An unlikely hero led to Mica Mountain capturing their second consecutive 4A Championship, this one a 42-17 win over previously undefeated #1 seed Arcadia.
Evan Wheeler came into the 2025 football season as an accomplished baseball player, and made a solid contribution as a wide receiver in his lone year on Mica Mountain football’s roster. But in the state championship game at Arizona State University on Friday night, he absolutely went off.
Evan Wheeler’s connection with 2026 Mica Mountain QB Jaidyn Crist led to an upset of an Arcadia team that was 13-0, and came into the championship 10-0 against 4A playoff teams during their run to the 4A title game.
Check out some of the recaps of the game from around the state, and the highlights and quotes gathered by Adam Beadle:
Game Stories
Andy Morales for AZPreps365: No. 7 Mica Mountain over No. 1 Arcadia 42-17
Michael Cooper for KOLD.com: Mica Mountain batters Arcadia to repeat as 4A champions
Michael Lev for Tucson.com: Back-to-back! Mica Mountain claims 2nd straight 4A state football championship
Brittany Bowyer for AllSportsTucson: Mica Mountain defends 4A title by downing top-ranked Arcadia
Devon Henry for Sports360AZ: Mica Mountain Earns Electrifying Back-to-Back State Championships
Box Score
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F |
| Mica Mountain | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Arcadia | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
First Quarter
- 2026 QB Zach Smith finds 2026 RB Ryan Jimenez on a jump pass (Arcadia)(7-0, 5:59)
- 2026 QB Jaidyn Crist finds 2026 WR Evan Wheeler for a touchdown (Mica Mountain). (7-7, 2:08)
- 2026 DE Sergio Raygada pick-6 (Mica Mountain). (7-14, 2:02)
Second Quarter
- 2026 K Caleb Young FG (Arcadia). (10-14, 8:32)
- 2026 QB Jaidyn Crist TD pass to 2026 WR Evan Wheeler (Mica Mountain)(10-21, 5:46)
- 2026 QB Zach Smith TD pass to 2026 WR Grayson Mcintosh. (Arcadia)(17-21, 2:49)
- Riley Carson 98 yard kick return TD (Mica Mountain) (17-28, 2:30)
Third Quarter
- 2026 QB Jaidyn Crist a96 yard TD pass to 2026 WR Evan Wheeler (17-35, 11:47)
Fourth Quarter
- 2026 QB Jaidyn Crist rushing TD (Mica Mountain) (17-42, 10:36)
Soundoff
2026 Mica Mountain quarterback Jaidyn Crist on if he thought the team would end up winning the 4A state championship after starting the season 2-2: “Yes, sir, of course, we did. We never lost faith. We knew who we are as a team, and we knew we were the best team in 4A, and we’re the most dominant.”
2026 Mica Mountain quarterback Jaidyn Crist on his 96-yard touchdown pass to 2026 wide receiver Evan Wheeler: “I rolled out, I saw the safety bite, it was one-on-one with Wheeler, and they haven’t been able to stop him all night. So I threw it up to my guy, and he made a play.”
2026 Mica Mountain quarterback Jaidyn Crist on what the win means for the City of Tucson: “It means everything. I mean, we’re bringing a lot of public spotlight to Southern Arizona, and I think we have some of the best athletes in all of Arizona, and we’re gonna keep showcasing it.”
2026 Mica Mountain wide receiver Evan Wheeler, if he thought he’d be named MVP of the 4A state championship in his first year playing football: “No. I mean, I knew we could make it here. Personally, being in this spot is a big surprise. I didn’t expect this for me, but no, I mean, I’m glad I did it, and I’m just grateful (the team) accepted me, took me in. They’re my brothers.”
Mica Mountain head coach Jay Campos on the plays his defense made in the first half: “Well, I’ll tell you what our defense this whole year has been nothing short of exceptional, and they went against a great offensive team tonight, and they were able to keep it under control, so that when we have the ball on offense, we can kind of take care of business. But our defense, what you saw tonight, was consistent with the way we’ve been all year, and they’ve just been lights out.”
Mica Mountain head coach Jay Campos on still winning a state championship despite losing 31 seniors from last year’s team: “Well, you know, these guys had a lot of pride, even though we lost 31 seniors, we have 25 seniors on this football team. So they wanted to be the team that could go back-to-back, and they didn’t want us to be like a one-and-done type situation where, oh, it was last year’s seniors that were the reason that we won the whole thing. Yeah, they were great, but it was also the juniors as well, right? So now they want to take that torch and be the next group to win the championship. And now I told the kids tonight, you know, we’re gonna take a week to enjoy this, and now it’s time to try to go for the three-peat.”
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