AURORA | Mike Campbell is ready to see what the “sleeping giant” is capable of once it fully awakens.
The veteran Colorado coach went after the head coaching job at potential-filled Vista PEAK Prep as he believed he found an ideal spot to fulfill a desire to return to coaching large school football after a successful stint in Class 2A at Englewood.
Campbell indeed landed the job at Vista PEAK Prep, which is set to join the Class 5A classification for the 2024 season this fall.
“The last couple of years, I’ve really been missing big school football and I think this is a great opportunity and a great place with great leadership,” Campbell told the Sentinel. “You talk to other people around the state, especially out in this direction…I think a lot of people think Vista PEAK is a sleeping giant and has a ton of potential.
“That really excited me.”
Campbell spent 15 seasons coaching at Arapahoe High School before he said he felt a bit burned out and wanted to coach at a smaller school. He found a perfect spot for that at Englewood, where he spent the past six seasons and had 30-21-1 mark. Lately, he felt a renewed urge to coach in the state’s largest classification.
Campbell’s cumulative record at the two stops is 120-89-1 with four league championships and 10 trips to the playoffs. He has won Coach of the Year honors for his team’s league in 2004, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
Vista PEAK Prep athletic director David Benedict was thrilled to find an accomplished candidate to fill a vacancy created when DaVaughn Thornton Sr. stepped down in November after a 4-6 season. Thornton Sr. coached the Bison for three seasons and had a 13-18 overall record and one trip to the 4A state playoffs.
Campbell will be the fourth head coach in Vista PEAK Prep history, following Pat Rock (2011-2014), John Sullivan (2015-2020) and Thorton Sr. (2021-2023).
Campbell had a meeting with his players at Englewood Monday to break the news. It was especially difficult given his senior-to-be son, Carson, has been the team’s starting quarterback for the past two seasons.
“That was a really tough meeting,” he said. “My son has a lot of great friends and teammates over there that he’s been in a lot of battles with… But he knows 5A football from my time at Arapahoe and I think the challenge of playing at the highest level we offer is pretty exciting to him.”
Carson Campbell, who was a ballboy for his dad’s teams at both stops, has thrown for 2,918 yards and 32 touchdowns (against 19 interceptions) over the past two seasons. As a junior, he threw for 1,709 yards and 21 touchdowns (against eight interceptions).
Campbell is ready to dig into his new surroundings, which already impressed him in terms of facilities — especially the weight room, which he calls “first class” — and he is eager to work with a group of athletes that come highly regarded by other coaches who have played against Vista PEAK Prep in the past as well as college recruiters.
He describes his coaching style as high on energy, while he strives for balance on offense and favors an aggressive defensive approach.
Two local head football coaching vacancies have been filled now, as Eaglecrest has also made a hire in Jesse German, formerly of Green Mountain (see story, here). Overland is reportedly deep in the process of its own hire as well.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
