Two weeks ago, it looked like defending state champion Mica Mountain was on the path to a historic winning streak of 20-plus games. But then, as in most sports, coach Jay Campos’ team unexpectedly lost on a last-second play by Walden Grove, 22-21.
The defeat left Mica Mountain with a 16-game winning streak, equaling its 16-0 streak of 2024-25. Good but not historic. In more than 100 years of Tucson prep football, featuring approximately 1,300 teams, only four teams generated winning streaks of 20 or more games.
Mica Mountain's head coach Jay Campos watches over the Thunderbolts as they get ready to face Canyon del Oro at home on Sept. 4.
32 — From 1943-45, Tucson High coach Rollin Gridley won 'em all, a record that is unlikely ever to be challenged in Southern Arizona.
27 — From 2009-10, Canyon del Oro coach Dusty Peace, blessed by superstar running back Ka'Deem Carey, won 27 straight. The streak-breaking loss came in the 2010 state championship game.
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25 — From 2003-04, coach Richard Sanchez's Sunnyside Blue Devils won the '01 state championship undefeated and then rolled 12-0 to start the '02 season, losing in the state semifinals.
21 — From 1967-68, coach Don Hawkins' club not only rolled to two state championships, but his '68 team also outscored opponents an unthinkable 596-43, including victories of 89-0, 81-0 and 62-0. But the streak was buried in the 1969 opener against Tombstone.
19 — From 2013-14, Salpointe coach Dennis Bene's Lancers won a state championship at 14-0 and then won five more to start the '14 season.
Obviously, to win 20 or more consecutive games requires back-to-back state championships, which is almost unthinkable in high school football.
Even Tucson High Hall of Fame coach Ollie Mayfield, whose 12-0 team of 1970 is considered by some to be the best in Tucson history, did not win more than 15 straight in that era.
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