15 Days to Blitz: Middleton Cardinals look to defend Big 8 Conference title

MIDDLETON, Wis. (WMTV) - It may be hard to believe, but we are officially just two weeks away from the return of the Friday Football Blitz! In exactly 14 days, the lights will shine bright on our first live Game of the Week.

To kick off the countdown, we are previewing 15 local high school football teams from around our area. Today, the spotlight is on the Middleton Cardinals.

Middleton is looking to defend its Big Eight Conference title and build on an impressive 9-2 record from last season. Back at the helm to guide the team are co-head coaches Jim Poehls and Tim Simon.

For the Cardinals, the excitement has been building since the spring.

“Kids have been looking forward to this for months, so have we,” said Simon. “A lot of guys are multiple-sport athletes, so as soon as baseball season or track season or lacrosse season was over for them, they were chomping at the bit. So yeah, happy to be back.”

With graduation taking away a highly talented class of seniors, the Cardinals face the challenge of rebuilding. However, Simon and Poehls view this transition as a massive opportunity for the program’s rising talent.

“Well, the kids know it, we have a tradition here, so it’s next man up,” Simon explained. “And we’re graduating a lot of good players, a lot of seniors, but for us, that’s excitement for the kids. They have opportunities to compete for starting positions this year. So I think they’re pumped up about it. We’re always excited to see who’s going to bring what this year.”

Regardless of how the scoreboard looks, the coaching staff’s philosophy remains rooted in executing every single play with high intensity and focus rather than watching the clock.

“Regardless of the scoreboard, we always tell our kids, we’re playing for the possession, we’re playing for the down, we’re playing for the series, don’t worry about the scoreboard,” Simon said. “So we really evaluate both the scrimmage and even our first couple of games of how we are playing in the moment, whether we’re up by two touchdowns or down by two touchdowns. How are we competing, how are we hitting, how are we blocking?”

Ultimately, Simon emphasizes that success on Friday nights comes down to executing the fundamentals flawlessly.

“The game, as complicated as we make it as coaches, really comes down to blocking, tackling, and turnovers,” Simon added. “So that’ll be our focus going into the first few games for sure.”

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