Team Preview:
Written By: Sven Alskog

Anyone who has seen Middleton play football over the years probably noticed a much different approach during the 2017 season led by the arm of senior quarterback Darin Post.

With Post now graduated, the question becomes, will the Vikings continue to air it out or go back to a run-first offensive attack? The answer appears to be a continuation of the air raid offense, leaving defensive coordinators throughout the 4A SIC scrambling to find answers after all the success Middleton had last year.

We won’t know for sure how it will play out until 19th year head coach Bill Brock sends his team out to the field in the season opener against Kuna, but with a dominant offensive line coming back, there should be plenty of opportunities to be successful for whoever comes out of the quarterback battle between Dallas Hagler and Cash Cowdery.

That offensive front is highlighted by University of Washington commit Gaard Memmelaar and fellow returning starter Aaron Drake. Both should provide Middleton with a nice one-two punch on the line.

Whoever the signal caller ends up being will also have multiple weapons at the skill positions including receiver Jace Rodgers and running back Jake Tuckett.

“We have a lot of talented kids who just need an opportunity to shine,” said Brock.

That talent extends to the defensive side of the ball, where the Vikings bring back nine returning starters, including a strong linebacker core featuring Richard Lucarelli, Jake Beitia and Ty Cantelo.

A 3-4 defensive alignment will rely on those linebackers to wreak havoc in the backfield and get some pressure on opposing quarterbacks. If the front line and linebackers can get pressure, the back side of the defense has plenty of experience and should be tough to move the ball against.

“We have a lot of experience in the back end of our defense. We need to continue to improve daily,” added Brock.

He thinks this group on each side of the ball will be able to do just that.

“We are very excited about the upcoming season. We have a great group of kids, and although we are relatively inexperienced at the varsity level, we believe we will continue to improve and have another successful season.”

Middleton is one of the clear favorites for another playoff spot out of the 4A SIC, although there will be a fair amount of fresh faces on the offensive side of the ball needing to step up in a big way in order to make that a reality. A challenging opening portion to the schedule should give everyone a better idea of what this edition of the Vikings will be.