Mica Mountain faced adversity to start a game for the first time this season when senior defensive end/tight end Jimmy Leon — one of the top two-way players ever to play in Southern Arizona — was on the ground writhing in back pain during Phoenix Thunderbird’s lengthy game-opening drive Friday night.
The Thunderbolts, who went on to win 38-14, had never trailed in their unbeaten run to the 4A quarterfinal game at Mica Mountain.
Thunderbird drove 80 yards in 14 plays, a possession that took almost nine minutes off the clock to start the game.
.@MicaMountainFB coach Pat Nugent is in the semifinals for the sixth time in his career. He will attempt to advance to the championship game for the first time since 2007 when he was at CDO next Friday when the No. 4 Thunderbolts play at No. 1 Yuma Catholic. pic.twitter.com/GWKndzveJ1
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 23, 2024
Elijah Little, a running back with close to 2,300 yards rushing this season, capped the drive with a 1-yard score after Leon returned for a couple of plays before needing a break intermittently to stretch his back on the sideline.
“We haven’t had any type of adversity like that,” Mica Mountain coach Pat Nugent said. “We’ve played perfect football for most of the year, and for them to go down and drive, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, how are we going to respond?’
“Our kids responded great all night. … We dominated the game after that first drive. That turned the switch a little bit. We’re a heck of a team. We just needed to go play.”
Play they did, with Leon making the play of the game only three snaps into Mica Mountain’s ensuing possession.
Leon snagged a pass along the sideline with one hand from Jayden Thoreson, eluded a defender and ran most of the way for a 72-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 7 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.
“I just thought about playing for my brothers, coaches and family out here, knowing this could be our last game,” Leon said. “I just had to give all I had for the last 30 minutes.
“(His catch-and-run score) was for sure a turning point. … get through that play, worry about the next. Great ball from our quarterback, putting it right there where I could get it. I made a play on it and we didn’t look back after that.”
Thoreson continued to make big plays, running back JoJo Thornwell prolonged drives with chunks of yards and Leon and Mica Mountain’s starting defensive front shut down Little and Thunderbird.
.@MicaMountainFB D-lineman George Flores was all over the place with sacks, QB pressures, a blocked FG, etc., in the 38-14 win over Thunderbird in a 4A quarterfinal game. The blonde hair he and many other Thunderbolts have is a “different look” with the effort toward getting… pic.twitter.com/cucbb462bd
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 23, 2024
The victory improved the fourth-seeded Thunderbolts to 12-0, the most wins in a season for the burgeoning program in its third full season of varsity football. They have reached the 4A semifinals for the second consecutive year (falling to eventual champ Canyon del Oro last season).
They now face the difficult task of traveling Friday to No. 1 Yuma Catholic (11-1) for the chance to take Nugent to a championship game for the first time since he led CDO that far in 2007.
The Dorados fell short 23-21 to Scottsdale Saguaro in that championship.
Capturing that first title has eluded Nugent, who is 170-66 in his 22nd season as a head coach.
A symbol for Mica Mountain making a change to that shortcoming for Nugent is many members of the team dying their hair blonde. Nugent’s wife Michelle, who owns a salon, helped with the bleaching process.
“We told Michelle Nugent, a wonderful lady, if we could change it up,” defensive lineman George Flores said of Nugent’s quest for a first state title. “So she said, ‘Let’s bleach it.’ We bleached it and now we’re hoping that it is a change and we get a victory in the state championship and hold the trophy at the end of the season.”
Flores, who was part of a sack, tackles for lost yardage and blocked a field-goal attempt against Thunderbird, mentioned that Nugent would hopefully reciprocate with a tattoo if the Thunderbolts go all the way.
Mica Mountain showed the resolve necessary to achieve that feat in Friday’s win.
.@MicaMountainFB DE/TE Jimmy Leon bounced back after suffering a back injury during Thunderbird’s first possession. Leon responded with a 72-yard one-handed TD reception and a couple of sacks in the Thunderbolts’ 38-14 win. pic.twitter.com/VwtqkuRegr
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 23, 2024
The defense, engineered by coordinator Brett Darling, made adjustments and limited Thunderbird to two three-and-out possessions after that long scoring drive to open the game.
After the punt of the second possession, Thoreson connected with Riley Carson on a 44-yard touchdown pass to put Mica Mountain up for good, 14-7, with 8:29 left in the second quarter.
Thoreson’s big-play capability was evident in his passing for 208 yards on only eight completions on 11 attempts. That’s an average of 26 yards per completion.
He also had two 35-yard completions to Carson and Alex Palma in addition to an 11-yard touchdown pass to Caden Rogers that put Mica Mountain ahead 31-7 with 8:03 left.
Cornerback Roy Garcia put an exclamation point on Mica Mountain’s performance with a 35-yard pick-6 during Thunderbird’s next possession.
.@MicaMountainFB QB @jthor0224 produced numerous big plays that put a jolt into the Thunderbolts in their 38-14 win over Thunderbird. pic.twitter.com/eg1aEqwM0T
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 23, 2024
“The foot can’t come off the pedal,” Thoreson said about preparing for Yuma Catholic. “We have to keep working, put our head down.”
That’s what Leon and the Thunderbolts did Friday after stunningly falling behind after Thunderbird’s opening drive.
Near the end of the first half, Thunderbird (10-2) again put together a lengthy possession of 13 plays going from its own 20 to the Mica Mountain 25. The drive stalled, however, and Flores ultimately blocked a field-goal attempt of 42 yards with 59 seconds left that preserved Mica Mountain’s 14-7 lead.
The Thunderbolts gained possession to start the second half and Thornwell took over.
He took the leading rushing role when Conner Hangartner went down with a knee injury in the season opener and has flourished.
He rushed 35 yards on five carries in Mica Mountain’s opening drive of the second half, culminating with a 7-yard scoring run with 9:44 left in the third quarter that put the Thunderbolts ahead 21-7.
Jo Jo Thornwell has carried the load, literally, for @MicaMountainFB after Conner Hangartner went down with a knee injury in the season opener. He rushed for a touchdown and kept drives alive with his running in the Thunderbolts’ 38-14 win over Thunderbird in the 4A quarterfinal… pic.twitter.com/VPFnHoHnUY
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 23, 2024
“As you can see, once we get the run game going and the passing game going, we’re an unstoppable team,” said Thornwell, who finished with 90 yards on 17 carries. “When Conner went down, it was a toll on the team, but I told our coaches, ‘Let’s go, next man up.’ It’s not an individual thing, it’s a team thing.
“We all came together. Our team came together behind me to get me as best that I can in the weight room and everything.”
Thornwell was Little’s equal in the backfield until Little had large gains late in the game against Mica Mountain’s second-string defense.
Little gained 180 yards on 22 carries. He picked up 109 of those yards after Mica Mountain took its 38-7 lead following Garcia’s pick-6. Little capped the scoring with 6.7 seconds left on a 7-yard touchdown run.
Mica Mountain went into Victory formation afterward with Hangartner symbolically in the backfield when Thoreson took a knee to end the game.
The players and coaches have already turned their attention to Yuma Catholic, which defeated No. 9 Walden Grove 28-13 at Yuma on Friday night.
The Thunderbolts’ defense will turn from defending against Thunderbird’s run-oriented offense to Yuma Catholic’s pass-heavy execution.
“When you pass, you have to put the quarterback in the pocket, so our D-line is going to be foaming at the mouth a little bit to get after them,” Nugent said. “They’ve got some great athletes. They’ve had a great year. Yuma Catholic’s had a great program.
“We’re excited. There’s some great football still to be played right now. … We’ll have a great week of practice. We’ll practice on Thanksgiving Day, which every coach and player should be dreaming about. … Our dream is to win a state title. We’ve been to the state semifinals. This isn’t new to us. Now, we get past this hump. That’s the goal.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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