Canyon de Oroβs Kayden Luke (30), left, slams into Mica Mountainβs Kason Colbert (44) on a carry up the middle during the Doradosβ 17-15 win over the Thunderbolts at Canyon del Oro High School on Oct. 13.
Mica Mountainβs George Flores (75) kneels on the field while Canyon del Oroβs bench celebrates the Doradosβ late-game stand on a Thunderbolt 2-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter on Oct. 13. CDO held on for the 17-15 home win to remain the last unbeaten Tucson-area team this season.
The battle for supremacy among Southern Arizonaβs 4A football heavyweights has become a trilogy.
No. 2 Canyon del Oro (12-0) hosts No. 3 Mica Mountain (11-1) in the rubber match with a spot in the state championship game on the line.
Mica Mountain won Round 1 in 2022; Canyon del Oro took the second in October β on Friday the 13th, no less.
The third meeting is Black Friday at 7 p.m.
βI think everybody talked about it all year long,β MM head coach Pat Nugent said. βUnfortunately, we gotta meet each other in the semifinals. I wish we were separated β see them in the finals β but it is what it is.
βHopefully one of us is going to win a championship.β
CDO seeks Southern Arizonaβs first 14-0 season since Salpointe Catholic in 2013.
Mica Mountain won the first game in this new rivalry, 26-7 at home in the regular-season finale last year. However, despite winning the 4A Kino championship, the Thunderbolts missed the playoffs last year as CDO made it to the semifinals, losing 16-13 in overtime at Snowflake.
This season, after melting Snowflake in the first round, 31-24, and then beating Phoenix Northwest Christian 38-17, MM earned a spot in the semifinals and the 2023 rematch.
After their game, but before CDOβs had finished, some Thunderbolts said they wanted the Dorados to win, even if it meant going on the road for the semis.
βOh, I want them to win. I want to play CDO, at CDO where we have our one loss at,β said Mica senior receiver/safety Jonah Garcia. βI think we need to rebound before we make our eventual presence in the state championship.β
CDO, which beat No. 10 Chandler AZ College Prep 33-27 in four overtimes last week, beat Mica Mountain in October thanks to a blocked extra point and a sack on the last-minute 2-point conversion, both by senior SaβKylee Woodard.
βThereβs so many feelings running through body, that was a very emotional game,β Woodard said after the Oct. 13 game. βAs Iβve been saying, just vengeance, we had a lot on our slate, weβve been preparing since we took the βLβ last year so for me to get a moment and an opportunity to make a play is just surreal.β
Garcia said 11 plays determined the October game. After breaking them down, the Thunderbolts feel like if they could have corrected even two or three of them, they would have won.
βIt would be great to get our revenge. It would be great to show them that that game was a fluke and we couldβve made it up with if we had more time and we didnβt make so many mistakes like we did,β said MM senior receiver/corner back Will White.
CDO senior Kayden Luke ran for 151 yards on 27 carries in the October game, and MM senior Jayden Thoreson passed for 242.
βIt was a battle, and obviously, we made a few mental mistakes in that game,β Nugent said. βYou go down and you lose by two, it was a blocked extra point, either team can win, and I think our kids have all the world of confidence.
βWeβre excited to go up there and play a big time Tucson football game.β
Mica Mountain opened in 2020, first played varsity games in 2021 and played its first full varsity schedule in 2022.
Canyon del Oro won back-to-back AA state titles in 1976 and 1977 and won the 4A-I crown in 2009. CDO also reached the 4A-I state championship game in 2007 and 2010.
βI told the kids βthanks,ββ Peace said after the Oct. 13 game. βIf I had to live my life 0-4, every time we go golfing or something, I couldnβt say anything else, no matter if we had state championships or not.β
Extra points
MM senior tight end/linebacker Kason Colbert returned for the quarterfinal game after missing four weeks with a concussion, playing just defense. Nugent said the Thunderbolts hope to have the 4A Kino Offensive Player of the Year for both sides of the ball Friday at CDO
Photos: Canyon del Oro edges Mica Mountain in matchup of 4A high school football unbeatens