Region Breakdown: 5A Desert West

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An isnide look at the 5A Desert West: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Desert Edge </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Desert Edge enteres the 2022 season with a plethora of young talent. They come off a 10--3 season and a playoff loss from 2021, and even made an open division playoff appearence in 2020, consistently establishing themelves as a west valley powerhouse. Although they have some key losses in Adryan Lara (Kansas State) and Gavin Broscious (Michigan State), they have some young talent that looks more than ready to step up. 2025 QB [player_tooltip player_id='368922' first='Hezekiah' last='Millender'] has looked electric throughout the offseason and from his 2021 film, and he'll have some solid weapons around him with Christopher Cordero, [player_tooltip player_id='358543' first='Vinny' last='Mansfield'], and [player_tooltip player_id='165924' first='Gavin' last='Parks']. [player_tooltip player_id='358490' first='Kaleb' last='Jackson-Carter'] is the newcomer that will be the anchor of that OL and have some big shoes to fill as well. Defensively, DEHS is stacked returning some big time prospects in [player_tooltip player_id='169401' first='Aundre' last='Gibson'], [player_tooltip player_id='169424' first='Jaylen' last='Dawson'], Maxwell Sawyer, [player_tooltip player_id='165913' first='Jaden' last='Pyrah'] and [player_tooltip player_id='364181' first='Deshawn' last='Warner']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/DEdgeFootball/status/1554224763131686912?s=20u0026t=nCuV9joytJuBGDY9sAmdrA","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/DEdgeFootball/status/1554224763131686912?s=20&amp;t=nCuV9joytJuBGDY9sAmdrA </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Cactus</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cactus comes off an undefeated 2021 regular season, then lost their first and only game in the open division playoffs to the eventual champion Saguaro 42-21. However, that score on paper doesn't match how tight of a game it actually was, as it was one of the toughest and meanest second half performances I've seen thus far. Cactus is always a tough and scrappy team that will fight it out for all 4 quarters. They'll return a lethal 1-2 punch with [player_tooltip player_id='110106' first='Will' last='Galvan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='110112' first='Damian' last='Jiles'], along with WR [player_tooltip player_id='110133' first='Polo' last='Banuelos']. Their QB situaion should be fun to watch, as they have 3 guys that can fill that role with Galvan, [player_tooltip player_id='927258' first='Braiden' last='Lagafuaina'], and transfer from Deer Valley [player_tooltip player_id='110113' first='Rudy' last='Gonzales']. Galvan has the tendency to play multiple positions and excel from anywhere, so it'll be intersting to see what that offense looks like week 1. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sunrise Mountain </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sunrise Mountain comes off a 7-5 season, with all of their losses coming against high calibur programs. They return a big time player in WR [player_tooltip player_id='110096' first='Micah' last='Johnson'], who has continues to establish himself as one of the top 2023 WR's in the state. Another kid I think could add a big spark to that Sunrise offense is QB [player_tooltip player_id='165912' first='Austin' last='Glimpse'], who transferred in from Centennial. Glimpse sizes up with a college ready frame at 6'5" 215lbs and has an absolute cannon. That Glimpse-Johnson connection could be fun to watch in 2022, and it will be interesting to see how it shakes out and which other guys will step up and standout for SMHS. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Millennium </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Millennium comes off a 5-6 season, but again, all of those losses were close games as they always play everybody tough. They do lose a major part of that offense in QB Blake Sparks (Northern Michigan), who I believe was one of the most underrated players in the state last year. However, they'll return their standout 2024 RB [player_tooltip player_id='169412' first='Zues' last='Pindernation'], DB [player_tooltip player_id='364264' first='Eric' last='Rivera'], and DB [player_tooltip player_id='165916' first='Shahid' last='Wilson']. There's going to have to be other guys on that squad that'll have to step up in order to compete for the region. One of those guys i'm looking forward to watching is QB [player_tooltip player_id='115513' first='Titus' last='Johnson']. He's an athletic kid with a ton to prove and should have a big opportinuty to do so here in 2022. Overall, a talented team that could be a compeitior if they can put it all together this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/MillenniumFB/status/1540347649735262210?s=20u0026t=TxQPTuTY6GxWBWmz_xF6bg","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MillenniumFB/status/1540347649735262210?s=20&amp;t=TxQPTuTY6GxWBWmz_xF6bg </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Verrado </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Verrado comes off a 7-4 season and is actually a similar to Millennium in terms of competitiveness as they play everyone really tough. They return a handful of guys that I really like and think could be a huge difference maker in 2022 which include [player_tooltip player_id='358537' first='Nathan' last='Bilski'], [player_tooltip player_id='42956' first='Colin' last='Tibbs'], and [player_tooltip player_id='110137' first='Erick' last='Santiago']. Verrado has a talented 2023 class that should bring a ton of maturity and leadership into the fall, which could be the difference from last year as they'll have a better shot at nudging out close games in 2022 than they did in 2021. I think they can be a sneaky team in 5A and take a major leap from last season to this season, and I wouldn't be suprised if we see them land a significant playoff seeding and compete. Definitely looking forward to seeing how this season plays out, as they have some solid potntial over there. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->