Ben Parris is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Edge High School for AZPreps365.com

Desert Edge had a hard time generating offense and capitalizing on turnovers Tuesday night as the Scorpions fell to Campo Verde 14-2 in a girls flag football game, and dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Four offensive turnovers proved to be too much to overcome for the Scorpions, who reached the red zone just twice in the game but could not deliver. The offensive effort was not enough to compliment the impressive defensive performance against the Coyotes.

Despite throwing interceptions on each of its first two drives, Desert Edge got on the scoreboard first when sophomore Dez Torres recorded a sack of Campo Verde quarterback Isabella Pap. The Scorpions could not ride the momentum of the ensuing drive, however, and turned the ball over for the third time in the first half.

“They watch film. I know in flag football you don’t really watch film, but Campo came prepared,” assistant coach and offensive play caller Jason Landas said. “Losses happen, but they did a very good job of being respectful and reading our offense. Give them credit, we need to move the ball for efficiently.”

Pap would connect with junior wide receiver Madison Coger on two occasions and reach the 2,000-passing-yard plateau on the season. The duo first connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter, before extending Campo Verde’s lead with a 48-yard strike on the first drive of the second half. Coger has now scored 15 touchdowns on the season.

The Scorpions weren’t quite out of it after going down 14-2, as Brooklyn Baker and Juju Reyes snagged fourth-quarter interceptions on consecutive drives, but the offense could not turn them into points and was unsuccessful in finding the end zone all night.

“Our defense was amazing,” Scorpions head coach Andra Rogers said. “We gave up two plays deep to their best player, but outside of that we had two interceptions and five sacks. Our defense played lights out.”

Desert Edge quarterback Andrea Garcia had a hard time getting into a grove and finished the game with four interceptions while the offense turned the ball over on downs five times. The sophomore faced pressure from Campo Verde all night and was forced to escape the pocket and scramble nearly a dozen times.

“We all stayed communicating with each other, we didn’t really bring each other down,” Garcia said, despite the offensive struggles. “I need to learn how to find my person better.”

With three games still left in the regular season, Desert Edge will have a chance to bounce back Wednesday when it plays Verrado in its second region game at 5 p.m. After falling to Millennium in its first region contest last week, the game will be one that’s crucial in the 5A Desert West standings.

“We know that they’re going to come out and try to punch us in the mouth, but we’re going to take this, go back to the drawing board and get ready for Verrado tomorrow," Landas said.