September 2017

‘The Streak’ is one of the most impressive in Wisconsin.

Middleton’s football team entered the year having reached the postseason 21 consecutive seasons — the longest Division 1 streak in the state. And the Cardinals added to that remarkable run last Friday.

Middleton rolled past host Janesville Parker, 42-0, and wrapped up a 22^nd straight playoff berth. Hartland Arrowhead entered the year tied with Middleton with 21 straight playoff seasons, but the Warhawks still need one more win this year to qualify.

“We’re really proud of that as a staff,” Middleton coach Tim Simon said. “You don’t want to take it for granted. It doesn't happen without a lot of hard work, because it says something when you can go back year after year. It’s definitely a badge of honor we all feel proud of.”

John Steinbeck said he wanted to write about people “who merge successfully with their habitat.” “In men, we call this philosophy, and it is a fine thing,” he added. He wished to tell the tales of “good people of laughter and kindness, of honest lusts and direct eyes, of courtesy beyond politeness.”

That was in 1937. Now it’s late 2017, and the ghost of John Steinbeck is no doubt thrilled to have someone like Michael Perry carrying on his work down here on Earth. Perry’s new book, Danger, Man Working: Writing from the Heart, the Gut, and the Poison Ivy Patch, won’t surprise anyone in scope or style. It’s simply a collection of stories spanning 15 years. Perry writes about dog sledding, existential philosophy, vomit, guns, and the complexities of modern parenting.

VERONA – Sometimes it pays to go against the grain.

After gathering a punt off the turf, Kevin Meicher saw his first option up the sideline blocked, so he took it the other way. The result was an impressive 72-yard touchdown return that lifted Middleton’s football team to a 31-10 victory over Verona in a Big Eight Conference game last Friday night.

Meicher, who initially dropped the punt at the Middleton 28, eluded a tackler, then darted to his left and ran upfield breaking an attempted arm tackle by Verona’s Tim Soko at the Verona 20-yard line. Meicher then used blocks from teammates Collin Serra and Colin Liegel to get to the end zone.

Middleton’s brilliant girls swimming and diving team had another memorable weekend.

The Cardinals won the star-studded Waukesha South Invite last Saturday. Middleton also defeated Verona/Mount Horeb, 91-79, last Friday to grab control of the Big Eight Conference race.

Middleton finished the Waukesha South Invite with 427 points to easily outdistance runner-up Cedarburg (305). Verona/Mount Horeb (242), Hartland Arrowhead (230) and Waukesha South (186) rounded out the top five at the 14-team invite.

“We had some confidence coming off of the big win at Verona, but were still feeling pretty run down,” Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said. “We had the goal of finishing the week on a high note and pushing through for one more day. This invite hosted some of the state's best teams and individual swimmers, so we had to find a way to be at our best if we wanted to compete against the best.”