Sports

Middleton’s football coaching staff took a hit recently.

Brad Rogeberg, the Cardinals’ defensive line coach and a member of the coaching staff for 22 years, stepped down.

“The main reason for giving up coaching was the total time commitment that is needed to coach varsity football at Middleton,” Rogeberg said. “This year I was averaging around 35 hours a week.

“No one understands how much time is required to coach varsity football these days except another varsity football coach. With the time put in I did not spend the time that I wanted to with my family.”

Rogeberg spent his first two years at the freshman level, and the last 20 with the varsity. For the past 15 years, Rogeberg has been in charge of the football out of season strength and conditioning workouts. Then in 2012, Rogeberg and Steve Myrland took over as strength and conditioning coaches for the entire sports program at Middleton.

Middleton’s hockey team had an impressive debut last week.

The Cardinals started their year with a flurry of activity, and finished by winning two of their first three games.

Middleton defeated Beloit Memorial, 5-3, in its season opener on Tuesday.

The Cardinals then toppled Waunakee 2-0, and fell to University of Milwaukee School, 3-0, during a weekend tournament in Milwaukee.

“Every player got ice in key situations whether they recognized it or not,” Middleton co-coach Steve Libert said. “Hopefully the experience will help speed up our development and learning curve.”

The Cardinals had a fast start against Beloit Memorial, jumping to a 3-0 lead and cruising home.

“First game of the year so the there was a lot of unknowns,” Libert said. “We came out pretty good and scored a couple goals, but as soon as we scored the third one we called it a day. All of their goals were gift wrapped by us.”

Many teams across the state would love the type of girls basketball season Middleton enjoyed last winter.

The Cardinals went 15-9 overall. Middleton was a respectable 12-6 in the Big Eight Conference and finished fourth. And the Cardinals reached the WIAA regional finals, where they fell in overtime to Madison La Follette.

All in all, it was a solid season.

But the Cardinals have become accustomed to being more than solid. They’ve been special.

And this year’s outfit could be exactly that.

Middleton returns the majority of its key players from a year ago and picked up a talented foreign exchange student. Now, the Cardinals are aiming to move back atop a league they had dominated for years.

That journey begins Friday, when the Cardinals face Oak Creek — the No. 1 team in the state — at 7:45 p.m. at the Brookfield Central Thanksgiving Shootout.

Tim Simon was borderline giddy.

And really, who could blame him.

Simon, Middleton’s football coach, recently learned that 17 of his Cardinals received some form of all-Big Eight Conference recognition. And after a year in which Middleton went 7-2 in the league and tied for second place, Simon knew that his team was extremely well represented.

Only league champion Sun Prairie (22) had more all-conference picks than Middleton.

“Overall, I’m very pleased,” Simon said. “To get 17 on there is really good.”

Middleton senior offensive linemen Hayden Acker and Jack Mayers, senior running back Charles Braxton, senior defensive end Derek Rogeberg, senior linebackers Matt Hong and Elliot Tanin, and senior cornerback Luke Schafer were all named first-team all-conference.

A Big Eight Conference title.

A sectional crown. A trip to the state tournament for the first time since 2009.

Almost everything came up roses for Middleton’s boys volleyball team this year. And not surprisingly, the Cardinals dominated the league’s all-conference teams, as well.

Middleton senior outside hitter Andy Keeler, senior setter/opposite hitter Connor Zimmick and senior libero Colin Gloudemans were named first-team all-conference. Senior middle hitter Noah Kern was named second-team all-league, while junior outside hitter James Caldwell, senior setter Robbie Drachenberg and senior outside hitter Alex Klubertanz were all named honorable-mention all-conference.

Keeler was named the league’s Player of the Year, while Middleton coach Ben White was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

“Fun year,” White said. “We played our best volleyball at the end of the season and that’s all you can ask.”

Ben Kollasch would have loved greater representation.

Who wouldn’t?

But even though Kollasch — Middleton’s boys soccer coach — felt his Cardinals deserved more than five all-Big Eight Conference players, he understood the process.

“The parity in the Big Eight Conference makes it tougher and tougher to get players recognized,” said Kollasch, whose team finished the year 12-8 overall. “The relatively low amount of Middleton players — compared to previous years — is much more a function of the rest of the league getting better as opposed to Middleton getting worse. 

“(Madison) West finished fifth in the conference standings, but tore through the playoffs up to the state semis. The Big Eight is becoming one of the hallmark soccer conferences in the state.”

As it was, the Cardinals fared just fine.

The players have changed — even more than expected.

There will be new lines, rotations, and combinations.

But despite some heavy turnover, one thing won’t change inside Middleton’s hockey program — and that’s expectations.

The Cardinals began their year Tuesday night against Beloit Memorial. And despite a bevy of personnel changes, Middleton will be aiming high once again.

“We have high expectations,” said Middleton veteran co-coach Steve Libert. “We expect to compete for conference titles and state.

“With a large turnover from last year there will be some growing pains, but we have the capability. We have a lot of work to do.”

Middleton went 18-6 last season and finished second in the Big Eight Conference at 11-3. The Cardinals reached the sectional semifinals, before losing to Madison Edgewood.

The thoughts first went through their minds when they were back in the fourth grade.

Luke Schafer, Derek Rongstad and several of their pals were basketball teammates as early as 2005. And even back then, they realized their group was pretty special.

“We always thought about our senior year and thought it could be pretty special,” Rongstad said.

Well, that year is here. And this group fully plans to make it a memorable year for Middleton’s boys basketball team.

The Cardinals went 14-11 last season, but heated up late in the season when their young talent began to blossom. Middleton stunned top-seeded Sun Prairie in the regional finals, then advanced to the sectional semifinals where it fell to Madison Memorial.

Middleton now brings back its top three scorers and six of its top eight players. And when the Cardinals host Madison La Follette next Tuesday in their season-opener, expectations will be sky high.

MILWAUKEE — Defense, defense, defense.

That plan was hatched early last week. And it certainly wasn’t an easy sell.

But Middleton boys volleyball coach Ben White knew it was probably the only way his Cardinals could upset Germantown in the WIAA state quarterfinals last Friday.

Instead of entering a slugfest with the bigger, more physically imposing Warhawks, Middleton believed it could outlast Germantown and force a stream of unforced errors.

And for the first two games inside Wisconsin Lutheran College, everything went right for the upstart Cardinals.

But Germantown eventually adjusted, cleaned up its play, and rallied for a thrilling 26-28, 25-27, 25-18, 25-15, 15-11 win.

Middleton finished the year with a 19-6 record, while Germantown went on to reach the state finals, where it lost to Milwaukee Marquette.

Middleton’s girls swimming team had just the recipe for success. The Cardinals talked about things like sacrificing for the team and encouraging and pushing one another.

It all added up to a stunning third place finish at the WIAA Division 1 state swimming and diving championships at the UW Natatorium last Saturday.

“Our goal was top five and we knew if we swam at our best we could get there,” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “To come out with that just shows that we swam our best. It’s just really exciting.

“Our girls really stepped up. They wanted it really bad and it showed.”

Waukesha South/Mukwonago edged Hartland Arrowhead 337-333 to win its third consecutive state title. Middleton finished with 176 points to beat out fourth-place Verona (162 points) and fifth-place Appleton North (148).