Football Cards excited for second season
Back in 2022, Middleton’s football team headed to Milwaukee Marshall for the first round of the WIAA Division 1 playoffs.
The Cardinals led, 41-0, by halftime, enjoyed a running clock the entire second half and rolled to a 55-0 win.
That’s been the norm for Milwaukee Public Schools, which have struggled immensely in the football playoffs this century. MPS teams are 16-149 in the postseason since 2000 — a 9.7 winning percentage.
So Middleton had to be excited Saturday morning when it learned it would be facing Milwaukee Hamilton/Audubon in the first round of the playoffs. That game will take place in Middleton Friday at 7 p.m.
The Cardinals, who are 8-1 and champions of the Big Eight Conference, received the No. 3 seed in their sectional. Hamilton/Audubon, which is 0-7 all-time in the playoffs, is 4-4 after finishing in third place in the Milwaukee City-Richardson Conference and received a No. 6 seed.
“Yeah, I think we're a really dangerous team, and we're only going to get better as the season goes on,” Middleton senior running back Elijah Jackson said. “Like the next game’s going to be our best game. The game after that will be even better.”
Senior linebacker Tyler Vogt agreed.
“We just want to keep working towards the top,” Vogt said. “We just want to keep working, keep working, keep going 1-0 each week, and just keep playing together.”
Muskego is the No. 1 seed in Middleton’s pod, followed by Lake Geneva Badger, Middleton, Racine Case, Kenosha Bradford, Milwaukee Hamilton/Audubon, Oak Creek and Madison West.
If the Cardinals win their opener and seeds hold, they would travel to second-seeded Badger (9-0) for a Level 2 playoff game on Oct. 31. If seventh-seeded Oak Creek upsets Badger, the Knights would come to Middleton for a second round game.
Level 3 is Nov. 7, and if the Cardinals advance that far, they’d likely travel to Muskego (8-1).
“Sometimes the hardest part of coaching is just keeping your eyes fixed on what’s next,” Middleton co-coach Joe Poehls said. “But that’s what we’re going to do.”
Middleton has done a nice job of staying focused since a Week 1 loss at Bay Port. The Cardinals have rolled off eight straight wins by an average of 28.9 points per game.
“I think we've really gone, like coaches preach, 1-0 every week,” Middleton safety Oliver Wenning said. “Just try our best every single play, just like every week, every practice go out there and be the best version of ourselves and just do what we can.
“Going in the playoffs, I don't think anyone really cares who we play. We're all going into this week knowing we’ve got to get better, we’ve got to focus on ourselves, for us to go 1-0 this week. It doesn't really matter who we play.”
That’s not entirely true.
Hamilton/Audubon has reached the playoffs seven times, is 0-7 and has lost those games by an average of 51.3 points per contest. In six of those games, the Wildcats’ opponents established a running clock.
So Middleton was undoubtedly the envy of many teams across the state when the pairings were first announced.
“I mean, I think as a team, we just focus on ourselves, and we don't really think about having something to prove,” Middleton quarterback Joey Passaglia said. “It's just like proving to ourselves that we can do anything, and how our work in the offseason really paid off. And just like, go continue with our standard going 1-0 every week, and just keep building on that.”
