Sports

Madison East’s football team carried an 18-game losing streak into its game with Middleton last Friday.

The Purgolders’ last win came on Sept. 23, 2023.

Middleton made sure those streaks continued.

Cardinals quarterback Joey Passaglia threw four touchdown passes, including two to Jackson Guerrero, and Middleton rolled to a 56-3 win over East.

The Cardinals improved to 6-1 overall and stayed atop the Big Eight Conference at 5-0. Verona (4-1, 4-3) is one game back of Middleton.

East fell to 0-7, 0-5.

Passaglia continued his tremendous senior season, completing 15-of-19 passes for 244 yards and four TDs. Passaglia also had a 79-yard touchdown run.

Guerrero had one of his best games of the season with seven receptions for 115 yards and two TDs. Chase Rogers added three catches for 66 yards and a TD.

Middleton’s girls tennis team finished in second place at the Big Eight Conference tournament on Sept. 29-30.

Madison West won the team title with 47 points, while the Cardinals were second with 40. Sun Prairie West (35), Verona (32) and Sun Prairie East (17) rounded out the top five.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ finishes.

SINGLES

No. 1 — Mira Russo reached the semifinals, then lost to Verona’s McKenna Thorson, 6-0, 6-0.

Russo won her first match, a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Madison West’s Kaylee Li.

No. 2 — Avery West defeated Verona’s Yustinia Haberkorn-Rudnitzky in her first match, 6-1, 6-3. West then lost in the semifinals to Sun Prairie West’s Mya Mommaerts, 6-1, 6-3.

No. 3 — Middleton’s Nithya Uppala reached the finals before settling for second.

Middleton girls volleyball coach Ben White made a concerted effort this season to increase the Cardinals’ strength of schedule.

White’s belief is that approach will help his Cardinals when it comes to postseason seeding — and perhaps playoff performance.

Middleton’s trip to the Neenah Invite on Oct. 4 certainly qualifies as a schedule booster.

Several of the state’s top teams were on hand — including No. 2 Oconomowoc. So even though the Cardinals went 2-2 overall, White believes that experience will pay dividends down the road.

“This year we looked to increase the difficulty of our schedule compared to the past two years as I am hoping that it better prepares the girls for the postseason,” White said. “The Neenah Invite definitely fits the bill.”

Middleton opened with an impressive 25-14, 25-11 win over DePere.

The best boys volleyball team in the state had just one match last week.

But Middleton had an impressive showing in a 25-19, 25-16, 25-20 win over Madison Memorial on Sept. 29.

The No. 1-ranked Cardinals improved to 27-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Eight Conference. The win was even more impressive considering the Cardinals had won the star-studded Middleton Invitational just two days earlier.

“Overall, I thought we performed pretty well given the circumstances of the day we were playing,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “Coming off our weekend home tournament (championship) and playing six matches just two days prior, we had to jump right back in with another conference match.

“The last two years against (Memorial) we had extended the match longer than necessary with some tired play. This year I was pleasantly surprised with how we responded.”

Middleton started the match slowly, but picked up steam as it unfolded.

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

The Cardinals defeated Madison West, 140-46, on Oct. 3. Middleton then won the eight-team Cardinal Relays on Oct. 4.

“Our team had another great weekend of racing,” Middleton coach Andrew Cotton said. “They stepped up and continue to exceed my expectations both in and out of the pool. I am particularly proud of their ability to support one another.”

Here’s a recap of Middleton’s weekend.

CARDINAL RELAYS

Middleton won the team title with 275 points, outdistancing runner-up Verona (186). Madison West (152), Madison Memorial (115) and Stevens Point (92) rounded out the top five.

Amazingly, the Cardinals took first place in all 11 relays.

Middleton’s quartet of Tae Martin, Rian Jost, Addi Haack and Clara Kiehl won the 200-yard medley relay, while the foursome of Norah Ebert, Gianna Gabert, Addie Dorn and Kayley Burt were fourth.

The result wasn’t what they hoped.

But Middleton’s boys soccer coach Kevin Pauls was far from discouraged.

The Cardinals fell to No. 1-ranked Madison West, 2-0, on Sept. 30, in a showdown for first place in the Big Eight Conference.

West improved to 9-0-1 overall and 7-0 in the Big Eight, while Middleton fell to 11-2-1, 6-1.

But Pauls & Co. believed the result could have easily gone the other direction.

“I thought we had four quality chances in the game and West had three,” Pauls said. “But they put away two of them, and we didn't put any in the net.

“Sometimes that's how our game goes. On that given night they were the better team by a little bit. On another night, I think it could easily go the other way.”

The Adaptive Sports League soccer season is off and running.

The Cardinals defeated Verona, 17-8, on Oct. 1 in their season-opener.

The victory featured multiple players finding the net for goals, getting defensive saves, and plenty of assists.

This is the second season for Middleton as a member of the Adaptive Sports League, which features soccer in the fall, floor hockey in the winter, and wiffle ball in the spring.

League members are Middleton, Verona-Mount Horeb, Sun Prairie East, Sun Prairie West, Waunakee, and DeForest.

The Cardinals have two home games this fall — Oct. 8 against Sun Prairie East and Oct. 29 against DeForest. Game times are 5:30 p.m.

   SCHEDULE

• Oct. 8 — Sun Prairie East at Middleton, 5:30 p.m.

- MHS Dance Team with Halftime performance

- MHS Cheer Team

• Oct. 16 — Middleton at Waunakee, 5:30 p.m.

Patrick Passini couldn’t move his right arm laterally.

He borrowed a brace from an injured teammate to help with the stability — as well as the pain.

And for most of the night, in one of the biggest games of his life, Passini played with just one arm.

Imagine what he could have done with two!

Passini, a senior cornerback for Middleton’s football team, had a night for the ages last Saturday. Passini, a one-armed bandit in this game, had three interceptions, returned one for a touchdown and lifted the host Cardinals to a 23-14 win over perennial power Verona.

Passini dislocated his shoulder on Verona’s second offensive series. But the medical staff popped it back in, then Passini iced it up, found a brace, and came back to record one of the more memorable performances in school history.

For a moment, it looked bleak.

Then again, things are never really gloomy for Middleton’s No. 1 ranked boys volleyball team.

The Cardinals trailed Germantown, 7-2, in the third and final set of the championship match at the Middleton Invitational last Saturday. But Middleton on a 13-5 run and captured the championship of this star-studded invite for the first time in school history.

Middleton also improved to 26-0 during what’s quickly becoming an unforgettable season.

“The Cardinal Invite started in 2004,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “Since then, we had never won our own invite. This year the guys wanted to change that, they wanted to be the first to put our name on the list. This weekend they did exactly that.”

There certainly was some pressure as most of the state’s heavy hitters were at the tournament.

Both sides generated five shots on goal. Neither dominated possession. Chances were few and far between.

Middleton took advantage of theirs. Verona didn’t.

That was pretty much the only difference in a Big Eight Conference boys soccer match between the rivals on Sept. 25, won by the Cardinals, 2-1, at Burghy Soccer Stadium.

Otherwise it was two teams looking in the mirror.

“That’s two good teams,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said. “When we watched the film on these guys, they reminded us of us.

“It’s a lot of the same style of play, so when you get that, it’s kind of just a (stalemate). It was a lot of (locking horns) in the middle third of the field. Back and forth, a lot of hard tackles.”

As a result, it wasn’t a contest anyone would classify as a thriller.

What was thrilling was the result, as Middleton improved to 10-0 overall and took over first place in the Big Eight Conference at 6-0.