Jet Sports Training owner Bobby Rodriguez and AllSportsTucson.com’s Javier Morales talked with Mica Mountain coach Jay Campos and some of his senior standouts including QB Jaidyn Crist, LB Broden Schmidt and WR/S Riley Carson in the weekly video podcast show.
VIDEO PODCAST
AUDIO PODCAST
No. 7 Mica Mountain (11-2) at No. 1 Phoenix Arcadia (13-0)
Friday at 3 p.m. at Mountain America Stadium at Arizona State in Tempe
“The recipe for our success recently has been eliminating turnovers. We’ve been very good at picking the football, playing good defense, which we’ve been doing all year long. And then our offense has been clicking. We’ve been executing pretty well on both sides of the ball. So if we do those things again on Friday night. I like our chances. We’ve been playing great football. Matter of fact, we’ve been better the last three weeks than we had the week before. So we played Lake Havasu. Played great. We got better against Snowflake. We got even better against Gila Ridge. So I think our best game is yet to be played, and that’s going to be on Friday night at Sun Devil Stadium.”
Mica Mountain coach Jay Campos
WHEN MICA MOUNTAIN HAS THE BALL:
Run percentage: 64.7 percent (368 rushes)
Pass percentage: 35.3 percent (201 passes)
Total yards: 3,841 (2,062 rush/1,779 pass)
Average per play: 6.8 yards
Touchdowns: 45 (24 rush/21 pass)
“I definitely do believe that I turned it up a notch. I think we connected as a team, and I think overall, we’re just playing our best ball. I can’t be more thankful for for the opportunities I’m given right now. I’m most excited to play my last high school game with my brothers. I mean, I’ve played football with with all of these guys since I was eight, nine years old … I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity.”
Mica Mountain senior quarterback Jaidyn Crist
Mica Mountain offensive leaders
QB Jaidyn Crist, Sr., 103-192, 1,706 yards, 21 TDs, 8 INTs
RB Jeremiah Anderson, Jr., 114-670, 6 TDs
RB Colin Axford, Sr., 111-593, 11 TDs
WR Riley Carson, Sr., 40-766, 9 TDs
WR Evan Wheeler, Sr., 24-452, 8 TDs
“I think there’s been a lot more change (from last year’s team that won a state title), and there’s been a lot more new things that we’ve had to gotten used to. We’ve done really well. The team came together, and the coaches helped us a lot. I feel like the biggest part of it has been just the team trusting each other. Being able to make history (excites me). We get the opportunity as a young school (fifth full varsity season). We didn’t get much recognition a couple years ago. To be able to make history for Tucson and have that opportunity is just, I don’t know. I don’t have any words for it.”
Mica Mountain senior receiver/safety/return specialist/kicker Riley Carson
Arcadia defensive leaders
Tackles for loss: 61 out of 967 (6.3 percent)
Sacks: 37
Interceptions: 16
LB Braden Knaub, Jr., 128 tackles, 4 TFL
DE Julian Olshan, Sr., 111 tackles, 11 TFL, 7.5 sacks
LB Chase Connelly, Sr., 95 tackles, 3 TFL
DE Grayson Stauff, Soph., 6.5 sacks
LB Joseph Hala, Jr., 5 sacks
CB Jordan Barnes, Soph., 4 INTs
S Jaxon Krohn, Sr., 4 INTs
MICA MOUNTAIN (11-2)
Head coach: Jay Campos (11-2, first year at Mica Mountain; 144-37, 15th year overall)Thunderbolts compete in the 4A Kino. *Region game. +Playoff game. %ASU's Mountain America Stadium.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | MM | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/28 | Poston Butte | W | 41 | 8 |
| 9/5 | at CDO | W | 37 | 7 |
| 9/12 | at ALA-West Foothills | L | 14 | 21 |
| 9/19 | at Sunnyside | L | 10 | 14 |
| 9/26 | Sahuarita | W | 31 | 0 |
| 10/3 | Douglas* | W | 40 | 0 |
| 10/10 | at Walden Grove* | W | 20 | 14 |
| 10/17 | Amphi* | W | 43 | 0 |
| 10/24 | Catalina Foothills* | W | 56 | 6 |
| 10/31 | at Sahuaro* | W | 21 | 0 |
| 11/14 | Lake Havasu+ | W | 35 | 0 |
| 11/21 | at Snowflake+ | W | 21 | 14 |
| 11/28 | at Gila Ridge+ | W | 31 | 3 |
| 12/5 | Arcadia+& |
WHEN ARCADIA HAS THE BALL:
Run percentage: 61.2 percent (387 rushes)
Pass percentage: 38.8 percent (245 passes)
Total yards: 5,035 (2,423 rush/2,612 pass)
Average per play: 7.9 yards
Touchdowns: 65 (32 rush/33 pass)
Arcadia offensive leaders
QB Zach Smith, Sr., 163-239, 2,594 yards, 31 TDs, 4 INTs
RB Ryan Jimenez, Sr., 259-1,754, 20 TDs
RB Jax Ashley, Sr., 18-150, 4 TDs
WR Ian Slater, Sr., 59-1,067, 12 TDs
WR Konnor Kammes, Jr., 40-687, 13 TDs
“As every linebacker, I love to hit, so I’m just waiting for that first hit on Friday, because that’s really gonna set the mood for the whole game. We have a brand new team this year. We have we lost a bunch of seniors last year (31 of them), so our offense is brand new. We lost a bunch of starters on defense. Early in the season, we did struggle. Having a brand new team, we went 2-2, but around week five, we really began to click as a team. Our team chemistry has improved a lot since then, so it’s been showing throughout this playoffs run so far.”
Mica Mountain senior inside linebacker Broden Schmidt
Mica Mountain defensive leaders
Tackles for loss: 80 out of 688 (11.6 percent)
Sacks: 31.5
Interceptions: 17
MICA MAKING HISTORY?
Mica Mountain is going for a repeat 4A state championship tomorrow when it plays Phoenix Arcadia at 3 p.m. at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. The Thunderbolts are trying to be the first big school from Southern Arizona to win consecutive championships in…
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) December 5, 2025
LB Broden Schmidt, Sr., 145 tackles, 17 TFL, 3 sacks
LB Ben Weinzinger, Sr., 75 tackles, 9.5 TFL
S Blake Beltz, Sr., 59 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 3 INTs
DE Najean Anderson, Sr., 8.5 sacks
DE Sergio Raygada, 4.5 sacks
LB Reyes Rodriguez-Gallego, 3 sacks
DB Nic Regina, Jr., 4 INTs
S Riley Carson, Sr., 3 INTs
Arcadia coach BJ Pasquel appraises Mica Mountain, but feels his team is coming in very confident pic.twitter.com/mB7qc92F1P
— Richard Obert (@azc_obert) December 2, 2025
“Give them (Mica Mountain) credit. They’ve been road warriors (winning at Snowflake and Yuma Gila Ridge in the postseason). I told the kids to be state champs, you’re going to have to beat the state champs. We deserve to be here. Our kids will be ready. I thought we’d have a good team, a playoff team. But to be 13-0, I’d probably be lying if I said that. These kids in spring ball and then during the summer really kind of up’d what we do in the weight room, conditioning wise. They bought into it.”
Arcadia first-year coach BJ Pasquel
ARCADIA (13-0)
Head coach: BJ Pasquel (13-0, first year at Arcadia; 88-76, 15th year overall)Hawks compete in the 4A Desert Southwest *Region game. +Playoff game. $Saguaro High School. &ASU's Mountain America Stadium.
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Arc | Opp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/29 | at Bradshaw Mountain | W | 37 | 8 |
| 9/5 | at Camelback | W | 31 | 28 |
| 9/12 | at Moon Valley | W | 49 | 0 |
| 9/18 | Deer Valley | W | 28 | 3 |
| 9/27 | ALA-West Foothills$ | W | 20 | 0 |
| 10/3 | Combs* | W | 37 | 0 |
| 10/10 | at Mesquite* | W | 63 | 21 |
| 10/17 | Poston Butte* | W | 35 | 12 |
| 10/24 | Eastmark* | W | 38 | 13 |
| 10/31 | at Snowflake* | W | 32 | 22 |
| 11/14 | St. Mary's+ | W | 50 | 25 |
| 11/21 | Marcos de Niza+ | W | 47 | 21 |
| 11/28 | ALA-West Foothills+ | W | 21 | 12 |
| 12/5 | Mica Mountain+& |
SERIES RECORD
First meeting. Mica Mountain is in its fifth full varsity season. Arcadia recently had a home-and-home arrangement with Mica Mountain’s 4A Kino rival Walden Grove and won both games in 2023 (34-28 final) and 2024 (24-21). Arcadia has won seven consecutive games against Southern Arizona schools dating to a 41-21 loss to Nogales in 1999.
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mica Mountain — 1 in 2024 (4A) over AZ College Prep
Arcadia — 2 in 1960 (A) over Douglas and 1962 (AA) over Tucson High
Recommended for you
