Prep Football Summer Series: Cibola Raiders

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Our Prep Football Summer Series rolls on with a stop at Raider Field.

Second-year head coach Caleb Gillispie is looking lead his Cibola squad to their first winning season since 2021.

Gillispie has a lot of underclassmen playing 7-on-7 during the summer. He says that the work his team has put so far this offseason will pay off in the fall.

"We've had a lot of young guys coming out this year, which has been great for us," said Gillispie. "The continuity that we've been able to see, especially from some of our returning leaders, is the one thing that we really love so far and just the competitive nature that our guys have had."

The Raiders will have the added advantage of having many supporters come out the their games in 2025, traveling outside the Desert Southwest only once. Gillispie knows that will give his team added motivation playing many times in front of their fans.

"I think one thing it's gonna do is rejuvenate our fan base," said Gillispie. "That's one of the biggest thimg I've told my coaching staff. Trying to get that campus culture built in and being able to have the parents, the administrators, the teachers be able to see a lot more games. I think it's gonna rejuvenate some of our kids and get them excited for Friday nights."

Gillespie spoke on the mindset his team will need to have in order to achieve their goals.

"The biggest thing I'm really looking for is consistency," said Gillispie. "Last year, we noticed that regardless of the teams we played, the game would get away from us. Being consistent, coming out and starting strong and then maintaining success, especially with us being able to play here locally in Yuma, we're really trying to just increase the win loss record from the previous year and make sure we're battling in all the fights that we're in."