Arizona 5A title preview: #4 Cactus vs. #7 Desert Edge

By Richard Smith
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The West Valley’s most venomous rivalry will remain personal for a long time. But both Cactus and Desert Edge know the last Friday night of their 2024 season is about business.

On Nov. 1 these teams played for the first time since april, when Cactus reported a recruiting violation on a Facebook post by former Desert Edge co-coach Mark Carter. Desert Edge was placed on probation for this season by the AIA, which went away when Carter and his brother and co-coach Marcus Carter resigned on April 16.

In Goodyear on Nov. 1 the teams combined for 31 penalties, a few several equipment violations and scattered fisticuffs in a 21-6 Scorpions win.

On Dec. 6 both teams want to put the genuine dislike and emotional impulses of this rivalry aside. They have the 5A Conference title to play for.

“It’s going to be just football regardless. We’re really focused on us and our standard. Cactus Shadows was my Super Bowl, then Tucson was my Super Bowl and Verrado was my Super Bowl — not mine but ours,” Desert Edge Coach Henri MacArthur said. “My focus is, our technique has to be right every play, our effort to the ball has to be right every play. What they do is what they do. We’re going to focus on us.”

Cactus was assessed two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties before kickoff of the regular season showdown.

The Cobras finished the game with 13 penalties.

“When you play somebody of their caliber, you understand what you need to do to be successful. We didn’t do the things we needed to do to be successful in that game. It was more of a refocus on what we had been telling the kids all year, and I think they really took that to heart,” Cactus Coach Brian Belles said. “It has nothing to do with who the opponent is. They’re just ‘Team X’ that’s in the way of our goal. That’s what I’m going to talk to our team about.”

His team has played with a different level or precision since.

Entering as the #4 seed, Cactus dismantled Marana Mountain View 42-13. Then the Cobras defense shut down a white hot Kellis offense 21-6 in the quarterfinals.

The Glendale school stacked some quality wins, but none as impressive as the victory that earned its second 5A finals trip in three years. As in 2022, the Cobras headed east and took down the top seed in the final minute, this time ALA-Gilbert North, 38-35.

“As the season went on, there were some games where the kids realized how good they could be, starting with the O’Connor game. We were able to beat a 6A opponent who beat us up pretty good the year before,” Belles said. “I think the next big one was probably Verrado. They were a pretty hot team at the time. Those kind of games prepared us for the ALA-Gilbert game because that wasn’t easy. It was back and forth with two good teams both making plays.”

Desert Edge faced its reckoning a week after the Cactus win. Verrado stunned the Scorpions 17-10 in Buckeye to cause a three-way tie for the Desert West Region title with Cactus.

Knowing this loss was the last one it could afford, Desert Edge returned to the form it displayed to reach the 5A title game a year ago.

“We’re scraped up and scarred up. We’re battle tested. We’ve taken losses and we’ve won,” MacArthur said. “But one thing our kids have maintained is that level of mental toughness. If I had to set this group apart from any other group, it would be that. They have an ability to go through changes and ups and downs and still come back the next day ready to fight.”

This team has always led with its defense, allowing a touch less than 16 points per game.

Desert Edge is not the top scoring defense in Arizona, in the conventional sense. But it’s hard to find a major conference school that can match the Scorpions’ four interception return touchdowns and two fumble recovery touchdowns.

“Everyone is one each other on the defense, and we have a close enough bond to do that,” senior linebacker Josh Hopphaus said. “And the coaches prepare us really well. We do turnover drills and that’s why they get all of those turnovers.”

Desert Edge senior tailback Aryon Thomas (#5) is tackled by multiple Cactus players during their Nov. 1 game in Goodyear. The teams meet again Friday to play for the 5A title. (Courtesy Ed Russell Photography/For West Valley Preps)

Both teams also cite the chemistry developed as the reason they made a quick return trip to ASU.

Desert Edge had some carryover, but a large class of football players graduated in May and beyond MacArthur, several new coaches came aboard.

Senior cornerback Jamar Beal-Goines has been considered the top 2025 recruit in the state for this entire calendar year and the Texas A&M commit leads a talent-rich secondary.

In between its two state final trips, a talented but inconsistent 2023 Cactus team earned another #4 seed but lost in the first round. This year, leading receiver Juju Stubblefield (74 catches, 1,138 yards, 10 touchdowns) noticed better chemistry and a more stable team from the jump.

“Last year we were more individuals I’d say. Of course, we had some people leave here and there,” senior offensive/defensive tackle Aman Fears said. “Actually, I’d say game two against Snowflake is when we realized this is our last chance. This is our moment, and this is our drive.”

That 31-14 week two loss at 4A semifinalist Snowflake was a sobering result and Cactus’ play since has largely been on a different level.

On the same night, Desert Edge had to re-evaluate things following a 20-14 defeat at home to Notre Dame Prep. Most of those improvements came for an offense that did not score more than 24 points in the first four games.

Sophomore quarterback Blake Roskopf took over the job but after two big numbers, the Scorpions sputtered to 28, 21 and 10 points in the final three weeks. Nick Ludovico started calling plays late in the season and things have clicked, as the team scored 42, 30 and 27 points in its three playoff wins.

“We have key guys all over the field like Malakai Moala, Zerek Sidney — who has shown himself to be the best sophomore receiver in the state — Byron Brandon — arguably the best freshman running back in the state — and Aryon Thomas, who is very underrated at the running back position as well. Jamar Gonzales is our secret weapon,” senior wide receiver David Cabrera said. “Blake Roskopf stepped into the role perfectly.”

In particular the sophomore combination of Roskopf and Sidney, in particular, has been flammable. They’ve accounted for seven of the offense’s 12 playoff touchdowns.

“Now we’re getting to the point where we’re not just taking care of the football. We’re making some explosive plays and scoring points. I think we’re clicking at the right time,” MacArthur said.

Cactus junior receiver Robert Bell Jr. lunges across the goal line for the Cobras' only touchdown in a 21-6 loss at Desert Edge Nov. 1. (Courtesy Ed Russell Photography/For West Valley Preps)

Fears, fellow senior John Jones, a linebacker, and junior offensive tackle Adrian Suarez are the only players that played in the title game against Higley two years ago.

Junior quarterback Antonio Casias said for most of the Cobras, this is the first time playing on this type of stage.

His growth as a dual-threat field general is a big reason the program is back. Casias completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,833 yards, 28 touchdowns and nine interceptions, plus 297 rusing yards.

“It’s a personal thing. I was here two years ago and I couldn’t do it for my seniors. I want to do it for this team,” Fears said.

As Desert Edge senior cornerback William Rodgers pointed out, a lot of the players on this team have never played in a state title game.

That includes Cabrera.

“Last year I had an injury and was on the sidelines watching. This season I wanted to be a big factor and to help the young people,” Cabrera said. “Every win has been a blessing. I had never experienced a playoff game. The energy and the environment is different. You can ask anybody on the team. We wouldn’t have wanted our journey to go any differently.”

MacArthur joined the Scorpions’ staff for Rich Wellbrock’s final season in 2016, the year after the Scorpions won their only state championship.

He’s leading the most unique football destination program in the state, a school that’s hungry for a title after near misses in 2019 and 2023.

“This school, this community and these kids mean everything to me. I would not rather be coaching anywhere than at Desert Edge High School — to have the opportunity to bring home a trophy for this group of kids and this school,” MacArthur said. “It’s a Title 1 school and it’s so rewarding coaching at Desert Edge because you feel like you’re making a difference. You feel like you’re needed and changing lives. You have to show up every day for these kids.”

Standing in the way is one of the original West Valley football powerhouses, and a coach that has been on the Cobras staff for all but one year this century.

Cactus wants its third ring, and first since 2009, and has its own stories of uplift to tell.

“It felt like everything we had dreamed of, since we talked about the state championship at the start of the season,” Stubblefield said. “Now our team is for sure ready. The last time we played them, we didn’t play our best ballgame.”

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.