Don’t look now, but Mica Mountain has another region title under its belt and another win streak, just in time for the playoffs.
On Friday, Mica Mountain beat then-No. 6 Sahuaro 21-0 on the road, winning its third Class 4A Kino championship. The Thunderbolts, who began competing in a region in 2022, also won regional titles in 2022 and 2024.
“All of our programs, not just football, but sports programs across the board, take a lot of pride in representing our school well,” said Mica Mountain head coach Jay Campos. “And we won a lot of region championships in multiple sports, but it’s great that in football, we’ve only had a few opportunities and we’ve already won three of them.
“So it’s been a good ride so far, but we feel like we have more work to do.”
Campos also serves as an assistant principal for athletics at the school, a post he’s had since it opened in 2020.
The Thunderbolts debuted in 2021, playing six varsity games as an independent.
Mica Mountain’s Jaidyn Crist gets off the pass as Sahuaro’s Jaxson Moore bears down during the second quarter of their 4A Kino game, Oct. 31, 2025.
“It’s very cool, it’s special,” Mica Mountain senior quarterback Jaidyn Crist said about their third region title. “Coach Campos makes a great, great program from the top down, you can come to campus any day and you see the school pride and I think it definitely shows in every sport, not just football.”
Mica Mountain earned the seven seed and a bye to the second round of the 4A state tournament, where they will face either No. 23 Phoenix Sierra Linda (8-2) or No. 10 Lake Havasu (8-2) on Nov. 14.
After Mica Mountain won the 4A state championship last year, head coach Pat Nugent retired, and Campos took over. The Flagstaff Sinagua High School alumnus went 133-35 at Sabino and led the Sabercats to state championship games in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2016.
“The biggest thing is transition is never easy, right? Going from Coach Nugent to myself,” Campos said. “There were just some things that were different and new, and we had some injuries up front on our offensive line. We weren’t able to solidify those guys initially, but you know what, to our kids’ credit, we persevered.
Mica Mountain’s head coach Jay Campos gets a hug from Korben Greene after the Thunderbolts’ 21-0 win over Sahuaro and a first-place finish in the 4A Kino, Oct. 31, 2025.
“We kept on getting better every week, our offensive line now I think it’s clicking a little bit better than we were early in the season, that’s really opened up our offense,” he added. “Our defense has been solid the whole year, they’ve been consistent and they’ve been great.”
The Bolts have outscored opponents 311-70 this season, but also had to deal with their first consecutive losses since 2022, to No. 12 Waddell ALA — West Foothills and 5A No. 28 Sunnyside.
From Oct. 7, 2022, when they lost at 6A Salpointe Catholic to the ALA — West Foothills game, Mica Mountain only lost two games, both on the road to the eventual 4A state champion Canyon del Oro in 2023. The Thunderbolts’ 16-game winning streak ended at the hands of the Guardians.
Since then, Mica Mountain has won six in a row.
“We definitely had some ups and downs in the beginning of the season,” Crist said. “You know, a new coach, a new offense, new learning, everything’s a little bit hard, but I think these past six weeks we’ve come on a great winning streak.
“I think we’re finally meshing and we’re slowly, slowly each week getting better.”
Mica Mountain returned one offensive starter and six on defense from its state title-winning side.
Many Arizona media members feel like the 4A is wide open this year, and Campos agrees. This is the first season of the 24-team, top eight seeds receiving a bye format.
“I think whoever’s healthiest and whoever’s playing the best at the end will have a shot and I think we could be in that mix if we got to continue to get better,” Campos said.
According to All Sports Tucson, Mica Mountain is one of five local teams on a six-game or better win streak.
Campos said they need to take on a win-or-go-home mentality in games and in practice.
“Well, now the second part of the season begins, right? The final chapter,” Campos said. “So, at this point in time, it’s just execution and making sure that we understand we’re guaranteed nothing.”
Mica Mountain’s Colin Axford (26) attempts to stiff-arm his way to a few more yards past Sahuaro’s Ethan Geoffroy (8) during the fourth quarter of their 4A Kino game, Oct. 31, 2025.
Tucson area teams have won the last two 4A state championships.
“It feels amazing, just representing Tucson as an area compared to all these Phoenix teams,” said Mica Mountain senior running back Colin Axford.
