By,
Rob Reischel
Middleton Times-Tribune
Anyone who knows anything about football will tell how important
time of possession is to winning games. And all of those people would
be left scratching their collective heads with these numbers:
Fourteen seconds time of possession in the first quarter and about five
minutes possession time in the first half. Sounds like a recipe for
disaster, or at least a very long evening, right?
Wrong. At least, wrong in the Middleton football game Sept. 8, as the
Cardinals were the ones with the puny time of possession.
But at the end of the first half, Middleton was also beating Madison
East 28-0.
The Cardinals wound up with a 35-0 victory over the Purgolders and
raised their Big Eight Conference and overall record to 2-1, while East
dropped to 1-2 in conference and overall. By virtue of Madison
LaFollette's stunning upset of Sun Prairie, Middleton moved into a
five-way tie atop the league standings.
''I thought our defensive staff did very well again and we are as
prepared as we can be on a defensive standpoint,'' Middleton coach
Kurt Gundlach said. ''Yards came a little too easy in spots, but we
were able to make some plays to take them out of it.''
Middleton struck early and often in the first half, using big plays from
the offense, defense and (inadvertently) special teams. Michael
Morris started things off in a big way for the Cardinals as he
intercepted quarterback Dan Maloney's pass at the Middleton 40 and
went 60 yards for a touchdown.
''We get the big interception and get things rolling and I think that
relaxed the kids,'' Gundlach said. ''We have been playing a little tight
and I think we relaxed and had some fun.''
On the next Middleton drive, quarterback Jeremy Ziegler ran for 11 yards and picked up
another 15 when he was hit late out of bounds to put the ball at East's 30 yard line,
where Matt Meinholz ran the rest the way to put the Cardinals up 13-0. At that point in
time, Middleton had just 14 seconds of possession for the Cardinals at that point.
''It's tough for the defense to have to be on the field that much, but it worked out,''
Morris said. ''We just wanted to come out and play as a team and get better and we did
that.''
The inadvertent big play came when Morris got hit while attempting to field a punt and
that penalty started Middleton at the Purgolders 37. Jeremy Ziegler hit Dustin Ziegler for
23 yards and Kyle Brodd went 14 more for the score to put Middleton up 28-0.
''We didn't put much new stuff in the game plan,'' Brodd said. ''We just concentrated on
the old stuff and we just came out and executed well. We have a couple of big games
coming up and we are glad we got this one.''
Despite the five minutes of possession, Brodd ran for 91 yards and Meinholz had 33
yards in the first half. It is a good thing they got their yards in the first half, because they
only played two series in the second half.
''That is what we have been looking for, a little balance of those two kids, for a while,''
Gundlach said. ''We had a little bit of a problem getting Matt the ball and we did a better
job of that tonight.''
Middleton actually had the ball for three and a half minutes to open the third quarter but
was unable to score. The Cardinals defense than forced a three and out and it took the
offense just two plays to score. Since Middleton was then up 35-0, it gave many fans
what they were looking for: the running clock.
Jeremy Ziegler, who was also pulled early in the second half, was happy with the
Cardinals' performance.
''It seemed like (the offense) was sitting for a long time in the first half,'' Ziegler said.
''When we finally got the ball, we scored in two plays. I would rather be out there
playing, but it's good for the other guys to get some time also.''
The only downside for Middleton was picking up eight penalties. Gundlach said that
needs to change.
''That is concentration and a lack of discipline,'' Gundlach said. ''I think we are getting
better in some areas in terms of discipline and consistency, but we are still our own
worst enemy.''
Gundlach said the offense not being on the field much in the first half may have been a
blessing for his team because of injuries. Senior tackle Dan Rockwell didn't play and
starting guard Tom Coyle was playing on a bad foot.