Scorpions string touchdowns together in rout
For much of the year, Desert Edge has been winning football games, but it hasn’t always been pretty. There have been lapses, turnovers, penalties, and getting stopped on downs. But on Friday night at home against Verrado, it all came together in a decisive 44-7 victory.
The defending 5A champions didn’t just score on six of their nine possessions, they put it in the end zone for six. The other three drives ended with punts twice and the halftime intermission (no turnovers). The defense was tested against the 44 Shoot offense. Verrado uses a variation of the run and shoot and Air Raid and came into this one averaging 324 passing yards per game. The Scorpions not only shut them down (150 pass yards), but they kept the air attack out of the end zone as the Vipers’ lone score came on a run.
“Overall, I think we put together four quarters a little better than we have in the past,” Desert Edge head coach Henri MacArthur said. “But, we still have a lot of room to improve.”
While MacArthur, who coaches the defense, was lamenting the one score surrendered by the Scorpions, that side of the ball came up with some impressive trios. Verrado committed three turnovers, was stopped on downs three times, and had its quarterback get sacked, you guessed it, thrice.
The Standouts
Desert Edge QB Blake Roskopf
The 6-5, 235-pound signal caller had a big night on offense as he completed 86 percent of his passes. Roskopf connected with five different receivers and his three touchdown passes were caught by three players. My Miscellaneous Stats column on the stat sheet was left blank. That area is used for interceptions, fumble recoveries, and sacks. The DEHS O-Line did their jobs and kept the QB clean and upright. Roskopf, who is a legit 6-5, recently moved up to No. 2 on the Arizona list of ‘27 prospects by 247 Sports.
Desert Edge RB Byron Brandon
When the Scorpions weren’t racking up yardage through the air, their sophomore running back was making some shifty moves to get it done on the ground. Brandon (pictured at the top of the article) hit a big 24-yard run early in the game to boost the confidence and he kept the chains moving, finishing with 125 yards on his 19 carries with a pair of short touchdown runs. He’ll even line up behind center and take a direct snap, which he did in the first quarter to convert a fourth down.
Desert Edge LB Ramari Hodge
The senior almost had his second pick-six of the season, but the return was halted out of bounds at the 4-yard line (42-yard runback). There are a lot of talented players on the Desert Edge defense spanning a few different classes, but don’t overlook Hodge. The linebacker had seven tackles in the game (five solo) and helped ensure that the Verrado offense, which had scored 35+ in five straight games, never got on track.
Desert Edge DE Jalani George
One of the top 2028 prospects in the nation, George received his 21st Division I offer on Wednesday from Ohio State. A couple nights later, he was batting down passes at the line of scrimmage and picking up a sack (his fifth of the season). George is 6-5, 240 and plays fast and violent taking advantage of that frame. He carries high expectations through having the stars, but George expects a lot of himself and sheds blockers to make his way into the backfield.
Desert Edge WR Dayvon Standard
Playing just his second game with the Scorpions after sitting the first five (transfer from Buckeye), Standard had a breakout performance. The 6-4, 175-pound receiver caught five passes for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He can break tackles and turn mere catches into big plays. He holds a pair of Division I offers from Idaho and Southern Utah.
Every Play Counts
- Verrado crossed midfield and reached the Desert Edge 35-yard line on its opening possession, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
- Desert Edge faced its own fourth-and-one on its ensuing drive and Byron Brandon took a direct snap and went 13 yards for a first down to set up the Scorpions’ first score.
- The Vipers converted a fourth down in the second quarter (QB sneak by Malachi Wilt), but were stopped on fourth-and-nine at the DEHS 37-yard line with another incomplete pass. It was a 12-play drive.
- Later in the second quarter, Verrado was successful on a fourth down (Wilt to Carter Bliss for six yards on fourth-and-three). But, Jordan Davis intercepted a pass to thwart the drive.
- Blake Roskopf completed consecutive passes to Jhaheem Brown (31 yards) and Dayvon Standard (23 yards) to set up the Scorpions’ third touchdown of the half.
- Verrado had some success in the third quarter with inside runs as Immanuel Perry busted one for 37 yards. That set up his own score for the Vipers’ touchdown to close the gap to 21-7.
- Ramari Hodge had Desert Edge’s second interception and returned it to the 4-yard line. The Scorpions had no trouble cashing that turnover in and all of a sudden had a commanding 36-7 lead.
- Verrado threatened to score in the fourth quarter as Wilt completed six consecutive passes. But another one of Desert Edge’s stars, Camren Hamiel (a Texas A&M commit) intercepted a pass at the 2-yard line.
Box Score
Scorpions 44, Vipers 7
| VER | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| DE | 7 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 44 |
First Quarter
DE – Travion Dixson 19 yard pass from Blake Roskopf (Jackson Rogers kick), 2:01
Second Quarter
DE – Byron Brandon 1 yard run (kick failed), 6:30
DE – Dayvon Standard 8 yard pass from Roskopf (Jhaheem Brown pass from Roskopf), 1:29
Third Quarter
Ver – Immanuel Perry 24 yard run (Alexander Gutierrez kick), 9:10
DE – Aiden Honeywood 18 yard pass from Roskopf (Rogers kick), 5:42
DE – Brandon 3 yard run (Dixson pass from Roskopf), 2:04
Fourth Quarter
DE – Standard 32 yard pass from Isaac Szoradi (Honeywood pass from Szoradi), 6:14
Team Statistics
| Verrado | Desert Edge | |
| First Downs | 13 | 19 |
| Rushes-Yards | 24-126 | 26-157 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 15-29-3 | 21-24-0 |
| Pass Yards | 150 | 286 |
| Total Yards | 276 | 443 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 1-8 | 13-120 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Verrado – Perry 10-93, Abundes 3-20, Williams 2-16, Waldeck 6-10, Wilt 3-(minus 13). Desert Edge – Brandon 19-125, Brown 3-17, Roskopf 3-11, Frazier 1-4.
Passing
Verrado – Wilt 15-29-3, 150 yards. Desert Edge – Roskopf 19-22-0, 238 yards, Szoradi 2-2-0, 48 yards.
Receiving
Verrado – Kamp 3-44, Waldeck 2-39, Abundes 1-22, Mock 3-19, Lively 3-15, Bliss 2-9, Perry 1-2. Desert Edge – Standard 5-107, Dixson 7-77, Brown 6-60, Honeywood 2-33, Brandon 1-9.
Sound Off
Desert Edge QB Blake Roskopf on the offense: “We just had a goal all week to start fast and start hot and limit the mistakes. We came out slow last week, so we had to build off that.”
Verrado head coach Brett Davis: “There were plays to be made and we just didn’t make them. If we do that early on, we’re right there with them.”
Desert Edge LB Ramari Hodge on the play of the defense as a whole: “I think we did good. We stayed locked in on our man and stayed disciplined.”
Desert Edge head coach Henri MacArthur on what makes the defense so talented: “The whole defense is a group effort. They know that I’m on that side of the ball, so they get it worse when it comes to a lot of things. I think they take pride in playing defense at Desert Edge. It means something. It’s a standard. We’re not just out here for fun.”
Next Week
Verrado (4-3 overall, 0-2 5A Desert West Region) returns home to Buckeye to play Canyon View (5-2, 1-1). The Jaguars got back on the winning side of the ledger Friday with a 49-0 victory at Kellis. The defense for CVHS has three shutouts this season (one was a 41-2 win over Chaparral), so it will be another chance for the 44 Shoot to come up big against a quality D.
Desert Edge (7-0, 2-0) will welcome Tolleson for Homecoming. The Wolverines (6-1, 1-1) have been one of the surprise teams this season and were just beaten for the first time Thursday night against Millennium (38-21). TUHS brings one of the top receivers in the state in Minnnesota-commit Rico Blassingame. That will certainly command the attention of the Scorpion coaches throughout the week.
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