Mica Mountain wins one for Pat Nugent — and for its beloved captain | Michael Lev

TEMPE — The Mica Mountain Thunderbolts had to finish this journey the right way.

If anyone was going to take a knee to secure the school’s first state championship, it had to be Conner Hangartner, the hard-working, hard-luck senior tailback.

Hangartner began the season as a starter. But his season all but ended in the first half of the first game when he suffered a broken ankle.

Once Hangartner was functional enough, Mica Mountain coach Pat Nugent found a postseason role for him: Victory Formation Guy.

So, it was in the final moments of the 4A State Championship Game on Friday at Mountain America Stadium. With the Thunderbolts on their way to a resounding 42-13 victory, backup quarterback Jaidyn Crist burst through the defense of Chandler Arizona College Prep. Crist had a clear path to the end zone. But he slid feet-first at the 2-yard line. That enabled Hangartner — who moments earlier had been balling in the arms of teammate Jimmy Leon — to trot onto the field to take the final, triumphant snap.

“I’ve known him since fifth grade, since I moved to Tucson,” starting quarterback Jayden Thoreson said. “So to end our high school careers like that, it’s something I’ll remember forever.”

Thoreson and Hangartner are two of five players who were there from the beginning — the inception of the Mica Mountain program. The others: linemen George Flores and Michael Quiroz, and tailback Josiah Thornwell, who had the game of his life Friday: 182 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

What started as a dream became a dream come true in a building that might as well have been called Mica Mountain America Stadium: The fledgling Thunderbolts won a state title in just their third full season of varsity football.

After reaching the semifinals a year ago — losing to eventual champion Canyon del Oro — Mica Mountain went unbeaten and was seldom challenged. Arizona College Prep came in as the favorite, at least on paper, seeded second while Mica Mountain was fourth. The Knights, who’d won 12 in a row since losing their opener, couldn’t match the Thunderbolts’ physicality, precision and persistence.

The man orchestrating it all was Nugent, who’d accomplished just about everything a high school coach could over multiple decades at multiple schools — except winning a state title. He came painfully close with CDO in 2007, losing in the finals. He raised the trophy Friday in what could be his final game.

Nugent hinted afterward that he might retire. Not a bad way to go out, eh?

“It’s emotional,” Nugent said, his voice cracking. “Because I’ve worked a long time, 34 years coaching. To go out on top like this is pretty special. You never know what’s going to happen next week.

“But I don’t want any sadness going on in our program. It’s about winning tonight. It’s about honoring these kids and our coaching staff and ... our community in Vail.”

The community showed up in a big way, with hundreds making the two-hour-plus drive up I-10. Most wore white T-shirts that read “Bolts Football.” Many — including the hyped-up student section — waved white “Bolts — All In” towels.

They were treated to a display of prep football at its finest. Before the game was even five minutes old, Mica Mountain had a 14-0 lead. Thunderbolts? That was a lightning strike.

Thornwell strolled into the end zone from the 1, untouched, to cap a 65-yard opening march. After a three-and-out and a shanked punt, Thoreson ran an option to the left, kept the ball and high-stepped down the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown.

The Thunderbolts would finish with 357 net rushing yards, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt.

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“We were gonna run on them,” said Flores, the starting right tackle. “The game plan was to mix in everything.

“They’re a tremendous team. ACP was 12-1 for a reason. They were not nobodies. They were good.”

The Knights lost their first game of the season, 42-7, to Crown Point, Indiana (which finished 12-1). From that point forward, ACP outscored its opponents 590-178, including three shutouts.

The Knights couldn’t stop Mica Mountain. The Thunderbolts scored touchdowns on six of their first eight possessions. One ended on downs at the ACP 31; on the last drive of the half, they simply ran out of time.

Mica Mountain led 28-7 at the break. The Knights cut the lead to 28-13 in the third quarter. The Thunderbolts responded immediately with a 67-yard touchdown drive, capped by Thornwell’s third TD run. His fourth, from 24 yards out, iced it with 6:19 to play.

Thornwell thought back to those early days, when the First Five showed up to lay the foundation for a program that had to be built from the ground up.

“We knew the goal wasn’t just gonna happen overnight,” he said. “We had to work hard. So to be able to get it — something we’ve been talking about since freshman year — is just an amazing feeling.”

“It kind of seems surreal,” Flores said. “It kind of seems too farfetched. We’re just getting started.”

Flores credited last year’s seniors for creating a championship culture. This senior class — 31-strong — will be remembered as the one that put Mica Mountain on the map.

“Five of our kids have been in our program since Day One,” Nugent said. “We were a JV team. Nobody knew who Mica Mountain was.

“But five special young men that believed ... all four years. They worked their tails off. And to see those (five) go out with a championship, just awesome.”

Which brings us back to Conner Hangartner. The 5-foot-6 fireplug rushed for 779 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. He was supposed to be the lead back.

Hangartner couldn’t play for most of the season. But he made his presence felt.

“Conner Hangartner is our leader,” Nugent said. “He’s our captain. No. 1 kid in the weight room. He’s a special young man.”

“Losing your season, when you were a star player last year, was horrible,” Flores said. “But he deserves every single piece of this ring and this championship.”

As the players celebrated on the field, senior kicker Landon Hubbard approached Hangartner. “Conner, this is for you,” Hubbard said.

Soon after, the Thunderbolts sprinted to the student section to sing the school fight song. Hangartner joined them, the pain in that ankle a distant memory.