Can Desert Edge football become the west-side Saguaro?

There are about 1,800 students enrolled at Goodyear Desert Edge High School, which is basically a 5A Arizona Interscholastic Association number.

But, in this age of the competitive high school football world, on campus is a group of football players who compete in 5A, they are at a point where they can play with anybody.

And, yes, that means even the best in 6A, like Chandler, Basha, Hamilton, Peoria Liberty, Peoria Centennial and Scottsdale Saguaro.

As coaches like to say, it's iron sharpens iron at Desert Edge, which, after Thursday's Saguaro Spring Football Showcase, added another player to its growing list of those offered Division I football scholarships.

Shaun Aletor, a class of 2024 6-foot-2, 245-pound defensive lineman, picked up an Idaho offer, giving Desert Edge 11 players who have received Division I offers, combining all classes.

That includes jumbo freshman offensive lineman Jalayne Miller, who, at 6-5, 320, already looks like a Power 5 college football player. He has offers from Georgia Tech, UNLV, Nevada and Boston College. In another year, he could have over 30.

"We just want to come together as a group, get better, strong, faster," Miller said. "We just build each other up."

It starts with the Carter twins, co-head coaches Marcus (defensive specialist) and Mark (the offensive guru), with solid assistants and a positive culture with a college coaches' connections list that may be as long as what former Saguaro coach Jason Mohns had during his tenure, before becoming an assistant coach this year at Arizona State.

Desert Edge is starting to look like the Saguaro of the West Valley with talent transferring in, such as former Phoenix Barry Goldwater bullish running back Markhi McKinnon (6-0, 205), who led 5A in rushing last season, and former Liberty wide receiver Jaqua Anderson (a key contributor in Liberty's run to the Open semifinals last year with his jet speed).

But for Desert Edge to be another Saguaro — an even smaller school with a 4A enrollment of about 1,200 students — it will need to start stockpiling state championships. Saguaro has won 13 state championships, 12 since 2006, and seven including the 2021 Open, under Mohns, who built the Argonauts, the youth program that has fed the Saguaro football beast.

Desert Edge has been to three state championship games: 2012, 2015 and 2019. Their only state title season came in 2015, beating Paradise Valley 29-27 in the Division III final.

The Carter twins are looking for their first state title since coming over to Desert Edge from Phoenix South Mountain before the 2020 COVID-19 year.

They got to the Open in their first year, losing their only game that season in a blowout loss to eventual champion Chandler in the quarterfinals. They haven't been back to the Open since, but their talent level, if it's based on college prospects, is as good as anybody in Arizona.

And the excitement level is as high as it's ever been at Desert Edge, which expects not only to be an Open team but to contend for a title in 2023.

"I know we've had some guys in the past, like (quarterback) Adryan (Lara, Kansas State signee) and (offensive lineman) Gavin (Broscious, Michigan State signee)," Mark Carter said. "But we've got dudes everywhere at this point. Talent-wise, this is probably the deepest we've been."

At every position, at least one player has a Division I offer:

Quarterback Hezekiah Millender (2025), running back McKinnon (2024), wide receiver Kezion Dia-Johnson (2024), offensive lineman Miller (2026), defensive lineman DeShawn Warner (2024), linebacker Jaylen Dawson (2024), cornerback Aundre Gibson (Kansas commit in 2024 class) and safety Jonathan Kamara (2024).

Millender put on 30 pounds since the end of last season when started as a sophomore. At 6-3, 195 pounds, the Scorpions plan to turn him loose as a dual threat to show off his running abilities to go with a rocket arm.

"He took that loss last year in the (5A) playoffs personal (a 45-42 semifinal setback to eventual champion Gilbert Higley) personal," Carter said. "He said, 'Coach, I got all these yards and did all of this stuff, but it still wasn't enough. I've got to do more. He's been going to trainers. His body has transformed. We're looking for him to have a good year. He's that kind of kid. He's putting everything on his back."

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Kamara is a hybrid strong safety who will be all over the place on defense, racking up tackles.

"I'm just blessed to be in the position I am," Kamara said. "I want to be the best athlete I can be.

And, if offenses think they can go to the side that Gibson isn't on, there is 2025 cornerback Jamar Beal-Goines, one of the fastest athletes in the state, on the other side. He also has Division I offers.

"Desert Edge is a relatively small school," Kamara said. "We're naturally just close to each other, on and off the field. Our friendships have been there since we were freshmen, and it is high right now."

More: Hamilton's 300-pounders set offensive line apart among Arizona high school football teams

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Can Desert Edge High School football become the west-side Saguaro?