Vel Phillips Memorial vs Middleton: Recap & Prospects of Game

The Big 8 looks like a conference that will be putting at least 3 teams into the playoffs, including the two that met in this big stage showdown. Conference play kicked off across WI in Week 3 and based on the scores across the state it was a great week of football. It definitely was in Middleton, WI where the Cardinals of Middleton hosted the Spartans of Vel Phillips Memorial HS. VPM entered the contest 2-0 and Middleton came in 1-1. Getting that first conference win, and against another top team in your conference, is as great of a way to start your conference schedule as you could hope for. As you will see in the game recap, neither of these teams wanted to miss out on that chance to start 1-0 in the Big 8. Continue reading to find out who brought home the victory in arguably the best game we have ever covered live. Then check out who stood out most and earned a spot in the top prospects of the game. Enjoy!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Game Recap</h2>   You will quickly find out that this battle turned into an offensive shootout, but you wouldn't think so with the way it started. Middleton senior LB Charlie Tompach was flying around the field to start the game. He intercepted the first play that VPM ran on offense. After that didn't turn into points, Tompach slid into a scrum and came away with a fumble recovery on the first play of the second VPM drive. This time the Middleton offense capitalized. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1610215' first='Joey' last='Passaglia'] found TE [player_tooltip player_id='944023' first='Drew' last='Cooney'] up the seam for a 13 yard score and the 7-0 to get things rolling. VPM's offense didn't let the deficit last for long as senior RB Kam Parker took the handoff, made multiple defenders miss, and then easily scampered into the endzone at the 5:03 mark in the 1st Quarter. As the first quarter was winding down. VPM got the ball back and worked their way down the field on the arm of QB [player_tooltip player_id='384580' first='Owen' last='Fiedler']. Fiedler capped off the drive with a beautiful lob to WR Jordan Elliott for the 14-7 lead after 1.   It looked like this game may get out of hand early in the second when Fiedler found ATH [player_tooltip player_id='642456' first='Marion' last='Moore'] in the endzone for their first scoring connection of the game giving VPM a 21-7 lead only a couple minutes into the second quarter. Then Middleton's offense came out and completely took the momentum back. QB [player_tooltip player_id='1610215' first='Joey' last='Passaglia'] punched it in on the goal line to cut it to 14-21. Then with 3:33 left in the half Passaglia went deep on 4th & long to WR [player_tooltip player_id='1610224' first='Chase' last='Rogers'] to tie the game at 21-21. Middleton wasn't done just yet. They got the ball back with less than a minute on the clock and go 77 yards in 3 pass plays. One of them being a perfect [player_tooltip player_id='1610215' first='Joey' last='Passaglia'] pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1610224' first='Chase' last='Rogers'] for the 28-21 halftime lead.   The second half started like the first half. The defenses seemed to be finding their groove. They were grabbing INTs, forcing and recovering fumbles. Neither offense was able to find footing and establish a drive that ended in points. That was until the 5:34 mark when Middleton's Passaglia connected with [player_tooltip player_id='944023' first='Drew' last='Cooney'] for their second time through the air giving Middleton a commanding 35-21 lead. At least we thought it was commanding until [player_tooltip player_id='642456' first='Marion' last='Moore'] returned the kickoff 80 yards to bring it down to a 28-35 deficit. Every time one of these teams looked in control we would see the momentum completely swing the other way. In the 4th quarter, QB [player_tooltip player_id='384580' first='Owen' last='Fiedler'] got things rolling again as he found Jordan Elliott for another TD score to knot things up at 35 all. Both teams traded drives in hopes to take the lead with little to no time left, and with :02 left in the game it was VPM who was able to get down to the goal line where WR [player_tooltip player_id='1394903' first='Ty' last='Aparicio'] booted it through to give Memorial the hard earned, electric 38-35 victory to keep their season undefeated!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Prospects of the Game</h2>    Stats: 1 KO Return TD, 1 Receiving TD, 1 INT   Marion was the walking big play threat that I was expecting coming into this game. He made a big impact in all three phases of the game showing versatility, a high football IQ, and superior athletic gifts. At the catch point I was blown away by Marion. He attacks the ball in the air, has soft hands to make every catch/INT, and also showed strong hands to fight through contact to secure the catch. The NDSU commit's fluid movement and agility looked effortless as he easily stayed in the pocket of his WR, and the Middleton offense were smart to not test him much in coverage. When they did he made them pay. Moore was a mismatch all night long and proved to be one of the most talented players in the WI Class of 2025.     Stats: 3 Passing TDs   I loved what I saw from the senior signal caller out of VPM. He has a well built, sturdy frame that is ready for the next level. The senior was a quick decision maker, confident, and aggressive with his passes. He forced Middleton to cover the entire field as he went deep on multiple occasions with impressively placed passes. The touch and accuracy to the intermediate and deep levels of the field showed up over and over as he and the offense built leads, and made a comeback through this game. Owen has the physical and mental tools for the next level, plus he showed the clutch gene that not many have. Fiedler played like a Top 10 senior QB in this game. He is on the rise.     Stats: 2 Receiving TDs   Jordan put himself on the map with his performance in Week 3. He proved to be a reliable target that Fiedler could turn to when he needed a big play. The senior showed he could get a quick release off the line, stack the corner and then quickly track the ball and position himself so that he had the best chance at bringing it in. On both his 18 and 25 yard TDs, Jordan showed he could easily track the ball and adjust his positioning on the fly. The speedy WR is a big play threat out wide that we will be watching this season.     Ty was Mr. Reliable all night long. VPM found a lot of success passing all over the field, but when a key conversion needed to be made it was always Ty who stepped up and delivered. The senior WR converted multiple 3rd & longs that kept drives alive, and those drives were valuable as you can see from the final score. Aparicio is a fun athlete to watch. He is so sudden and shifty as a route runner. He opened up plenty of separation for his QB to target, and plucked the ball out of the air naturally. After the catch Ty is a slippery runner who was able to make you miss or accelerate through arm tackles before DBs could wrap him up completely. Ty is an under the radar weapon to check out in the Class of 2025.     Another new name on our radar for senior athletes is the long, lean DE/LT [player_tooltip player_id='1599712' first='Wyatt' last='Schauder']. The big man impressed on both sides of the ball. On offense he used his length really well to gain first contact and control where his pass rusher went. His light feet allowed him to also stay square on his man for the vast majority of the heavy passing attack. On defense is where Wyatt really shined, though. His length was again a huge advantage as he could create space then use lateral quickness to slip around the OL. He showed a high motor that helped him make a few extra plays, and overall he dominated as a pass rusher. Stats aren't posted, but it seems like the senior got to the QB 4-5 times including the game ending sack. Get on this kid, today.     VPM went to the air pretty heavily throughout this game, but when they kept it on the ground it was with Kam Parker. The senior RB was fun to watch with his carries. He is a quick, elusive runner that can stop on a dime and accelerate quickly. Parker also really impressed with his contact balance. The kid was a pinball bouncing off tacklers and always kept working his way towards positive yards. Parker was a spark plug that helped this offense keep moving. Don't sleep on this senior RB. He made an impact with limited touches.     Nico impressed on the OL and the DL Friday night for VPM. Middleton only ran the ball a handful of times and Nico may have had an impact on that because any time the ball came between the tackles he was right there to stuff it. Nico was immovable on the interior all night long. On offense he held down the center position. He showed a stout anchor to secure the interior of the pocket and he used that big frame to move his man in the run game and open up those interior running lanes. Give the senior lineman a look on both sides of the ball.     Stats: 12/23, 155 Yards, 4 TDs   What a game from the junior QB. Joey was doing everything he could to keep Middleton in this game from start to finish. He was on fire attacking the deep third of the field. Over and over he was able to drop it in a bucket for his WRs to easily haul in right in stride. The junior was also very mobile in the pocket. He was able to make a lot of plays downfield off of the time he was able to buy while scrambling around the backfield. Joey was a poised leader on offense who didn't let any mishaps or sacks throw him off his game. He just kept attacking. Keep an eye on him over this next year.     Stats: 8/10, 208 Yards, 3 Receptions, 30 Yards   Troy had a good night. In the second half we saw him take over at QB on several snaps and he too started to push the ball downfield aggressively. His natural fit is out wide at WR. That is where his size, speed, and agility allowed him to create separation and make some key grabs to keep things moving for Middleton. Troy is a fluid athlete that easily covers ground, which I'm sure is a big reason why Marquette is excited to have him on their La Crosse team at the next level.     Stats: 2 Receptions, 37 Yards, 2 TDs   Drew didn't see a ton of action, but he stepped up big time in or just outside the redzone on both of his catches. He was able to get clean releases from the inline TE position, stack his LB, and get his head around to find the football. The senior showed soft hands to bring in his first TD pass with one hand before securing it with two while going to the ground. Drew has a solid 6'3" frame. Give him time to continue to fill out at the next level and he could become a nice TE or H back option.     Stats: 5 Receptions, 131 Yards, 2 TDs   The most impressive performance on the night for Middleton was WR [player_tooltip player_id='1610224' first='Chase' last='Rogers']. The junior WR was a menace to the VPM secondary. Chase showed off game breaking speed as he repeatedly got deep downfield in front of his CB. His ability to find the ball and adjust to it in flight is a major strength of his and led to so many big plays. Rogers has natural hands that reeled in passes with ease. Plus the junior showed great awareness when near the sideline to make the catch while staying in bounds. Rogers took over this game with his big play abilities. It was a true breakout party for the junior WR. Keep an eye on him going forward. We definitely will be.     I have been wanting to get a live look at Quone for awhile and I wasn't disappointed with what I saw. Burks is now listed at 344 lbs and takes up a lot of space at NT for Middleton. The big man was able to eat up blocks, leading to the Middleton LBs flying around to get pressure or make tackles against the run game. Burks also flashed the ability to collapse the pocket and force the QB to roll out one way or the other. Even though he didn't get home, Quone impacted the rhythm of the passing game at times for VPM.     The Wisconsin Badger commit was fun to watch. He has a massive frame with length to match. His athleticism at that size is special. So much so that the nearly 290 lbs athlete spent a lot of reps rushing from a two point stance off the edge. The senior is still raw and learning the nuances of the position, but watching him use his length to create separation and also showing the power to easily run his OT into the lap of the QB or RB on several reps gives impressive glimpses into his potential. Torn is a massive, still filling out, ball of clay who has his best football still ahead of him.

The Big 8 looks like a conference that will be putting at least 3 teams into the playoffs, including the two that met in this big stage showdown. Conference play kicked off across WI in Week 3 and based on the scores across the state it was a great week of football. It definitely was in Middleton, WI where the Cardinals of Middleton hosted the Spartans of Vel Phillips Memorial HS. VPM entered the contest 2-0 and Middleton came in 1-1. Getting that first conference win, and against another top team in your conference, is as great of a way to start your conference schedule as you could hope for. As you will see in the game recap, neither of these teams wanted to miss out on that chance to start 1-0 in the Big 8. Continue reading to find out who brought home the victory in arguably the best game we have ever covered live. Then check out who stood out most and earned a spot in the top prospects of the game. Enjoy!