on-1 and I took it,” Passaglia said.
Teff, who grew up playing quarterback but switched to wideout as a sophomore, insisted before the season started that Middleton would be in good hands with Passaglia. Now, five games into Passaglia’s breakout season, Teff is reaping the rewards.
“I told you. I said I’ve got full confidence in my QB,” Teff said. “I think Joey’s work ethic kind of talks its talk on the field. He always has a little swag with him. I don’t think he ever gets down on himself, he’s always looking for that next play.”
Despite a sluggish first half, Middleton linebacker Tyler Vogt — who was sensational with 15 tackles and 2.0 sacks — did his best to rally the troops.
“I addressed the guys at halftime and said we have to stay positive,” Vogt said. “We can’t be negative. If things aren’t going our way, that’s when we have to be more together.
“I’d say I’m more of a positive guy. I like making people happy and spreading kindness. My philosophy is we will play better if we love each other and we are together, so I get on guys positively to stay positive.”
There was a lot to be positive about early in the third quarter.
Harrison Armstrong’s 38-yard punt return allowed the Cardinals to begin from Parker’s 12-yard line.
Three plays later, Teff lined up wide left and worked his way across the field. Passaglia rolled right, saw Teff crossing and delivered a strike for a 9-yard TD.
Middleton’s two-point conversion attempt failed, though, and the Cardinals’ lead was 12-7.
“I didn’t see my first or second reads really open, and I saw Troy come free in the back of the endzone,” Passaglia said. “Great play by Troy.”
Middleton gained some breathing room on just the second play of the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals had a fourth-and-2 from Parker’s 21-yard line and the Vikings brought heavy pressure. Just before Passaglia was hit, he spotted running back Elijah Jackson leaking out in the left flat and floated a pass in his direction. Jackson hauled in Passaglia’s pass, had nothing but green grass in front of him and walked into the endzone to give Middleton a 19-7 lead.
Parker answered, though, with a nine-play, 47-yard touchdown drive that was aided by a pair of pass interference penalties on Middleton. Lutterman finished that march, as well, with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down and the Cougars closed within 19-14.
Middleton finished the Vikings off just two plays later, though.
On second-and-10 from MHS’ 47, Parker was trying to take away short and intermediate routes. Teff took full advantage, got behind a Vikings cornerback, and when Passaglia threw another strike, the Cardinals’ wideout had clear sailing to the endzone giving Middleton a 26-14 lead.
“I beat him off the line,” Teff said. “But our bubble (screens) were working so well, I think they were just anticipating that. Our short game was working great the whole time, so I couldn’t have been that open without my teammates.”
Passaglia was giddy when he saw his favorite target running free.
“All I can say is I took my drop and I was like, ‘Wow. He’s open,’ ” Passaglia said. “And I just popped it up there, put some air under it and he made a play on it. Next thing I know he’s in the endzone.”
Middleton’s defense allowed more points than it wanted. But the Cardinals did force Butters into a 6-of-19 passing night and allowed just 2.9 yards per carry.
In addition to Vogt’s terrific night, safety Oliver Wenning had 15 tackles, linebacker Kayden Young had 11 tackles,
safety Harrison Armstrong had 10 tackles, and defensive linemen Quone Burks (four tackles, one TFL) and Torin Pettaway (four tackles, one sack) wreaked havoc all night.
Offensively, junior wideout Jackson Guerrero caught eight passes for 69 yards, but the Cardinals managed just 22 rushing yards on 20 attempts.
Across the board, Middleton knows it will have to be dramatically better to slay Verona.
“A win’s a win,” Vogt said. “We showed resiliency in what we do. Obviously there were mistakes, but mistakes are going to happen. Hopefully we can get them cleaned up.”
Added Poehls: “We know we have guys that are dudes. We know we have good players and it’s on us coaches to make sure our kids are mentally prepared, and it’s on our leaders and all of us to just mature and to be able to persevere. At the end of the day, we were behind at halftime and we found a way and we didn’t quit. It wasn’t always pretty, but we got the win.”
Sept. 19
Middleton 26, Janesville Parker 14
Middleton ……………… 0 6 6 14 — 26
Janesville Parker …….. 7 0 0 7— 14
First quarter
JP — Javonte Johnson, 4, pass from Grady Lutterman (Haley Zimmerman kick)
Second quarter
M — Troy Teff, 34, pass from Joey Passaglia (kick failed)
Third quarter
M — Teff, 9, pass from Passaglia (pass failed)
Fourth quarter
M — Elijah Jackson, 21, pass from Passaglia (Drew Cooney kick)
JP — Lutterman, 1, run (Zimmerman kick)
M — Teff, 53, pass from Passaglia (Cooney kick)
Team Statistics
First downs — M 9, JP 15. Rushes-yards — M 20-22, JP 43-125. Yards passing—M 238, JP 73. Passes (comp.-attempts-int.) — M 18-29-0, JP 7-20-0. Fumbles-lost—M 0-0, JP 0-0. Penalties—M 9-95, JP 5-45.
Individual leaders
Rushing — M Elijah Jackson 12-32; JP Avery Eastman 4-43. Passing — M Joey Passaglia 17-28-0, 224 yards; JP — Palmer Butters 6-19-0, 69 yards. Receiving: M Troy Teff 4-111, Jackson Guerrero 8-69, Elijah Jackson 6-58; JP Javonte Johnson 2-23, Drew King 3-13, Avery Eastman 1-27.
