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

Desert Edge co-head football coaches and brothers Mark and Marcus Carter can’t promise playing time, wins, or a college scholarship to any player who transfers into their program each season. What they do guarantee is the best experience possible for every player on their team.

Every season a handful of football players across the state file AIA Form 550 with the intent to transfer schools for a variety of reasons. The majority of those athletes, like Desert Edge’s Jaqua Anderson and Markhi Mckinnon, have to sit out the first five weeks of the regular season because of their transfer, but that does not mean they don’t make an impact for their team.

“I took it hard, not being able to play the first five games,” Anderson said. “I still contributed and helped those first five games. I was helping people out; I was always trying to help and be involved.”

Anderson, a senior wide receiver who previously played at Liberty, and Mckinnon, a running back who spent time at Goldwater, were both bummed to miss the first half of the season, but the experience is one that is only seen as valuable by themselves and their coaching staff.

“There were zero complaints, there was no anything,” Mark Carter said. “Markhi and Jaqua were some of our biggest cheerleaders those first five games. Anytime anyone got a touchdown, they were the first ones giving high fives and giving hugs.”

Anderson and Mckinnon were beyond engaged while watching the first part of the season from the sideline and became valuable members of the Desert Edge scout team during practice, while also being able to put on coaching hats and pick up on plays and schematics of opposing teams during games. Mark Carter said he knew the Scorpions’ defense, which has only allowed 13.4 points per game through seven games, has gotten better as a result of having to practice against Anderson and Mckinnon.

“It would be foolish of someone to let five games deter them from changing their situation for the better,” Marcus Carter added. “Going into these five games, I don’t think they took it as a punishment, I think they took it as an opportunity to get better.”

It would have been easy for the transfers to have become what Marcus Carter described as “energy vampires” and sulk about their situation and bring the team’s morale down, but they instead added to the Desert Edge culture that the Carter brothers have intensely worked to create. Two games into their return to the field, Anderson has brought in 13 receptions for 183 yards and a touchdown, while Mckinnon has rushed for 303 yards and two touchdowns.

While a deep run into the playoffs every season is always the goal, the Carter brothers are just as focused on serving their players, their families, and the Desert Edge community. While they are coaches on the field, their players describe them as mentors off the field when it comes to school, relationships, and getting to college. Their goal is to create a family that will stay bonded even when their time at Desert Edge comes to an end.

“It makes me feel really proud of what we have built at Desert Edge,” Marcus Carter said. “If two guys, who are Division I guys, are choosing to sit half of their season to come be a part of our family, that speaks volumes.”

Anderson said his main reason for wanting to play for Desert Edge is the environment on the team that is meant to simulate a college football environment.

“What made me want to transfer was the guys, being around the guys, the culture, the coaching staff, everybody puts in a good amount of work, and everybody does their part,” Anderson said. “It’s like a unit, we’re all together, and I like that.”

Desert Edge will rely on Anderson and Mckinnon the rest of its season, sitting on a 6-1 record and eyeing a spot in the open division playoffs.

“When you come here, you’re going to have the best experience as possible,” Marcus Carter said. “You know you have coaches that love you, you know you have coaches that will work for you nonstop to get you to college for free or little money. It’s great that kids want to come and be a part of our culture and school. We’re going to take them all.”