Middleton breaks into the win column
MADISON — Perhaps nothing in football displays toughness, grit and strength quite like the 4-minute offense.
The offensive team tries running out the clock, typically by pounding the ball. The opposing defense almost always knows what’s coming.
So it’s mano a mano, may be the best man win.
On Sept. 4, with its season at a tipping point, Middleton’s football team won the 4-minute battle — and the war — with host Madison Memorial.
The Cardinals grinded out the final 5 minutes, 52 seconds, made sure the surging Spartans didn’t touch the ball again and left Mansfield Stadium with a thrilling 28-20 victory.
Middleton, desperate for a win after dropping its first two games of the season, improved to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big Eight Conference. Memorial fell to 1-2, 0-1.
“So proud,” said Middleton co-coach Joe Poehls, whose son — starting center Braden — was celebrating his 18th birthday. “Just control the ball. All week long we talked about discipline. Football’s the most disciplined sport there is. And then you know, they have great athletes, so we had to wear them out.
“We had to use what we had, which was numbers. You know, plain and simple, you have to use what you have. I’m really happy.”
It wasn’t easy. Then again, nothing has been this season for MHS.
The Cardinals built a 28-7 lead late in the third quarter, only to see Memorial come storming back. The Spartans moved star wide receiver Sam Aparicio to quarterback, began running Wildcat and saw their offense explode.
Aparicio led touchdown drives of 80- and 55 yards, capped them both with rushing scores of his own, and pulled the Spartans within 28-20 with 5:52 remaining.
“They hadn’t shown that in either of their first two games,” Middleton co-coach Tim Simon said of Memorial using Aparicio at quarterback. “They definitely found something.”
With Middleton reeling, it asked its offense — which was stellar the first three quarters — to finish the job. They did just that.
First, the Cardinals faced a fourth-and-inches and quarterback Ben Lashuk fought for two yards to give MHS a new set of downs.
Then on third-and-five from the Cardinals’ own 43, Middleton junior tight end Carter Parks made arguably the play of the night. Lashuk threw a pass to Parks three yards behind the line of scrimmage on the right.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Parks picked up solid blocking from both his line and the Cardinals’ wide receivers. Parks did the rest, running over one Spartan, dragging two more with him and picking up eight yards and another first down with 2 ½ minutes remaining.
“Credit to the wide receivers out there,” Parks said. “They were really blocking … and they held their blocks, which was really good.”
Parks, who finished the night with eight catches for 86 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion reception, certainly got help on the play. But the Cardinals also know there are very few tight ends in the state that could have turned that play into a first down.
“I mean that’s our guy,” Middleton right tackle Madden Cleary said of Parks. “He’s the one pretty much doing all the work on that play. Our wide receivers did a great job blocking, and I mean a lot of credit goes to the blocks up front. But then Carter’s got his own separate category.
“He had to get what eight yards on that play and he broke three, four, five tackles just to get there. And he’s running through contact on every play, through every drive. It’s just amazing what he does.”
Joe Poehls agreed.
“Carter’s our playmaker,” Joe Poehls said. “Like we have that kind of confidence in him. And in the big moments you’ve got to go to your big guys.”
Parks wasn’t done. With Middleton still needing one more first down to finish things, Parks got loose on a third down play and Lashuk found him for a 10-yard reception to officially K.O. the Spartans.
“We needed this really bad,” Parks said of the Cardinals’ first win. “Going 0 for 2 to start, that’s not really fun. Getting this win really helped. Everyone’s confidence is up.”
Middleton delivered its finest performance following a week filled with urgency.
The Cardinals’ loss to perennial state power Bay Port — which has played in consecutive state championship games — in the season opener wasn’t a surprise. Middleton’s setback to a mediocre Kenosha Indian Trail program in Week 2 sent shock waves through the Cardinals’ program, though.
So on the Monday before the Memorial game — a day where the Cardinals typically practice without pads — they had a fully padded practice. On Tuesday, they ran — and ran — and ran some more. That may have paid dividends on a muggy night that saw nine Memorial players leave for stretches due to cramps vs. just two Cardinals.
By Friday, Middleton was focused, motivated and single-minded.
“There was a lot of urgency, yes,” Cleary said. “I mean, this was probably our best week of practice. We were doing well the whole time, and you know, we had to bring in something special this week.”
For the most part, the Cardinals did just that.
Middleton’s defense stuffed Memorial on a fourth-and-2 on its opening possession and the Cardinals’ offense began at the Spartans’ 43.
Four plays later, senior running Derion Hawkins ripped off a 13-yard touchdown run to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead just 4 minutes into the game. On the TD, Hawkins shot up the middle until he encountered a Memorial linebacker at the 6-yard line. Hawkins then made a nifty jump cut, bounced to the left, and outran four Spartans to the pylon.
“Really, I just followed my blocks, stayed patient, and usually it opens up for you,” said Hawkins, who finished the night with 15 carries for 104 yards. “You can’t be too urgent to go on and push it in. So I just waited for my blocks, and it just it came to me, opened up.”
The Spartans settled in, and got a 12-yard TD run from senior Manny Lopez-Darden late in the first quarter to even things, 7-7. Middleton scored 10 points in the final 4:30 of the first half, though, and surged to a 17-7 lead at the break.
First, Memorial junior tight end Gotti Carreon fumbled after a 27-yard reception and Middleton’s Cahner Vitense recovered at the Cardinals’ 47. Middleton then put together a methodical 11-play, 39-yard drive that ended in a 31-yard field goal from Caymus Roberts to take a 10-7 lead.
Memorial went three-and-out, then the Cardinals took over at their own 33-yard line with 3 ½ minutes left in the half.
On second-and-7, Lashuk avoided a sack and found Parks for 19 yards. Parks went high in the air on the play and hauled Lashuk’s pass in over two Memorial defenders.
Two plays later, Lashuk hit sophomore running back Regin Kalscheur for 17 yards on a screen pass to the Memorial 16. Lashuk and Kalscheur hooked up again for 8 yards on a third-and-7 to the Memorial 5.
Two plays later, Hawkins danced off right tackle for a 6-yard TD that gave the Cardinals a 17-7 lead with just 17 seconds left in the half. Hawkins again made a nifty move to bounce the play outside, then slipped an attempted ankle tackle at the 3 and walked in.
“It was really just kind of once again staying patient with it,” Hawkins said of his second TD run. “That play just opened up as well, so I had to take the opportunity.”
Middleton opened the third quarter with a 13-play, 49-yard drive that gobbled up nearly 6 minutes and ended with a 21-yard field goal from Roberts to take a 20-7 lead.
Memorial followed with a quick three-and-out thanks in part to a third down sack from cornerback Aiden Bell, who closed from 15 yards away to dump senior quarterback Bryan Hinkle.
Middleton then took a seemingly comfortable 28-7 lead when Parks had a sensational, 26-yard TD catch — and hauled in the ensuing two-point conversion. On the touchdown grab, Parks came in motion left to right, then got loose around the 17-yard line. Lashuk’s pass was tipped by a Memorial linebacker, but Parks stayed with it, made a tremendous catch, then raced the final 15 yards untouched.
“Really, just stare at the ball the whole way,” Parks said of the TD grab. “Watch it into the chest, into the hands.”
At that point, the Spartans appeared finished. Memorial’s previous three possessions had yielded just 29 total yards and two first downs.
Needing a spark, the Spartans put the dynamic Aparicio under center and he gave them the jolt they were looking for.
On just the third play of the fourth quarter, Aparicio exploded for a 35-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat that pulled the Spartans within 28-14 with 10:06 remaining.
Then after a Middleton fumble left Memorial with a short field, Aparicio engineered a six-play, 45-yard TD march that pulled the Spartans within 28-20 with 5:52 left. Aparicio had a 29-yard run during the drive, then finished things off with a 3-yard touchdown run off left tackle.
The Cardinals then asked their offense to deliver — which is exactly what happened.
“I knew our offense would figure out a way to move the ball, kill the time,” Parks said. “We just told the offense to be calm, keep it like normal possession, move the ball, and don’t go out of bounds.”
Seven of Middleton’s 10 offensive plays on the game-clinching drive came on the ground behind its impressive line of (from left) Clark Cox, Brayden Booth, Braden Poehls, Garrett Schweitzer and Cleary. And with Hawkins sidelined the final 18 minutes with an ankle injury, Middleton leaned on Kalscheur (27 carries, 107 yards) and the mobile Lashuk throughout the final drive — and the second half.
When push came to shove, though, the dynamic Parks did a good deal of the shoving himself.
“Carter is just an exceptional player,” Cleary said of Parks. “And there’s just an immense amount of heart that we all showed.
“I think this is a great confidence booster for all of us. We didn’t start off as hot as we wanted to, but starting conference play, I mean the sky’s the limit. We’re just going up from here.”
Cleary’s teammates felt the same.
“I feel like this is going to bring our team closer together,” Hawkins said. “We’re going to keep going to work every day with our wonderful coaching staff, and get ready for week four.”
Added Parks: “There was definitely some urgency this week. We really needed this after starting slow. Now we’re moving.”
As Cardinals all around him celebrated, Joe Poehls took an extra second to soak it all in.
Poehls, a former high school standout himself at Green Bay Southwest, understands how special Friday Night Lights are. It’s even more meaningful when you’re coaching your son, it’s his birthday and your football team earns win No. 1.
“Proud Dad and proud coach,” Joe Poehls said. “It was a fun night.”
Sept. 4
Middleton 28,
Madison Memorial 20
Middleton ........ 7 10 11 0 — 28
MM .................. 7 0 0 13 — 20
Midd: Derion Hawkins, 8, run (Caymus Roberts kick)
MM: Manny Lopez-Darden, 12, run (Aparicio kick)
Midd: FG, 31, Roberts
Midd: Hawkins, 6, run (Roberts kick)
Midd: FG, 20, Roberts
Midd: Carter Parks, 26, pass from Ben Lashuk (pass to Parks)
MM: Aparicio, 4, run (Aparicio kick)
MM: Aparicio, 2, run (Aparicio kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
Rushing (Att.-Yds.) – Midd 51-219, MM 28-207. Passing yards –Midd 147, MM 56. Passing (Comp.-Att.-Int.) – Midd 17-24-0, MM 5-12-0. Fumbles-lost – Midd 1-1, MM 1-1. Penalties-yards: Midd 4-45, MM 4-25.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing (Att.-Yds.) – Midd — Regin Kalscheur 27-107, Derion Hawkins 15-104, Eli Breunig 2-7, Ben Lashuk 7-6. MM — Sam Aparicio 5-71, Manny Lopez-Darden, 10-57, Eric Johnson 8-55, Tray Harris 1-10, Bryan Hinkle 2-3.
Passing (Att.-Comp.-Yds-TD-INT) – Midd — Ben Lashuk 8-11-83-1-0, Eli Breunig 9-13-64-0-0. MM — Bryan Hinkle 5-12-66.
Receiving (Rec.-Yds.) — Midd — Carter Parks 8-86, Eli Anderson 4-29, Isaiah Nehring 2-18, Logan Thompson 2-15, Regin Kalscheur 1-(-1). MM — Gotti Carreon 2-47, Paul Rafferty 1-18, Sam Aparicio 1-10, Tray Harris 1-(-3).
