PRZPA Team Preview, Cedar Cliff

<p><strong>Season Outlook: </strong>Cedar Cliff went 10-2 last year and their season ended when they lost to Cocalico in the 2nd round of the PIAA Playoffs. Cedar Cliff brings back a good group of players from last year's team and should be in a similar position this season. </p>   <p><strong>Current Head Coach: </strong>Colin Gillen </p>   <p><strong>Top returning 2024 prospects:</strong></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='915567' first='Guner' last='Hiller'] played as a guard on offense and defensive tackle on defense last year. He has a good combination of size, strength, and athleticism at both positions. At guard, he does a good job of blocking defensive players. He fires off the ball well and uses his strength to drive defenders well off the ball. He also shows good athleticism by pulling and blocking defenders. At defensive tackle he shows the same skill set, but for a defender. He is hard to move off his spot at defensive tackle as he shows good strength at the point of the attack. Hiller is a good prospect who recently got an offer from St. Francis, I expect more offers to come his way.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GunerHiller/status/1816144245591282055 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='819738' first='Julius' last='Tirado'] is a good prospect who played as a cornerback last year for Cedar Cliff. He shows good athleticism and skill at cornerback. Below is what I wrote about Tirado earlier this year:</p>   <p>"<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='819738' first='Julius' last='Tirado']</strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/julius-tirado/"></a> is a good athlete who played cornerback at a high level for Cedar Cliff last year. Tirado shows good coverage skills. He is good at playing the ball when it is thrown his way. He does a good job of reading and reacting to the throw and then making a timely play on the ball when it is thrown his way. Tirado is also good in run support by coming upfield to make a tackle in the open field. Tirado is a good player and I am excited to see him progress next season". </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/TiradoJulius/status/1805741761941102666 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='599047' first='Bennett' last='Secrest'] is a good quarterback in the 2025 class. He is a good athlete who moves well inside and outside the pocket. Secrest can make every throw from the quarterback position. Below is what I wrote about Secrest earlier this year: </p>   <p>"<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='599047' first='Bennett' last='Secrest']</strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/bennett-secrest/"></a> is a dual-threat quarterback. He is equally as good at running the ball as he is at throwing the ball. Secrest does show a strong arm as well. He delivers a good football on many different throws. He is also good at throwing the ball on many different routes. Secrest is excellent at throwing on the run. He is a talented quarterback in the 2025 class". </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1131717' first='Hezzi' last='Latini'] is a talented offensive lineman in the 2025 class. He has the size (6'5 inches tall) and the strength to play at the next level. Below is what I wrote about him earlier this year: </p>   <p>"Hezikyah Latini had a good year for Cedar Cliff last year playing both offensive line, and defensive line. On the offensive line, he was the starting center. He did an excellent job with all the snaps I saw in his film. He did a nice job in run blocking by using his strength to block and control defensive tackles. As a defensive tackle, he showed that he took more than one offensive lineman to block him. He has a good stance and start and gets off the ball quickly for a big guy. Latini is an underrated prospect who should get even better next season". </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/hlatini74/status/1749262679359844847 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Fake Finkboner is an old-school football player who played as a fullback and as an inside linebacker last year. He fits Cedar Cliff's style well, as they run a ton of power football with an old-school I offense. Finkboner does a nice job of leading blocking for tailbacks. He shows good strength as he engages and blocks defenders well. He takes the same attitude on defense at inside linebacker. He does a good job at inside linebacker by reading and reacting to the play and attacking downhill. On both sides of the ball, he is a good football player. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/kfinkboner42/status/1728294117082607863 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1155956' first='Joshua' last='Gillen'] is a good offensive lineman in the 2026 class. He played as a right tackle last year. He has good technique for a 1st year starter on the offensive line. His stance and the way he fires off the ball is excellent. He shows good skill at run blocking. He locks onto defenders and drives them off the ball well. He does a nice job of double-team blocking with the right guard and driving the defensive tackle into the linebacker. It is textbook double-team blocking. Gillen is a good offensive lineman prospect who should only get better. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Joshgillen15/status/1733947437096526180 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">I came away impressed with [player_tooltip player_id='1156138' first='Will' last='Kocher']'s film from last season at linebacker. He is truly a sideline-to-sideline linebacker. He chases plays all over the field. He is like a heat-seeking missile chasing plays all over the field and then making tackles. He has great instincts at the linebacker position, as he reads his keys and attacks downhill. He is also good in pass coverage. Kocher is the complete package at linebacker and I am excited to see his progress this season.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Will_Kocher/status/1815048585857110069 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='914943' first='Princeton' last='Dent'] has a ton of potential as a game-changing running back for Cedar Cliff. He doesn't have any film from last year, but a ton of people have vouched for how talented he is as a player. I expect he be a contributor this season for Cedar Cliff. Below is what my colleague [player_tooltip player_id='1156407' first='Vic' last='Castillo'] said about him earlier this year: </p>   <p>"Will provide a deeper eval at a later time. Formerly out of Trinity, now at Cedar Cliff. I'll admit, Dent's current ranking comes because of rumblings I've heard about his skills from trusted sources. The young man doesn't have a freshman tape up on Hudl, which is almost always a no-no for me. That being said, I've heard from trusted coaches that the kid carries serious athletic potential. Want to see more this coming Fall if I'm going to keep him here moving forward". </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/princetondent12/status/1810324910268387556 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1180676' first='Blake' last='Secrest'] is another talented prospect to check out this season for Cedar Cliff. Secrest is a good athlete who played as a tight end and defensive end last season. Below is what I wrote about him earlier this year: </p>   <p>"<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1180676' first='Blake' last='Secrest']</strong> is a good athlete who played tight end and defensive end for Cedar Cliff. He does a great job getting off the ball. He explodes off the ball and attacks the offensive backfield to create chaos. He uses his hands well by creating leverage against offensive linemen. Then he is constantly chasing plays all over the field. At tight end, he catches the ball well and makes defenders miss in space.  Secrest is a good athlete who should only improve next season at both positions with more playing time". </p>    <p><strong>Final Thoughts: </strong>I like this team a lot. They have a ton of good players in the trenches and skill outside. I think the 2026 and 2027 prospects in particular have a ton of potential. I am excited to see how they play this year. </p>

Season Outlook: Cedar Cliff went 10-2 last year and their season ended when they lost to Cocalico in the 2nd round of the PIAA Playoffs. Cedar Cliff brings back a good group of players from last year's team and should be in a similar position this season.