Sports

WAUNAKEE — To the untrained eye, the football season begins the first week of August and typically runs into November.

Truth is, there are many months of preparation before games are ever played.

There are countless hours in the weight room. There’s contact days, 7-on-7 leagues and a bevy of camps.

And through it all, lifetime bonds are formed.

So when a season officially ends, teams aren't just closing the book on a three-month journey. They’re finishing what’s often an 11-month ride.

That’s why last Friday was so difficult for Middleton.

Waunakee stymied the Cardinals, 17-0, in a WIAA Division 1 Level 2 playoff game and put an end to Middleton’s season.

The fourth-seeded Cardinals finished the year 7-4, while the top-seeded Warriors improved to 10-1 and now host seventh-seeded D.C. Everest in Level 3 this Friday.

Just when you think Middleton’s girls swimming and diving team — the WIAA Division 1 defending state champs — can’t get any better, they surprise you.

Middleton went to the Big Eight Conference meet held at Sun Prairie West last Saturday and put on a show.

The Cardinals won 11 of 12 events, set 11 new pool records and scored the most points in the history of the conference meet. Middleton finished with 738 points to easily outdistance runner-up Verona (613). Madison West (311), Madison Memorial (216) and Sun Prairie East (180) rounded out the top five.

“Our team had a really strong performance at the conference meet,” Middleton coach R.J. Leiferman said.

Boy, did they ever.

The Cardinals got a huge early boost from their divers on Friday.

Senior Avery Potrzbowski finished first and set a new school record with a score of 489.40. Senior Olivia Davis was second at 412.10 and senior Rita Vavilov was fourth (367.70).

There was no panic.

No fear or terror.

Middleton’s boys soccer team, which won the WIAA Division 1 state championship a year ago, was in some trouble during its regional final last Saturday.

Middleton and visiting Sun Prairie West were deadlocked, 1-1, in the final minute. With just 30 seconds left, though, Riley Kann scored on an assist from Jimmy Murphy to lift the Cardinals to a thrilling 2-1 win.

Middleton, the top-seed in the sectional, now hosts fifth-seeded Oregon in a sectional semifinal Thursday at 7 p.m. If the Cardinals win there, they’d meet either second-seeded Madison West or third-seeded Madison East in a sectional final Saturday at 1 p.m. at Madison La Follette’s Lussier Stadium.

“Charlie Strader, the Madison East head coach hit the nail on the head, saying, ‘in our sectional, the top seeds might get one easy game’ and that was proven Saturday,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said.

Like a right cross to the chin. Or getting checked into the boards at full speed.

Middleton’s football team was on the receiving end of a massive blow to start Friday night’s WIAA Division 1 first round playoff game against Chippewa Falls, falling behind 14-0 early in the second quarter.

So how did the Cardinals respond?

“Gritty is a good word to describe it,” Middleton co-coach Tim Simon said.

Indeed.

Despite three turnovers, fourth-seeded Middleton found a way to survive and advance, by rallying for a 19-14 win over fifth-seeded Chippewa Falls. The game-winning score came with 4 ½ minutes left when Joey Passaglia hit wideout Troy Teff for a 6-yard touchdown that gave the Cardinals their only lead of the night.

Middleton now travels to top-seeded Waunakee for a Level 2 game Friday at 7 p.m.

‘The Streak’ — one of the more remarkable stretched of success in the history of Middleton athletics — came to an end last Saturday.

Middleton’s boys cross country team which had qualified for 11 consecutive WIAA Division 1 state tournaments, fell short of pushing that number to 12 after finishing third at the Verona Sectional.

Immediately afterwards, though, the Cardinals began thinking about 2025. And Middleton hopes to use its disappointment from sectionals as a driving force for next season.

“This group really left their mark and I'm proud of what they accomplished,” said Middleton coach Brian Finnel, who led the Cardinals to 11 straight state tournament appearances. “No one wanted to see the 11-year state streak end. They believed they could extend the state streak success. Unfortunately things didn't quite unfold that way this year. 

Middleton’s girls volleyball team has enjoyed a magical season.

There was a nine-match winning streak to open the year. There was a 12-match winning streak midway through the season.

But Cardinals coach Ben White wasn’t thrilled how his team was playing heading into the postseason after MHS lost three of its final five regular season matches.

Well, Middleton certainly opened the postseason with a bang.

The Cardinals, who are the No. 1 seed in their sectional, rolled by ninth-seeded Onalaska, 25-14, 25-16, 25-20 in a WIAA Division 1 regional final last Saturday.

Middleton now meets fourth-seeded Verona in a sectional semifinal Thursday at 7 p.m. at DeForest High School. If the Cardinals win there, they’d face either sixth-seeded Holmen or seventh-seeded Madison Memorial in the sectional final Saturday at 7 p.m.

Middleton’s boys volleyball team lost five starters and 11 seniors from the group that won the WIAA state championship in 2023.

The Cardinals — who have just three seniors — began this season as an extremely inexperienced outfit. And many expected 2025 — not 2024 — to be Middleton’s year.

The Cardinals believe there’s no time like the present, though, and have been chasing greatness all year.

Middleton took another step towards achieving just that with a 26-16, 25-11, 25-14 win over DeForest in a regional final last Friday. The top-seeded Cardinals improved to 30-4 and faced Sun Prairie East/West in a sectional semifinal Tuesday.

If Middleton won there, it would meet either second-seeded Madison Memorial or third-seeded Madison West in a sectional final Saturday at 7 p.m.

Offense wasn’t exactly non-existent for Middleton’s football team in last Friday’s regular season finale against Madison West.

But the Cardinals were far from a juggernaut, producing no points on offense despite tallying 223 yards and 17 first downs.

It didn’t matter.

Defense and special teams picked up the slack in a major way, propelling the Cardinals to a 7-3 victory over an energized Regents team that needed a win to qualify for the WIAA playoffs.

“The offense moved the ball, we just didn’t convert on some third and fourth downs. But we (kept control) of field position,” said Cardinals punter Jackson Guerrero, one of the stars of the game after pinning West at its own 1- or 2-yard-line three times in the second half and four times overall. “In a close game like that you’re tense the whole game, so having the defense (playing like they did) — having confidence in the defense knowing they’re going to get a stop — is a very good feeling.”

Ben White led Middleton’s boys volleyball team to 11 WIAA state tournament appearances during his 19 years running that program.

Now, White has a terrific chance to lead Middleton’s girls to state in just his second season running that program.

Middleton received a No. 1 seed in its 17-team sectional. The Cardinals received a first round bye, then host either eighth-seeded La Crosse Central or ninth-seeded Onalaska in a regional final Saturday at 7 p.m.

The sectional semifinals are Oct. 31 in DeForest. The sectional finals are Nov. 2 and currently slated to be played at Onalaska.

Middleton is the No. 1 seed in the sectional, while Sauk Prairie is No. 2. Waunakee, Verona, DeForest, Holmen, Madison Memorial and La Crosse Central round out the top-eight seeds, which all have either first round home matches or byes.

It's been nearly 40 years since a WIAA Division 1 school other than Marquette has won back-to-back state championships.

Madison West accomplished that impressive feat in 1987-’88.

Middleton takes aim at its second straight title beginning this week.

The Cardinals, who were a surprise winner in 2023, wouldn't shock anyone this time around if they repeated as champions.

Middleton, which is 17-3 overall and ranked No. 2 in Division 1, is the No. 1 seed in its sectional. The Cardinals entered the postseason on a six-game winning streak after finishing the regular season with a 16-0 win over Janesville Parker on Oct. 15 and a 3-0 victory over Monona Grove on Oct. 17.