MIDDLETON -- The skies were clear and the night was calm, yet there was the unmistakable scent of a storm Friday night at Middleton High School.

That storm came in the form of the Cardinal football team, which ripped through Janesville Parker en route to a 56-12 thrashing to the delight of the Homecoming crowd.

The victory clinches a share of the Big Eight Conference championship for Middleton (7-0 overall, 7-0 Big Eight). The Cardinals lead Sun Prairie, whom they beat in the season opener, by one game with two weeks to go. Parker slips to 4-3 overall, 3-3 in the Big Eight.

The destruction was swift, complete and astounding.

Middleton hit paydirt on its first six possessions, on drives that averaged less than five plays. After beginning their first drive at their own 42-yard line, the Cardinals started their next five inside Parker territory.

And the attack was diverse -- five different Cardinals reached the end zone as Middleton rattled off 42 straight points.

"We wanted to be in an attack mode offensively,'' said Middleton coach Kurt Gundlach. "We feel we have some weapons to do that.''

Everything seemed to be going Middleton's way. The Cardinals were the beneficiaries of a fumble, an interception and a shanked punt that traveled two yards.

"In our wildest dreams, we never would have imagined we'd end up in a situation like we did (Friday),'' said Parker coach Joe Dye. "You have to give credit to Middleton -- they outplayed us in every phase of the game. There's not one phase of the game that we played well.''

Even after Parker broke through with a touchdown late in the half, the Cardinals answered. Middleton's two-minute offense stalled, but the Cardinals got the ball back and scored on sophomore tailback Kyle Brodd's one-yard jaunt with just seconds left in the half.

Brodd's third touchdown of the half lifted Middleton to a 49-6 halftime lead.

"We thought we were in for a tough game,'' said Middleton fullback Trent Beuthin, who scored the Cardinals' first touchdown and was Brodd's lead blocker. "Our offensive line really took it to them.''

Quarterback Jeremy Ziegler passed for two touchdowns, and added another on a first-quarter sneak. The junior finished the game as Middleton's second-leading rusher, running the option to perfection and often making something out of nothing with his scrambling ability.

"He gives us another dimension with his feet,'' Gundlach said.

Ryan Oliversen and Casey Cramer grabbed Ziegler's TD tosses, and Matt Meinholz broke loose for a 56-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second half for Middleton's final score.

The lone bright spot for Parker was wideout Joe Dawson, who caught touchdown bombs of 40 and 69 yards.

Middleton travels to Rockford East next week before closing out its season against Big Eight foe Madison West. With an undefeated season and an outright conference championship on the horizon, the Cardinals are trying not to get ahead of themselves.

"Take it one game at a time,'' Beuthin said, "and just not screw it up at the end with West.''

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