AURORA | The Vista PEAK Prep football team will play Friday night’s conference opener against Mullen with an interim coach in charge after Mike Campbell stepped down earlier in the week.
Vista PEAK Prep athletic director David Benedict confirmed to the Sentinel that Campbell resigned on Tuesday due to “family and personal” reasons.
Jalin McKinnon will serve as head coach for the upcoming game for the Bison, who were off to a 3-2 start in the first season under Campbell. Vista PEAK Prep — coming off a 42-7 non-conference loss to Grandview in Week 5 — plays host to 0-5 Mullen in a 6:30 p.m. Class 5A Front Range South contest at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
“We have coaches who are committed to seeing the kids through the end of the season,” Benedict said in a statement. “At that time, I will sit down with admin, players and parents to start the process of hiring our new coach.”
The next hire made by the school will be the fifth all-time head coach following Campbell — who guided the Bison to wins against Overland (15-13), Lakewood (49-0) and Denver South (35-20) — DeVaughn Thornton Sr. (2021-2023), John Sullivan (2015-2020) and Pat Rock (2011-2014).
Campbell got the Vista PEAK Prep job in February following a six-season stint at Class 2A Englewood, which followed his 15-year run in 5A with Arapahoe.
Vista PEAK Prep — one of only three Aurora football teams with winning records through five weeks, joining 4-1 Eaglecrest and 3-2 Rangeview — currently sits No. 25 in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 5A postseason selection and seeding index. Twenty-four teams qualify for the 5A football playoffs.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports