By james art 
By Chris Schaller for West Valley Preps
Two rivals and 5A title contenders, Desert Edge and Cactus, met and the Scorpions had the last laugh, winning 21-6 in a defensive masterclass.
Tensions were high before the game as the Cactus received two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties before kickoff.
31 penalties, several equipment violations and several fistfights later, the heated rivalry went in the Scorpions’ favor
“Based on last year, this game has been marked down for a while,” Scorpions coach Henry MacArthur said. “We know who they are and they know who we are.”
Desert Edge had a 5-3 record and was on a four-game winning streak heading into their biggest game of the year. Cactus was 6-2 and also on a four-game winning streak, outscoring its previous two opponents 103-41.
Both teams were 3-0 in Desert West Region play. And Cactus brought a three-game winning streak into the rivalry.
Yet it was the Cobras who lost their cool.
“It’s disappointing because we talked before the game about controlling it,” Cobras coach Brian Bells said. “We just didn’t do that and it leaked into the game.”
The Cobra finished the game with 13 penalties. The Cactus players refused to speak to the media after the match and bypassed shaking hands with Desert Edge after the match, a display of poor sportsmanship.
“We thought the hit on Jamar was dirty,” MacArthur said. “That’s when the game got personal.”
The game itself got off to a slow start as both teams went scoreless for most of the first quarter.
The Scorpions saw two sacks in the first quarter, one of which was by senior defensive end Jerry Washington.
“Defense wins games,” Washington said. “If our offense doesn’t put points on the board, then the defense has to.”
Later in the quarter, Washington also recovered a fumble that led to Scorpions sophomore quarterback Blake Roskopf finding sophomore receiver Zerek Sidney for a 2-yard touchdown.
The Cobras’ suffocating defense forced turnovers as Rosskopf threw passes to senior defensive back Gabriel Sotelo and junior defensive end Jason Burkhardt.
“Football gets defensive stops,” Bell said. “The roles were reversed a few weeks ago, you have to have both sides show up to win.”
The Cobras totaled 66 yards, with 22 of them coming on the ground by running back Tyjayon Player. Junior quarterback Antonio Casillas would find receiver Robert Bell Jr. for a two-yard touchdown late in the third.
The game’s turning point came when senior receiver and defensive back Jamar Beal-Goines, also ranked as Arizona’s top player, was injured in the second quarter.
“He went down after a dirty hit.” defensive end, quarterback and receiver Elijah Sherbin-Fox said. “We had to rally around each other and put (Cactus) aside.”
Before halftime, Rosskopf found receiver Travion Dixson for a 19-yard touchdown with 26 seconds left.
Dixon would finish the day with 69 yards on three receptions.
The second half was where Swiss Army Knife Sherbin-Fox came into play for the Scorpions.
Defensively, Sherbin-Fox collected 12 tackles and 3 sacks, finishing with half of the Scorpions’ sacks, six total.
“Defensively, we made the play,” Sherbin-Fox said. “I had to play my part in attack as well.
Offensive Sherbin-Fox made his best impression of Taysom Hill with a pass attempt, a carry and two receptions for 23 yards.
The Scorpions did have two white collars at running back today in running backs Byron Brandon and Arion Thomas.
Brandon finished with 7 carries for 76 yards and the final touchdown of the game.
Thomas finished with 12 carries for 67 yards and a 20-yard reception.
Desert Edge (6-3, 4-0) is still undefeated in the 5A Desert West and will travel to Buckeye to face fellow contender Verrado (7-3, 3-1) at 7 p.m., Friday , November. 8.
Cactus (6-3, 3-1) will host Millenium (3-6, 1-3) at home on Friday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Chris Schaller is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sierra Linda High School for AZPreps 365.