Gridiron Weekly (Week 11): Verrado 17 Desert Edge 10

Coming off a 3-7 season, which included a winless (0-5) mark in the 5A Desert West Region, Verrado High School hired Jeremy Hathcock to lead its football program last March. The experienced coach that led Desert Ridge to the ultimate game before returning to Blue Ridge (his alma mater) didn’t just bring attention to the West Valley school in Buckeye. He’s brought victories. Lots of them. Along with hope and a belief that anything is possible.

On Friday night at Viper Stadium, VHS didn’t just honor its seniors both pregame and postgame, it fired up a shot to 5A programs in the state that this team just might have what it takes to make a postseason run.

Verrado (8-2, 4-1 5A Desert West Region) came in averaging 46 points per game, but relied on its opportunistic defense, which forced four turnovers, to keep Desert Edge’s offense out of the end zone in a grind-it-out 17-10 rivalry win.

Turning Point

Verrado never trailed in the game, but its defense had to stand tall in the fourth quarter.

On consecutive possessions, Desert Edge crossed deep into Viper territory, but turned the ball over. First, Caden Gingg intercepted a pass at his own 9-yard line. The senior covered a fade route perfectly, leaped, and came down with the pick. Just a few minutes later, the Scorpions got into the red zone (12-yard line) and fumbled the ball. The aggressive Viper defense pounced on a fumble to force another turnover. This time, the offense was able to drive the field and add to what was a precarious three-point lead.

In its first nine defensive possessions, Verrado made DEHS punt four times, forced three turnovers, and stopped the Scorpions twice on fourth down in Viper territory (at the 3 and 29).

First Half: Lopsided on stat sheet, tight on the scoreboard

Hathcock wanted his team to be able to establish the run early. The Vipers were able to do that with two long drives in the first quarter. On its initial possession, Verrado went 92 yards in 15 plays. Quarterback Chase Gieszler ran it in from nine yards out to give him nine rushing touchdowns on the season. A minute later, the Vipers started at their own 3-yard line. While this drive didn’t result in points (missed field goal), the tone was set.

At the half, Verrado was outgaining Desert Edge, 234-36. Even more shocking was the amount of plays from scrimmage that were run for each team. The Vipers had 49 offensive plays while the Scorpions had just 14.

Surprisingly, Verrado’s lead was just 10-7, because Desert Edge was able to score on defense as Camren Hamiel had a pick-six for the Scorpions.

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The score remained 10-7 throughout the third quarter and deep into the fourth. With six minutes remaining, the Vipers got the ball on their own 10-yard line. Junior Malachi Wilt relieved Gieszler, who had left the game with an injured ankle in the third quarter. He led the offense to the Desert Edge 33-yard line. From there, Jack Isidore put it away.

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Game MVP

Isidore, a senior, came into the season finale with over 1,100 yards rushing. He was a little banged up the previous week against Canyon View, but was a go from the start for this one. He delivered.

The 5-9, 190-pounder was a workhorse back for the Vipers and pounded out 216 yards on 35 carries (by far his biggest workload of the year). Isidore went over the century mark for the seventh straight week (and eighth time of the season). He is the third back to have over 1,000 yards in a season for VHS.

Defense kept Desert Edge in it

While the Desert Edge (6-4, 4-1) offense may have had its struggles, once again the Scorpion defense was doing its part to keep the game within reach, despite being on the field for so long. For the sixth game in a row, the opposition was held to 17 points or less.

Hamiel’s touchdown was the sixth scored by the Desert Edge defense this season. The Scorpions also registered four sacks in the game, two by senior Jerry Washington. That gives the Independence transfer five in the five games he’s played for DEHS. Desert Edge was also the first team to hold Verrado under 40 since the opening week of the season. Come playoff time, a defense you can count on is a valuable thing.

What the coaches said

“They’ve got some really good D-Linemen,” Hathcock said. “I thought in the first half, we had our way. In the second half, they made some great adjustments.”

“When everybody and their mother knows we’re giving it to him, and we’re trying to run clock. . . ,” Hathcock said. “Jack, I think, he’s the best running back in 5A.”

“We just didn’t capitalize when we got in the red zone,” Desert Edge head coach Henri MacArthur said. “That was the story of the game. We got there, we just couldn’t get it done.”

“I’m proud of that unit,” MacArthur said of his defense. “I was disappointed that we let them drive the field to score that first drive. I think that kind of gave them some confidence they wouldn’t have had if we would have played how we should have defensively.”

What the players were saying

“I felt great,” Isidore said about his ankle. “During the week, I rehabbed pretty hard, ice, compression, everything I could do. The O-Line was balling out.”

“We just beat a great team,” Isidore said. “Our belief was high, but it’s even higher now.”

“Our defense really stood up today” Gingg said. “It showed something we haven’t seen for a while. We’ve got a hard-hitting offense and we’ve got a great defense. Coach Hathcock has really brought up our mentality.”

“Once we got moving in the fourth quarter, we kept the train going,” Verrado sophomore offensive lineman Cyrus Padilla said. “Jack’s a dog. He breaks all the tackles.”

“The main thing he’s brought is toughness,” Padilla said of Hathcock. “Our mentality and effort has all changed.”

Up next

Both teams will host games in the 2024 playoffs. Verrado returns to the postseason for the fifth time in six years (missed in 2023) and will host Notre Dame this Friday. The Vipers are the No. 6 seed in the 5A bracket. It’s been nine years since VHS has won a postseason game. Desert Edge is in the playoffs for the 15th consecutive season. The Scorpions will welcome Cactus Shadows to Goodyear this Friday. DEHS is the No. 7 seed. Both schools are in the bottom half of the bracket and could have a rematch in the semifinals.

With both schools finishing 4-1 along with Cactus in region play, it left the region title in the control of the AIA computer. Cactus ended up the No. 4 seed and captured its region for the fifth straight year.

The win was also notable for Verrado because of its seven previous victories, only Goldwater (No. 16 seed) heard its name announced on Saturday morning. The Vipers are playing their best ball as the playoffs approach, and now have a signature victory.