Defending 4A state champion Mica Mountain High School shut out visiting Lake Havasu 35-0 on Friday night, advancing to the 4A quarterfinal round.
The No. 7 Thunderbolts (9-2) booked their ticket by blanking a Knights team that had averaged 38 points per game entering the matchup.
“We executed our game plan to perfection tonight,” Mica Mountain coach Jay Campos said. “We come out and shut a team like that out, pretty impressed with our team. I’m proud of them.”
Senior quarterback Jaidyn Crist threw for 162 yards and three touchdowns and added another score on a 1-yard run. Riley Cooper and Kaden Watson combined for 139 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
“The O-line played their butts off,” Crist said. “The scheme this week was amazing.”
Despite the lopsided finish, the game opened slowly. The first quarter ended scoreless after penalties and turnovers from both teams.
“We were just being real patient, kind of probing to see where we were going to be able to exploit them,” Campos said. “It’s a four-quarter game … we just wanted to win the game. That’s the most important thing, and I’m proud of the way the kids responded tonight.”
“We were just shooting ourselves in the foot,” Crist said.
The Thunderbolts struck first with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Crist to Cooper midway through the second quarter.
Less than three minutes later, on Lake Havasu’s first drive after the score, Najean Anderson recovered a fumble at the Knights’ 16. Crist capped the short drive with a 1-yard sneak to make it 14-0.
Seven plays later, Lake Havasu was forced to punt on fourth-and-7 with under two minutes left in the half.
Mica Mountain didn’t worry about the clock. Starting at its own 48, the Thunderbolts gained 34 yards on a sweep by Evan Wheeler. Colin Axford followed with back-to-back runs, punching in a 2-yard touchdown to push the lead to 21-0 at halftime.
The second half featured more explosive plays. Both of Mica Mountain’s touchdowns came on fourth-down passes from Crist to Watson, the first on fourth-and-9 to the back of the end zone, the second on fourth-and-7, a 27-yard catch-and-run.
“I rolled out, I saw pressure. Me and Kaden had talked in the huddle that it was going to be there,” Crist said. “I heaved it. I trust my guy.”
“Me and JC (Crist) played JV last year, so we kind of have that connection,” Watson said. “If your main read’s not there, on the backside I’ll be there.”
Mica Mountain will travel to No. 2 Snowflake on Friday for a chance to reach the semifinals.
“We have to be hungry,” Crist said. “We have to take care of business next week. If we take care of the game plan, I think we’ll be all right.”
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