Gilbert — Taking a road trip to the Valley for a game can be a challenge for teams from the Tucson area sometimes, but the Mica Mountain Thunderbolts were rolling Friday night. In their 42-0 shutout victory over Mesquite on the road, both offense and defense showed up ready to play.
“We have a really good football team right now and we’re trying to get better each week,” coach Pat Nugent said. “We came out. Forty-two points in the first half. That’s a great statement.”
Things started off in favor of the Bolts, winning the coin toss and electing to defer. Defense then came out and set the tone early, forcing a quick three-and-out.
Mica Mountain’s first possession ended in a punt, but it was fumbled by Mesquite and recovered by Ruben Bravo for the Bolts. Sitting at the 11-yard-line, it only took two plays for Mica Mountain to find the end zone. With 7:13 left in the first quarter, a five yard touchdown run by Josiah Thornwell put Mica Mountain on the board first before a good extra point attempt by Landon Hubbard made it 7-0.
Defense forced another quick three-and-out for Mesquite and the offense was ready to capitalize and extend the lead. Starting at their own 38, the Bolts progressed down the field, capping off the drive with a three yard touchdown run from Jordan Perry.
“We’re replacing our main running back, Conner Hangartner, broke his ankle last week,” Nugent said. “So Jordan Perry and JoJo (Thornwell) stepped up tonight and had some great yardage.”
After another quick three and out for the Wildcats, the Bolts took over at their own 39. With three big plays on the drive, the Bolts were able to finish it off with a two-yard quarterback keeper from Jayden Thoreson and a good extra point attempt. With just 25.7 seconds left in the first quarter, Mica Mountain had already jumped out to a 21-0 lead.
During Mesquite’s following drive, a fumble on the fourth down snap led to a botched punt attempt, giving Mica Mountain possession at their own 23. On the first snap of the drive, Thoreson aired it out for a 23-yard touchdown pass to Alex Palma. The kick was once again good, extending the lead to 28-0 with 10:48 still remaining in the first half.
Mica Mountain’s defense continued to bring the heat, and while Mesquite was able to move the ball a little more on this possession, the Wildcats ultimately had to punt.
On the next possession for the Bolts, two explosive runs helped propel them down the field before Thoreson was able to find Jimmy Leon, who took it in for a 19-yard touchdown. With 5:05 left in the first half, the Bolts had taken a 35-0 lead.
Mesquite’s following possession resulted in a turnover on downs, but Mica Mountain wouldn’t be able to capitalize on this possession. They’d punt it back to Mesquite, left just enough time on the clock when punting it back for Thoreson to strike one last time. With 2.8 seconds left, he connected with Riley Carson in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Following a good extra point attempt, Mica Mountain went into the half leading 42-0.
Coming back out of the half, it was a rather quick game as there was a running clock for both the third and the fourth quarters. Because of Mica Mountain’s dominant play, a lot of backup players got to go in and gain experience during the second half of the game. Nugent knows while the offense may not have been able to score, it was crucial for them to utilize the time giving less experienced players the opportunity to learn.
“When you have 60 kids, it’s hard to get kids on the field,” Nugent said. “They work their tail off Monday through Thursday. We always want to get them in, but a lot of times, they don’t get in the game… This was a great opportunity for the kids to have fun on Friday night and that’s what the game’s all about.”
On the night, Thoreson completed six of his 11 pass attempts for approximately 150 yards, three passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and zero interceptions playing in only the first half of the game. Defensively, Mica Mountain gave up roughly 55 passing yards while holding them to negative rushing yards.
Next week, Mica Mountain travels to Sabino (2-1) to face the defending 3A state champions. Nugent says his kids are excited about the game and are ready to challenge themself once again next week.
“Our kids always know it’s an east side battle, we want east side pride,” Nugent said. “They want to be the best team in the east side of Tucson. We don’t have to motivate our kids too much for Sabino.”
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