School has Seahawks connections

Cedar Hill—After the Seattle Seahawks eliminated the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game, Seattle cornerback Tariq “Riq” Woolen was the first Seahawks player to congratulate Rams head coach Sean McVay on a good season.

Cedar Hill head softball coach/assistant football coach Regis Andrez was one of the people who taught Woolen about sportsmanship. Andrez coached Woolen when he was on the football and basketball staffs at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth.

“He was one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever coached,” Andrez said. “I always thought he’d make it as a professional basketball player. He was a very good receiver, but he was always a better defensive back because of his basketball skill set.”

Woolen, a fourth-year pro out of UTSA who has 12 career interceptions, will look to lead the Seahawks to their second-ever Super Bowl title when they face the New England Patriots in Santa Clara, CA.

Cedar Hill’s Seahawks’ connections don’t end there.

Trevis Gipson, a CHHS Class of 2015 Graduate, who played linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers last season, played for the Seahawks in 2024.

Josh Thomas, a CHHS Class of 2007 Graduate, played cornerback for Seattle in 2014 when they were defending Super Bowl Champions.

One of the great storylines of this Super Bowl has been the resurgence of Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who struggled earlier in his NFL career.

Garrett McGuire, a CHHS Class of 2017 Graduate, was an assistant coach with the Carolina Panthers when Darnold was the quarterback there. McGuire won a Big 12 Championship and went to the College Football Playoffs as a first-year assistant coach at Texas Tech last season.

Cedar Hill head football coach Nick Ward played football at the University of Miami in the late 1990s. He had a chance to meet former Miami great (and future Pro Football Hall of Famer) Cortez Kennedy, who passed away in 2017. Kennedy started for the Seahawks from 1990-2000, highlighted by his 1992 NFL Defensive Player of the Year honor.

SOURCE Cedar Hill Independent School District