By,
Rob Reischel
Middleton Times-Tribune
What had been suspected before the game was confirmed at kickoff Friday night.
Tony Crissinger and Luke Ingham will not play football for Middleton this season.
In fact, the pair who violated the school's athletic code for the third time will not be
eligible to play any sports this season, in essence ending the two seniors athletic
careers at MHS.
Crissinger, who has since moved to Florida, was to have been a starter at both wide
receiver and cornerback, while Ingham was expected to be a starter at tight end. Both
players also missed five games after violating the code last fall.
''They're done,'' Middleton coach Kurt Gundlach said afterwards. ''It's disappointing.''
The suspensions capped a topsy-turvy week for Gundlach and his Cardinals.
First, they weren't sure of the availability of several players who suffered injuries
during the team's Aug. 19 scrimmage. Then it was learned Crissinger and Ingham had
been booted for the year.
It added up to great uncertainty heading into the season-opener against MHS'
arch-rival.
''I've never had a week like this in my life,'' Gundlach said. ''It was unbelievable.
''But after everything that went on, the way our kids responded to adversity and hung
in there was incredibly encouraging.''
Badge of courage: Middleton senior kicker Brandon Hellenbrand should have
received a purple heart after fighting through a painful thigh contusion to drill field goals
of 32 and 37 yards. After each kick, Hellenbrand hobbled around the field for at least
30 seconds, in obvious pain caused by the kicking motion.
''What Brandon did tonight was awesome,'' Gundlach said. ''He fought through a lot of
pain.''
Butter fingers: Unofficially, Middleton had five dropped balls, including three by star
receiver Michael Morris. Quarterback Jeremy Ziegler also didn't seem to have his
usual crispness about him.
The reason?
''Not to make any excuses, but Jeremy said those balls were as slick as any he'd ever
played with,'' Gundlach said. ''But that can't be an excuse. We still can play a lot
better than that.''
The drive that wasn't: Afterwards, Gundlach and many Middleton players had to be
lamenting a fourth quarter opportunity gone awry. With 11:48 remaining, Middleton
began from the Sun Prairie 30 when pressure from Richard Leonardi forced Sun
Prairie punter Bryan Lee to pull the ball up and run into the arms of Mike Johnson.
But Middleton's next three plays produced -10 yards and the game remained
deadlocked, 13-13.
''I thought if we could have scored there, we would have had them in a lot of trouble,''
Gundlach said. ''That was a golden opportunity.''
Do as Sun Prairie does?: After Middleton defeated Sun Prairie, 27-6, in last year's
season-opener, Sun Prairie rolled off seven consecutive wins and was playing as well
as anyone in the league at season's end. Gundlach is hoping Middleton handles its
opening game loss in 2000 as well as Sun Prairie did in 1999.
''I hope we can react the same way as they did last year,'' Gundlach said. ''It's a long
season and we still have a chance to have a great one.''
First class: While the rivalry between Middleton and Sun Prairie has been well
documented, and may not seem the place you'd find gentlemanly behavior, Friday's
game proved otherwise.
Facing a third-and-goal from the one-yard line in the final seconds, Sun Prairie coach
Mike Hahn instructed quarterback Dugan Gill to take a knee rather than adding insult
to injury.
''I thought that was extremely classy for Mike to do,'' Gundlach said.
Odds and ends: On Middleton's first three possessions, it managed just 12 plays and
amassed -12 yards from scrimmage. ... Due to the suspension of Crissinger,
Middleton had 10 new defensive starters from 1999. ... Middleton's sophomores
defeated Sun Prairie, 39-20.