A Tucson Citizen article in 1975 noted that legendary Flowing Wells coach Larry Hart and the Caballeros were the “bridesmaid and never the bride” entering the Class AA state title game against Snowflake.
Hart led Flowing Wells to the state title game in 1964, 1968, 1971, 1972 and 1973 but came home without the trophy every time. A reporter suggested to Hart that he and his program might be “jinxed,” and that a mental obstacle might exist.
“I’m not burdened by it,” Hart was quoted as saying. “I think it’s hogwash. There’s no common sense to it.”
Flowing Wells finally broke through beating Snowflake 14-13, nervously hanging on after scoring its 14 points in the second quarter. Snowflake scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter following a Flowing Wells fumble. After a Caballero penalty allowed the Lobos another try on a two-point conversion attempt, they stuffed a Snowflake runner short of the goal line to preserve the win.
Hart, elated by the win, mentioned, “I thought we were jinxed there for a while,” after the fumble and penalty on the initial two-point conversion in which Snowflake failed.
That 10-0 season turned out to be Hart’s last chance at a state title. He left coaching in 1980 to concentrate on his role as an administrator at Flowing Wells.
Jeff Scurran (eight title appearances with a 3-5 record), Hart (six state championship appearances), St. David’s Jim Crawford (five) and now Mica Mountain’s Jay Campos (five) are the Southern Arizona coaches with the most trips to a title game.
Campos is in a similar position Friday against Phoenix Arcadia in which Hart experienced in 1975 after Hart was 0-5 in state championship games with the Caballeros.
Campos reached the state title game four times with Sabino in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2016 and came up short each time.
The No. 7 Thunderbolts (11-2) have reached the state championship against No. 1 Arcadia (13-0) at Arizona State’s Mountain America Stadium (3 p.m., Friday) despite losing 31 seniors and head coach Pat Nugent after last year’s 14-0 run to a state championship win over AZ College Prep.
Campos, 144-37 in his 15th season as a head coach, is knocking on the door again with one of the best defenses in the state. The Thunderbolts, behind linebackers Broden Schmidt and Ben Weinzinger, defensive end Najean Anderson and safety Riley Carson, are allowing only 5.7 points a game in three playoff games.
Mica Mountain’s defense, led by veteran coordinator Brett Darling, has incredibly not allowed more than 21 points in a game all season. It has limited opponents to a touchdown or less in 10 of their 13 games this season, including five shutouts. Opponents are averaging 6.7 points a game against them.
A unit like that has provided the opportunity for Campos to ride a wave of confidence into his fifth state title appearance.
With this being only his first year leading the program, Campos is more about what’s ahead instead of dwelling on four state championship losses with Sabino.
He is invested in the school more than as a football coach. He has continued his role as assistant principal of interscholastics, a title he’s held since the school opened its doors in 2020.
“Losing 31 seniors was a big factor this year coming in,” Campos said Monday at a press conference in Phoenix at the AIA headquarters. “I think we lost 10 starters on offense and seven starters on defense, so we knew there was going to be growing pains with me coming in as the new coach, replacing Pat Nugent, who is a phenomenal coach who has built a great program.
“We knew there was going to be some up and downs along the way. Transition is never an easy thing. We had some adversity early .. we stumbled (with a 2-2 start after losing consecutive games to ALA-West Foothills and Sunnyside on the road). Life’s about facing adversity and how you deal with it, the most important thing. We’ve really rebounded well. We’re playing good football right now. We have a lot of players playing at a high level, and I think our best is yet to come.”
[table id=298 /]
SOUTHERN ARIZONA COACHES WITH MULTIPLE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES
Bold – state championship
Jeff Scurran, 8 — 3-5 (Sabino – 1990, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999; Santa Rita – 2008, 2009; Catalina Foothills – 2016)
Larry Hart, 6 — 1-5 (Flowing Wells – 1964, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975)
Jim Crawford, 5 — 4-1 (St. David – 1960, 1966, 1972, 1977, 1979)
Jay Campos, 5 — 1-4 (Sabino – 2005, 2006, 2009, 2016; Mica Mountain – 2025)
John Bryant, 4 — 4-0 (St. David – 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001)
Bill House, 4 — 2-1-1 (Patagonia, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992)
Dick Pottle, 4 — 2-2 (Safford – 1969, 1970, 1971, 1982)
Richard Sanchez, 4 — 2-2 (Sunnyside – 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006)
Vern Friedli, 4 — 1-3 (Morenci – 1973; Amphi – 1979, 1990, 1997)
Howard Breinig, 4 — 0-3-1 (Sahuaro – 1984, 1991, 1993, 1994)
Reg LeFevre, 4 — 0-4 (Patagonia – 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964)
Don Conrad, 3 — 3-0 (Thatcher – 2000, 2001, 2006)
John Mallamo, 3 — 2-1 (Tucson – 1962, 1965, 1966)
Dustin Peace, 3 — 2-1 (Canyon del Oro – 2009, 2010, 2023)
Ed Shamey, 3 — 1-2 (Thatcher – 1988, 1989, 1995)
Dennis Bene, 3 — 1-2 (Salpointe – 2013, 2017, 2018)
Ollie Mayfield, 2 — 2-0 (Tucson – 1970, 1971)
Bob Smith, 2 — 2-0 (Canyon del Oro – 1976, 1977)
Gary Mauldin, 2 — 2-0 (Valley Union – 1985, 1986)
Sean Hinton, 2 — 2-0 (Thatcher – 2016, 2017)
Lou Farber, 2 — 1-1 (Pueblo – 1961, 1967)
Don Hawkins, 2 — 1-1 (Marana – 1967, 1968)
Steve Sorce, 2 — 1-1 (Suffolk Hills – 1981, 1982)
Jim Hughes, 2 — 1-1 (Thatcher – 1998; Willcox – 2009)
Tony Luzania, 2 — 1-1 (Valley Union – 2007, 2015)
Pat Nugent, 2 — 1-1 (Canyon del Oro – 2007; Mica Mountain – 2023)
Ken Sawin, 2 — 0-2 (Douglas – 1974, 1976)
Larry Wooldridge, 2 — 0-2 (Willcox – 1978, 1986)
Larry Gray, 2 — 0-2 (Flowing Wells – 1982, 1983)
Tom Davis, 2 — 0-2 (Valley Union – 1987, 1990)
Nemer Hassey, 2 — 0-2 (Sahuaro – 1999; Cienega – 2011)
Chris Determan, 2 — 0-2 (Benson – 2015, 2020)
[table id=297 /]
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