Last Friday, October 25th, the Cedar Cliff Colts defeated the Red Land Patriots by a score of 35-14, and another chapter of the biggest high school rivalry in Central PA came to a close. The two schools, which share a district, are long time foes. Cedar Cliff was constructed in 1960, and Red Land followed shortly in 1964, starting the rivalry every student of each school knows. 

Although Cedar Cliff has won every football game since 2012, the game is always a match up to look forward to. Each team brings their all, each student section member covers themselves in paint in their respective schools’ colors, and every local sports crew is there to cover the game. 

This game means more to the players than any other game. Starting offensive lineman and son of coach Colin Gillen, Seth Gillen said that the game means a lot because “We share a stadium. We share a district. It’s just a pride thing, we’re always competing to be the better team”. Captain of the team and starting linebacker Kevin Lusk added, “They’re always really cocky, but they suck. It makes us want to beat them more.” 

Another added element of rivalry night is the huge student sections that arrive for both teams. The Red Sea and the Golden Corral each come in massive numbers to support Red Land or Cedar Cliff, respectively. The paint war happens before the game. Cedar Cliff kids throw Blue & Yellow paint over each other and themselves, and Red Land kids throw red & blue paint. Each section is a massive glob of school colors and is always filled with hundreds of kids. 

“Having that student section adds a whole other gear to your game. It’s another kind of element on rivalry night.” said Gillen. “And a good student section gives every player extra energy.” added Lusk.