Jay Campos looks to carry on Mica Mountain’s rising football tradition

When Mica Mountain High School was in its infancy as the newest member of the Vail School District in 2020, the Thunderbolts’ administration had lofty expectations for their athletics programs, but they were willing to be patient.

Winning state championships in football, track and girls wrestling by Year 5? Not even Jay Campos, Mica Mountain’s assistant principal and first-year head football coach, could envision that.

When Mica Mountain opened its doors — or online classrooms — in 2020, “it was kind of a weird time with (the COVID-19 pandemic) in full force,” Campos said.

“A lot of schools weren’t being opened on time — ours being one of them,” he said. “Our first day of school as a brand-new school was remote; there wasn’t a single student on campus, so it was a weird feeling. It took us a little while to get going that year.

“We thought when we first started that in Year 5, we’d be relevant in athletics and academics and just being a school that kids would gravitate to. When COVID hit, we thought it would be Year 7, 8 or 9 before that happened, because of the setback on that. But we rebounded quickly.”

Then, Mica Mountain’s football program was led by Pat Nugent, a longtime head coach with stints at Flowing Wells, Canyon del Oro, Pima College and Cienega. The Thunderbolts didn’t play a varsity schedule until 2022.

Two years later, the underclassmen who invested in the rise of Mica Mountain, became upperclassmen and led the Thunderbolts to an unblemished 14-0 record that was capped by a win over Arizona College Prep for the Class 4A state championship at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.

“When (Mica Mountain principal Nemer Hassey) talked to me about going over there, I didn’t think it was possible that we would get to the level Cienega was at,” Nugent said.

After the season, Nugent retired from his head coaching post, with Campos as his successor.

“You always want to keep fighting and battling but to end up being a champion and 14-0 with a special group, it’s a special way,” Nugent said. “It’s always hard to leave but it’s a great opportunity to step away from the game.”

Added Nugent: “Jay is a tremendous coach. He’s been successful at the high school level. He’s got a great program and unbelievable situation at Mica Mountain because staying in (Class) 4A puts them in a really good situation for the next few years. I’m always here if he ever needs me but he’s going to do a tremendous job with how the program is growing right now.”

Campos returns to the sidelines for the first time since 2016, when he led Sabino to a Class 3A state championship appearance. Campos coached the Sabercats from 2003-16 and posted a 133-35 record. Campos coached notable Sabercats, including former Arizona Wildcats defensive end Brooks Reed and BYU tight end Matt Bushman, who both played for teams in the Super Bowl.

Between Campos, Nugent and Hassey, who coached at Cienega and Sahuaro prior to opening Mica Mountain, the trio went a combined 446-151.

Campos joined ESPN Tucson’s “Spears & Ali” this week to discuss his rebooted coaching journey and how the Thunderbolts are shaping up entering the season following last year’s state title run.

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What does it mean to succeed Nugent?

A: “In regards to Pat, he’s a fantastic coach and a guy that I learned a lot from just from watching him as the assistant principal and in charge of athletics. With him as our football coach, I enjoyed sitting back and just taking things in and seeing how Pat operated.

“One of the concerns we had coming in: Nemer, a longtime football coach and our principal, myself as the assistant principal and longtime football coach and Pat, who’s been successful everywhere he’s been, is can we all work together and be on the same page? I think we answered that in Year 5.

“We all had our jobs and we took our jobs seriously. I didn’t crossover and get into Pat’s business as a coach because that wasn’t my responsibility. I had a big-picture responsibility to run the athletic programs, and his job was to coach them up.”

How do you reflect on your time at Sabino, and what lessons did you learn along the way that can be applied to your next chapter at Mica Mountain?

A: “I got to work with some fantastic human beings over at Sabino High School. My years there was nothing but fond memories and we had some great players that I’m still friends with to this day. We had a lot of Division I players and some guys go to the NFL, but we also have a lot of police officers, teachers and coaches themselves — (Sabino head coach) Ryan McBrayer being one of them.

“We had a great system, great program, a lot of great people. I was lucky enough to be the head coach there for 14 years. We did have some success, but no one does it alone. We had a lot of great assistant coaches with me and a ton of support from the administration, the parents. I had kids that were willing to work hard.

“That’s the formula. Some teams might win a year here, a year there. We had sustained success at Sabino because we had all the arrows pointing in the same direction. We were working together, from the parents, the admin, coaches and the players. We have that at Mica Mountain now, and that’s why we’re having sustained success across all programs.”

When you coached at Sabino and Hassey led Cienega, the Sabercats and Bobcats formed a rivalry over the years. How is it being on the same team as Hassey?

A: “At the end of the day, if you’re a head football coach or a principal or assistant principal, the job has to get done. If it doesn’t get done, then the kids are the ones who suffer. We’re able to sit down and have very direct conversations.

“There’s not a lot of beating around the bush when we have a meeting about how we want to approach a certain topic or situation; we just get to the meat of the issue and figure out what’s best for our kids and our school. ... Working with him has been fantastic.

“Our mindsets are very similar. We don’t always agree, but we figure out ways to get it done. It’s been a great scenario here. He lets me do my job and gives me what I need to be successful — and that’s for everybody on campus, from teachers and coaches across the board.”

After winning the state title last season and losing a plethora of seniors, what’s the identity of this year’s Mica Mountain football team?

A: “A lot of people ask that question. Look, we lost 31 seniors, and a lot of those kids had been starting since their sophomore year, so they had experience and went through some battles and tough teams. We lose those kids and tough teams, however, in good programs, the cupboard is not bare.

“We have 28 seniors this year, and they’ve been working really hard. The message has been that a lot of experience walked out the door, but we have a lot of experience that played last year, whether they were starters or coming in as reserves.

“They’ve been working extremely hard. ... We have a goal and that goal is to not drop the baton, like in a relay. When you pass the baton from one person to the next, that’s what we’re looking to do. Last year’s team is passing the baton to this year’s team, and our goal is to cross that finish line as state champions again.”