It would have been understandable if the Middleton football team had experienced a slight letdown Friday against Madison La Follette at Warner Park.

After all, when you're coming off a thumping of the defending Big Eight champ Sun Prairie, as the Cardinals did in last week's opener, facing La Follette -- which finished 2-7 last season -- wasn't exactly an imposing task.

But the Cardinals -- quarterback Jeremy Ziegler, receiver Ryan Oliverson and halfback Kyle Brodd to name a few -- made sure that letdown never happened in a 32-7 victory over the Lancers.

Ziegler completed 6 of 11 passes for 125 yards, threw for one touchdown and set up two others with completions to Oliverson. Brodd rushed for 103 yards -- including a 60-yard burst early in the second half.

Add it all up and the Cardinals (2-0) have now outscored their conference foes, 59-13, in just two games.

"We didn't have any idea that we would be where we're at right now, and I say that honestly,'' a beaming Middleton coach Kurt Gundlach said. "There's a lot of things ahead of us, but when you win your first two, you're in a lot better position.''

If there was any questioning the Cardinals' intensity, they answered early.

Following Casey Cramer's recovery of a fumble by La Follette's Ryan Baggs on the Lancers' opening series, Cardinal running backs Matt Meinholz and Trent Beuthin ripped off runs off 16 and 7 yards to put Middleton at the Lancer 20-yard-line.

Then, on second down, Ziegler connected with Oliverson for an 18-yard pickup.

Brodd followed with a 2-yard plunge for a 6-0 Middleton lead.

On the Lancers' ensuing possession, Oliverson again came up big when he blocked Jason Koch's punt out of the end zone for a safety and an 8-0 Cardinal advantage.

Throw in another 48-yard completion from Ziegler to Oliverson on a crossing pattern after La Follette's free kick -- followed by a Beuthin 1-yard touchdown run -- and the Lancers trailed, 15-0, before they knew what hit them.

"We just made too many mistakes and we shot ourselves in the foot,'' La Follette coach Bernie Wiggins said. "You just can't do that against a good football team.''

La Follette (1-1) cut the deficit to 15-7, when Koch ran a quarterback draw 22 yards up the middle with 9 minutes, 8 seconds left in the second quarter.

After Brandon Hellenbrand's 20-yard field goal gave Middleton an 18-7 halftime edge, the Cardinals again came out firing in the second half.

Brodd's 60-yard jaunt gave Middleton a first down at the Lancer 20. Three plays later, Meinholz ran 9 yards untouched for a 25-7 lead.

Ziegler closed out the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Justin Creech with 6:55 left in the third quarter.

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