By Zach Alvira
Head of Content
Everything was working for Mica Mountain Friday night in Tempe.
The Thunderbolts entered the 4A state championship game as one of the favorites to hoist the gold ball all season long. And against Arizona College Prep, they left little doubt who the best team in the conference is.
They used a balanced attack on offense, gouging Arizona College Prep. Defensively, the Thunderbolts did what they do best and limited any offensive production for the Knights. The result: a 42-13 victory for the Thunderbolts, capturing the school’s first-ever state championship.
“What an unbelievable year,” Mica Mountain coach Pat Nugent said. “Third year of varsity football. These kids worked their tails off. We were a dominant football team all year long. We’ve got empty trophy cases at Mica Mountain because we’re so new. We’re going to put a big ole state championship trophy in there.”
Nugent was hired at Mica Mountain five years ago to build a powerhouse. Administration believed in his vision, one that had led to many years of success yet no state title to show for it.
So, watching his team dominate Friday night at Mountain America Stadium was a breath of fresh air. Finally, he was going to hoist a gold ball. This time, however, it was at the school he vowed to deliver a championship to.
But Nugent didn’t think only about himself. Many of his players were on his mind as his offense prepared to take knees out of victory formation to run the clock. Senior Conner Hangartner was one of them.
“Conner is our leader, he’s our captain,” Nugent said. “He’s a special young man. He didn’t get to play in the state championship game, so we wanted to make it special for him.”
Hangartner broke his ankle in the first quarter of the first game of the season. The fractured fibula, partnered with three torn ligaments, left him unable to play all season. He dressed out for the state title game, ankle brace and all.
As time wound down, he entered the game. Senior quarterback Jayden Thoreson took the snap and pitched it back to Hangartner, who took a knee. He then laid on the turf, tears rolling down his face.
“Losing your senior season is never fun. I don’t wish that on anybody,” Hangartner said. “But the good thing is, all my brothers, they got around me. They let me go out there in victory.”
Hangartner scoffed at his teammates calling him a 1,000-yard back had he not gotten hurt. He quickly shifted focus to fellow senior Josiah Thornwell, who got things going for Mica Mountain early on.
Thornwell was virtually unstoppable, even for an Arizona College Prep defense that prides itself on its ability to fly to the football and close off running lanes. The Knights had done that all season long. Friday night, however, was a different story.
Thornwell got Mica Mountain going early. He and Thoreson led the Thunderbolts down the field in a hurry, cashing in on a 1-yard run. Thoreson called his own number on Mica Mountain’s next offensive possession, scoring on a 42-yard run.
In a matter of minutes, Mica Mountain had jumped out to a two-score lead. The Thunderbolts never looked back.
ACP got some of the points back with a long drive that was capped off by a 19-yard Tyler Lowder touchdown run. But Thornwell again led Mica Mountain down the field, scoring his second touchdown of the night from 7 yards out.
“Our o-line and our fullback, JJ Mangrum, they just opened it up,” Thornwell said. “They dominated and played physical football. It was amazing.”
Mica Mountain went to the air in the second quarter. Thoreson found Riley Carson on a 53-yard touchdown that extended the Thunderbolts’ lead to three touchdowns.
ACP came out of the halftime break knowing it needed an answer. Junior quarterback Evan Heinrich orchestrated a good drive out of the half. He capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown run.
But that only added more fuel to the Mica Mountain fire.
Thornwell scored twice more on the night on runs of 2 and 24 yards, respectively. His four-touchdown performance was hardly something he expected entering the state title game Friday night.
He finished with 182 yards total. As a team, Mica Mountain rushed for 357 yards. Thoreson also got it done through the air, completing 13 of his 17 passes for 183 yards.
ACP was held to 250 total yards of offense. Nonetheless, head coach Steve Vaught was proud of his team’s effort all season.
“It’s a season and experience they’ll never forget,” Vaught said. “Obviously we wish we played better and coached better tonight. Wouldn’t change anything we did throughout the year.”
After 34 years coaching, Nugent finally held a gold ball. Though, it could be his first an only.
His players hinted at this being the last ride for their head football coach. Nugent said he would pause on making a decision about his future for now, but acknowledged how good it would feel to go out a champion.
“I’ve worked 34 years for this,” Nugent said. “To go out on top, it’s pretty special. You never know what’s going to happen next week. To know I’m bringing a trophy home with this coaching staff and these players is pretty special.”
Comments