As the calendar has turned to 2025 and students at Desert Edge have come back from the winter break, Scorpion football players can take pride in their accomplishment to finish out ’24. Desert Edge claimed its first state title in nine years with a win over rival Cactus to cap a 10-4 season. But, make no mistake. The team and coaches aren’t basking in the glow of that feat. They’re already hard at work to go and make it happen again.
“It’s been great, but we’re not satisfied,” Desert Edge head coach Henri MacArthur said. “Everybody knows we’ve got to get back.”
The team took 10 days off after winning the championship, but resumed with time in the weight room and with speed training the last week before Christmas. MacArthur said the attendance for this has been at 100 percent, not just with the returning players, but also with the soon-to-graduate seniors in the ’25 class.
It’s something that nobody at the Goodyear campus is taking for granted, because remember, it almost didn’t happen. Last April, the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) placed the football program on probation due to a recruiting violation by one of its head coaches. The probation would have prohibited the Scorpions from participating in the postseason. A week later, co-head coaches Mark and Marcus Carter had resigned, and the AIA rescinded the probation following an appeal. By the violation becoming a one-year warning, DEHS was eligible for the playoffs again.
MacArthur was promoted to head coach from his position as secondary coach. He has been with the Desert Edge program since 2015. It wasn’t smooth sailing in the 2024 season as the Scorpions opened at 1-3 with losses to future Open teams Liberty and Higley along with a last-second loss to Notre Dame.
The team overcame that start thanks to some transfers becoming eligible, meshing together as a team, getting the offense going, and with its defense playing at a high level. The Scorpions closed out the regular season at 5-1 in their last six games and were the No. 7 seed. That required Desert Edge to play two of its three playoff games on the road (one in Tucson) to return to Mountain America Stadium, where it suffered an agonizing one-point loss to Higley in 2023. This time around, there was no fracas, and no big lead to come back from as the Scorpions scored the first 28 points en route to a 28-19 win over Cactus marking its second title in school history (20 seasons).
Last week marked the start of the NCAA contact period, a time where college coaches can make in-person visits at homes or campuses. It was a busy week at Desert Edge as a visit from Stanford University on Friday marked the 12th school to stop in and inquire about Scorpion football players.
Three seniors from the ’24 team have already signed with colleges. Receiver David Cabrera signed with Eastern Washington, defensive end Jerry Washington with San Diego State, and cornerback Jamar Beal-Goines with Texas A&M. That was during the early signing period on December 4. More will sign with schools beginning next month.
Sometimes when a team wins a championship, it’s with a heavy-senior group and then some rebuilding has to be done. That is not the case with Desert Edge. The team has seven players that got varsity experience in 2024 that hold Division I college offers and will be returning. And its not just with the next class (2026). The following two are represented as well.
2026 Class
Camren Hamiel moved to Arizona from Fort Wayne, Indiana prior to last season. A versatile, 6-1, 175-pounder, Hamiel can play corner, safety, and is also a part of the Scorpions’ nickel package. He was a First Team selection at linebacker for the 5A Desert West Region (and Second Team for the 5A Conference). Hamiel had 50 tackles and three interceptions last season, taking one of those back for a touchdown at Verrado.
“Cam is a freak athlete and a great football player,” MacArthur said. “He can run, hit, cover, make tackles for loss, get picks, and blitz. He’s as good of a player that existed in the state this year.”
Camren Hamiel Offers: Arizona, Bowling Green, Cal, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon State, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah, Wisconsin
Jalayne Miller is the most recruited offensive lineman in the class within the state of Arizona. The 6-6, 300-pounder plays left tackle for the Scorpions and also carries a 3.5 GPA. He received his 18th D-I offer on Friday afternoon after that visit from Stanford. Not a transfer student, he’s been at Desert Edge all along and has consistently worked at getting bigger, faster, and stronger.
Jalayne Miller Offers: Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College, Cal, Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Stanford, Tennessee, UNLV, USC, UTEP, Washington, Wisconsin.
2027 Class
Wide receiver Zerek Sidney played in four games as a freshman and had a breakout playoff run in his sophomore season. The 6-foot, 170-pound pass catcher caught fire during the Scorpions’ postseason with 21 catches for 273 yards and seven touchdowns in Desert Edge’s first three playoff games to get them to the championship. That total represents most of his season numbers (45 receptions/591 yards/11 TD).
“We feel that’s something Zerek always had in him,” MacArthur said. “We see it in practice every day and also over the summer.”
In addition to the excitement of two more years of Sidney at the receiver position, his QB during the second half of the regular season and playoffs, Blake Roskopf, also has two more years of high school ball. If they can establish that connection from November next season, they can be a top duo in the state. Roskopf has an arm and can throw the deep ball while Sidney can catch pretty much anything.
TOUCHDOWN!! Zerek Sidney with the one handed snag from Roskopf! Desert Edge leads 35-13. @gridironarizona @azc_obert @Sports360AZ @AZHSFB pic.twitter.com/30XvbeGwSc
— Chris Day (@TheCoachDay) November 16, 2024
Zerek Sidney Offers: Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado State, Massachusetts, Minnesota, San Diego State, UTEP, Washington
Mikyal Davis uses a 72-inch wingspan to make tackles, deflect passes, and pull in interceptions. He made 54 tackles with three for a loss and picked off two passes in his sophomore season. Built for speed, he has been laser-timed at 4.6 in the 40. Last year, as a freshman, he ran a PR of 11.60 in the 100 meters during track season. That time placed him #12 on the all-time DEHS list for the event. It should be exciting this spring to see how he improves on that. He obtained a new offer the first week of January from Minnesota.
Mikyal Davis Offers: Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Iowa State, Kansas State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northern Arizona, Oregon, San Diego State, UNLV, UTEP.
2028 Class
Desert Edge had a few talented freshmen that were simply too good not to immediately put up on the varsity level. One of those was Jalanie George. The 6-5, 240-pound defensive end was somehow ignored by the Desert West Region coaches (named as an honorable mention), but was awarded by MaxPreps as a national Freshman All-American. George started all 14 games at left end for the Scorpions and had 63 tackles (11 for a loss) along with five sacks and two forced fumbles.
“Right away, he had the size and the work ethic,” MacArthur said. “We didn’t fully know until our scrimmage in August against Desert Vista (that he would start on varsity). He competed well vs. Liberty in Week One.”
Jalanie George Offers: Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas A&M
Two other freshmen also have offers already. Jaylen Easterling-Flores (6-2, 175) is a wide receiver who was on varsity all year, but was limited to just three games due to a collarbone injury. Nekhi Lambeth (6-1, 170) is a cornerback who split time on both JV and varsity, but was mostly getting his reps on Fridays from region play throughout the playoffs.
Jaylen Easterling-Flores Offers: Arizona, Kansas, Marshall
Nekhi Lambeth Offer: Arizona
In the new realignment that came out for the 2025 and ‘26 seasons, Desert Edge will remain in 5A as Higley was the only school moved up. While the coaches were prepared for a move up to 6A, there wasn’t discussion of petitioning up. Yet to be seen, is if the 5A Conference will follow the lead of the 4A and bow out of the Open Division tournament. Either way, the Scorpions will enter the fall as the defending conference champs.
”We’re excited about the challenge and new teams,” MacArthur said. “We want to continue building this program.”
Since he came in on the late side of the offseason, MacArthur gets a full winter and spring to prepare. One of the moves already made was hiring Josh Goodloe to be the new offensive coordinator. Goodloe was the most recently the head coach at Paradise Honors and utilized an Air Raid offense to a 105-touchdown season (92 passing) in 2023 when the Panthers made the 3A championship game.
MacArthur said this will be one of the younger teams Desert Edge has had in his time there. Last season’s freshman team went 7-1-1 and should have some players ready for varsity in their sophomore years. They’ve all been in the weight room on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays lifting twice a day. Getting ready for their turn on Friday nights.
“We’re really excited about the future,” MacArthur said. “Our ’28 class is as strong of a class as we’ve ever had. The team is still hungry.”
A hungry team that will likely find itself as the preseason No. 1 in the conference when the season kicks off in August.
Reach Chris Eaton at gridironarizona@yahoo.com or DM at @gridironarizona with story ideas.
