No. 4 Mica Mountain (13-0) vs. No. 2 Arizona College Prep (12-1)
Date: Friday
Kickoff: 4 p.m.
Site: Arizona State’s Mountain America Stadium
Mica Mountain coach: Pat Nugent (33-9, fourth season at Mica Mountain; 171-66, 22nd season overall). Nugent is in his second championship game appearance. He reached the championship game with CDO in 2007, when the Dorados lost to Scottsdale Saguaro 23-21. He has reached 13 wins for the first time in a season after winning 12 games three times before — 2007 when CDO finished 12-2, 2016 when Cienega was 12-1 and 2017 when the Bobcats were 12-1. He has Mica Mountain in the state title game in the school’s third full varsity season.
Almost 38 years after being the Arizona student manager on the sideline when Chuck Cecil had his iconic 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against ASU at Arizona Stadium, Pat Nugent is coaching his @MicaMountainFB team tonight in a practice there ahead of Friday’s 4A… pic.twitter.com/6rZJ2CRFYf
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) December 5, 2024
Arizona College Prep coach: Steve Vaught (12-1, first year and overall as a head coach). Vaught was promoted to head coach this season one year after he joined the ACP coaching staff. He led the Knights’ defense under former head coach Myron Blueford, who surprisingly stepped down in December after building the program from its infancy in 2017. Vaught was the defensive coordinator at Chandler in 2019 and 2020, when the Wolves won the first two Open Division titles. Chandler defeated Bijan Robinson and Salpointe in 2019 in the semifinals. ACP took eventual state champion CDO to four overtimes last year on the road before the Dorados prevailed 33-27 in a 4A quarterfinal game. … Vaught’s team is on a 12-game winning streak after losing its opener 42-7 at Crown Point (Ind.) — a team that finished 12-1 after losing in Indiana’s 6A semifinals last week. … This is the Knights’ first appearance in a state championship game.
.@ACPFootball17 dominates Snowflake in 59-21 win over the Lobos.
First-year head coach, Steve Vaught is bringing the Knights to the Championships!
How their season-opening loss to Crown Point (IN) shifted the momentum for the season
Key playmakers in 2024
Team Culture pic.twitter.com/VRlXuIB9Cw— Claudia Collins (@ClaudiafCollins) November 30, 2024
PAT NUGENT HIGH SCHOOL CAREER COACHING RECORD
Pat Nugent's 22-year history as a head coach at the high school level:| FLOWING WELLS | ||
| Year | Record | Finish |
| 1997 | 8-3 | First round |
| 1998 | 5-5 | No playoffs |
| 1999 | 5-5 | No playoffs |
| Total | 18-13 | |
| CDO | ||
| Year | Record | Finish |
| 2000 | 6-4 | No playoffs |
| 2001 | 7-4 | First round |
| 2002 | 5-5 | No playoffs |
| 2003 | 5-5 | No playoffs |
| 2004 | 8-3 | First round |
| 2005 | 10-2 | Quarterfinals |
| 2006 | 8-3 | First round |
| 2007 | 12-2 | Championship (lost) |
| 2008 | 11-2 | Semifinals |
| Total | 72-30 | |
| CIENEGA | ||
| Year | Record | Finish |
| 2015 | 4-6 | No playoffs |
| 2016 | 12-1 | Semifinals |
| 2017 | 12-1 | Semifinals |
| 2018 | 9-3 | Quarterfinals |
| 2019 | 9-3 | Quarterfinals |
| 2020 | 2-0 | COVID-19 cancellation |
| Total | 48-14 | |
| MICA MOUNTAIN | ||
| Year | Record | Finish |
| 2021 | 3-3 | Independent |
| 2022 | 6-4 | No playoffs |
| 2023 | 11-2 | Semifinals |
| 2024 | 14-0 | Championship |
| Total | 34-9 | |
| OVERALL | Record | |
| Flowing Wells | 18-13 | |
| CDO | 72-30 | |
| Cienega | 48-14 | |
| Mica Mountain | 34-9 | |
| TOTAL | 172-66 |
When Mica Mountain has the ball:
Run percentage: 60.9 percent (339 rushes)
Pass percentage: 39.1 percent (217 passes)
Mica Mountain senior QB Jayden Thoreson has passed for 1,558 yards after compiling 2,304 last season but Thoreson has played mostly clean with only two interceptions and 26 touchdowns. He has completed 108 of 194 pass attempts. … In the last two playoff wins over Phoenix Thunderbird and Yuma Catholic, Thoreson was a combined 22 of 32 pass attempts for 354 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. … Leading returning RB Conner Hangartner suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener Aug. 30 against Poston Butte. Hangartner, an inspirational leader, has been in uniform against Thunderbird and Yuma Catholic and entered when the Thunderbolts went into Victory Formation in each game. … RB Josiah Thornwell has stepped up to gain 881 yards on 129 carries with 13 touchdowns. … RB Jordan Perry came on strong last week against Yuma Catholic. A speedster, he gained 105 yards on 13 carries, giving him 577 yards on 92 carries with five touchdowns this season. … TE Jimmy Leon has become Thoreson’s top target. He leads the Thunderbolts with 399 yards on 28 receptions with 14 touchdowns. His receiving numbers in Mica Mountain’s three playoff wins: 134 yards on nine receptions with five touchdowns. Thoreson’s top wideout targets are Alex Palma (17 catches for 229 yards), Jake Johnson (16 for 178), Riley Carson (15 for 377) and Thornwell (12 for 75). … The Thunderbolts average 38.6 points a game.
Vaught’s background is a defensive coordinator, including coaching Arizona safety Gunner Maldonado when Maldonado attended Chandler. With Vaught’s background, ACP is solid on defense. The Knights have 117.5 tackles for loss, including 25 sacks. … Senior DE Blake Barrington is the sack leader with 4.5. Junior LB Cam Mitchell has a team-best 100 tackles, 17 for loss. … Barrington and Mitchell are two of 10 defenders with at least 30 tackles. Junior LB Wyatt Ells (54 tackles) and Barrington (48 with 12 for loss) are among the four players with at least 40 tackles, including another junior LB, Cody Tibbott (44). … The Knights have 15 defenders who have recorded at least one sack. … They have 18 interceptions with five players with at least two, led by three by junior DB Aiden Chapman, who also has 13 passes defended. … ACP is allowing 16.9 points a game.
When Arizona College Prep has the ball:
Run percentage: 61.4 percent (389 rushes)
Pass percentage: 38.6 percent (245 passes)
Junior QB Evan Heinrich, a pocket passer, has impeccably led the Knights’ offense, completing 70.5 percent (148 of 210) pass attempts for 2,318 yards with 30 touchdowns and only one interception. … ACP has three backs who rush for nearly 500 yards or more — junior Max Sasso (773 yards on 91 carries with nine touchdowns), senior Tyler Lowder (96 rushes for 503 yards and seven touchdowns) and senior Alec Grant (487 yards on 74 rushes with nine touchdowns). … Heinrich spreads the ball around well. Junior WR Ashton Sanchez is Heinrich’s top target with 34 receptions for 776 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior WR Kash Lambert is next with 27 for 416 yards and seven touchdowns. Four other receivers have at least 200 yards receiving. … The Knights average 45.9 points a game. …
Mica Mountain, led by defensive coordinator Brett Darling, has seven players with at least 40 tackles. LB Broden Schmidt, a junior, leads with 83 tackles (four for loss). DE Jimmy Leon is next with 62 tackles, including 22.5 tackles for loss and 16 sacks. He has 38 sacks in his career. … S Domonik Leon (no relation) is next with 61 tackles, nine for loss. … Junior S/P Riley Carson leads the Thunderbolts with six interceptions, including one he returned 37 yards for a touchdown in last week’s win at Yuma Catholic. … He is also averaging 41.1 yards per punt and has landed eight of his 21 punts inside the opponent’s 20 this season. … Mica Mountain has forced 35 turnovers (17 interceptions and 18 fumbles recovered). … The Thunderbolts have 11 games of allowing the opponent a touchdown or less (four shutouts). They have given up only 11 touchdowns in their 13 games.
TEAM STAT COMPARISON
| Mica Mountain | Category | Arizona College Prep |
|---|---|---|
| 149.4 | Rushing Yards Per Game | 181.1 |
| 136.3 | Passing Yards Per Game | 214.5 |
| 136.6 | Receiving Yards Per Game | 215.0 |
| 285.7 | Total Yards Per Game | 395.6 |
| 54.6 | Tackles Per Game | 67.8 |
| 2.3 | Sacks Per Game | 1.9 |
| 36.9 | Points Per Game | 45.9 |
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
| Mica Mountain | Avg | Category | Arizona College Prep | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josiah Thornwell | 67.8 | Rushing Yards Per Game | Max Sasso | 59.5 |
| Jayden Thoreson | 119.8 | Passing Yards Per Game | Evan Heinrich | 178.3 |
| Jimmy Leon | 30.7 | Receiving Yards Per Game | Ashton Sanchez | 59.7 |
| Jayden Thoreson | 122.5 | Total Yards Per Game | Evan Heinrich | 185.6 |
| Broden Schmidt | 7.5 | Tackles Per Game | Cam Mitchell | 7.7 |
| Jimmy Leon | 1.2 | Sacks Per Game | Blake Barrington | 0.3 |
| Jimmy Leon | 8.0 | Points Per Game | Max Sasso | 5.5 |
SERIES RECORD
First meeting between the schools (Mica Mountain is in its third full season at the varsity level and Arizona College Prep started its program in 2017).
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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 five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District
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