Cactus Shadows senior defensive back Aidan Chambers tries to pull down Desert Edge sophomore running back Byron Bradon with Falcons junior Casen Stieg (#13) in pursuit Aug. 28 in Goodyear.
Ripe with talent and chisled with experience from both a state championship and gutting postseason upset, Goodyear's Desert Edge looking to put the pieces together for its third state title.
Widley regarded as the premier team in the 5A conference in 2026, the Scorpions are keeping that noise outside, as head coach Henri MacArthur and his team are taking things week by week.
"We feel comfortable, we've put in a lot of work," he said. "We'll see how we're doing (Week 1 versus Castus Shadows). That's chapter one. We gotta go one week at a time."
After earning the top seed in the 2025 playoffs, the Scorpions were upended by No. 9 Scottsdale Desert Mountain in the state quarterfinals.
Plenty return in 2026 including senior quarterback and Washington-commit Blake Roskopf, defensive back Mikyal Davis, and receiver and defensive back Nekhi Lambeth.
"A lot of guys that played together, lost together, won together, so that should help us when things get tough," MacArthur said.
In all, 16 Scorpions have NCAA Division I football offers, with five seniors already verbally committed to Power Four schools.
Desert Edge leadership starts with the captins of Roskopf, Davis , senior receiver Zerek Sidney and senior linebacker Nate Jones.
Jones, a Wisconsin commit, transfered in from Notre Dame Prep and will look to fill the gut of the Scorpions defense after sitting out the first five games of the season.
Defensive tackle and Wisconsin-commit Yahzeen Zion will anchor the line as he steps into a larger role, after logging 15.5 tackles-for-loss and four sacks in 2025.
Defensive end Jalanie George, at 6-4, 245 pounds, is generally considered a top 50 player nationally in the junior class.
Rounding out the studded Scorpions defense is Oklahoma-commit Mikyal Davis in the secondary.
"I feel like we should have the best defense in the state this year," Davis said.
For Davis, he wants to finish as the top defensive back in the state and end his high school career with a ring. He is coming off a 2025 season with a pair of interceptions.
The Scorpions will undoubtedly rely on other returning talent.
Junior defensive back Jaelyn Easterling-Flores is a player MacArthur said is taking the next steps. He is a four-star recruit with a whopping 41 Division I offers.
"I think the biggest step in any high school football players maturation process is that jump from sophomore to junior year, " he said.
He is joined by junior linebacker Kayden Smith and Lambeth, another four-star defensive back with 29 offers of his own.
George, the concensus top prospect in the class of 2028, now sits at 35 offers from premier college football programs.
While the teeth of the Desert Edge defensive are sharp, the offense is looking continue its prowess. Roskopf tallied 39 total touchdowns under then-first yerar offensive coordinator Josh Goodloe.
Roskopf suffered a spraind AC joint in the Scorpions' playoff opener. He attempted one pass against Desert Mountain , then returned to the sideline.
Sidney, verbally committed to join Roskopf at Washington, only played the first three games last year.
He is flanked by junior brothers Jhaheem and Hajj Brown. and senior receiver Aiden Honeywood.
Junior Byron Brandon rushed for 1,274 yards as a sophomore and is another top recruiting target.
While MacArthur had not yet named the Scorpion's starting linemen, the young group is gaining momentum.
"I want to execute better, have to coach better, we have to play better," MacArthur said. "...Top to bottom do better."
Desert Edge opens the 2026 campaign on the road against Cave Creek Cactus Shadows with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27.
Andrew Lwowski graduated from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in sports journalism. He worked for then-Wrangler News -- now Wrangler News Tempe Independent -- for a little over three years before moving to Southwest Washington for a daily news paper covering prep sports. He relocated back to the Valley writing for the Fountain Hills Times Independent in October 2025 where he is covering community news and sports.
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