Fort Collins shocks Fossil Ridge on final play in opening game of Canvas Community Classic
What a way to get the first win of the season.
Playing on the city’s biggest stage, Canvas Stadium at Colorado State University, with 10,783 fans looking on, Fort Collins High School’s football team stunned crosstown rival Fossil Ridge on the final play Friday for a 34-31 win.
It was the first game of the second annual Canvas Community Classic, bringing students of all ages from Poudre School District and their families to CSU’s on-campus stadium for a city rivalry doubleheader.
And the Lambkins, with Joel Lopez leading the way, stole the show.
Lopez kicked both the tying and winning field goals, the latter a 38-yarder as time expired.
The senior safety also made the stop to set it up on a fourth-and-one play with just under one minute remaining. His tackle of Fossil Ridge running back Jake Toshcoff near midfield touched off a wild celebration on the Fort Collins sideline.
It was still a tie game at that point, but given the way the previously winless Lambkins (1-6, 1-1 5A Front Range North) had moved the ball all night, Lopez and his teammates liked their chances.
“We were moving the ball all game, and they couldn’t stop us,” quarterback Justin Cranford said.
Cranford threw passes for gains of about 10 yards apiece to Levi Hermsen and D’Marco Sanchez-Ferguson got the Lambkins to the Fossil Ridge 21-yard line as the final seconds were ticking off the game clock.
A Fossil Ridge timeout just before the snap negated Lopez’s first kick, which went cleanly through the uprights. The second one did, too, giving the Lambkins their biggest win in years and on the city’s biggest stage.
“It feels great,” Lopez said following a postgame celebration that began with the Lambkins racing across the field to claim the Harmony Cup from the Fossil Ridge sideline. It ended with a rowdy rendition of the school fight song in front of the student section, with the cup held high above players’ heads.
Lopez had missed a potential game-winner a few weeks earlier in a 26-24 loss to Windsor.
Not this time.
“I told myself I wasn’t going to miss again,” he said. “I give 100% on defense, just so the offense can do their job and we come out with the win.”
Cranford threw for two touchdowns and ran for one for the Lambkins. Hermsen caught a touchdown pass and also ran for a score.
Colton Pawlak ran for two touchdowns, and quarterback Nick Kubat threw for two for Fossil Ridge (3-4, 1-1 5A Front Range North).
Rocky Mountain shuts out Poudre in nightcap
Abe Chatila ran for two touchdowns, quarterback Bradley Mallette threw for one, and Rocky Mountain’s defense pitched a shutout in a 26-0 win over Poudre in the second game of the doubleheader at Canvas.
Rocky Mountain scored a safety by blocking a punt that rolled out of the end zone for its first score of the game and got a 35-yard field goal from Danny Krieger on the final play of the first half to take a 19-0 lead into the break.
The Lobos went up 26-0 on Chatila’s second TD just 2:03 into the second half, then spent the rest of the night savoring their revenge. Poudre beat Rocky Mountain 34-7 in last year’s inaugural Canvas Community Classic.
“Last year, they beat us down, and it was so sour,” said Chatila, a senior. “It felt so good to come out here and just take it to them.”
The win was the second in as many weeks over a city rival for Rocky Mountain (3-4, 2-0 5A North), which faces Fossil Ridge next Friday at French Field with a chance to claim a city championship.
Poudre quarterback Brayden Bay threw some nice passes to Colton Mills-Younger and Logan Chatman but the Impalas (1-6, 0-2 5A Front Range North) were unable to reach the end zone. Two of their drives ended with interceptions by Rocky Mountain defenders Isaak Simpson and Ryan Olsen.
Showcase event for Poudre School District
The Canvas Community Classic is more than just football. It’s a celebration of Poudre School District, with students and staff from all schools admitted for free and recognitions for schools and their athletic programs taking place between quarters and games.
An ROTC color guard, with students from four different PSD high schools, presented the colors at midfield before the opening game. Young cheerleaders joined each of the high school squads for halftime cheers, and every school in the district was represented during a parade between games, with representatives of each carrying school banners proudly as they walked across the field.
District champions in middle school sports were honored in the south end zone during one break in the action, and all of the district’s middle school football teams, wearing their game jerseys, filled both end zones for a recognition ceremony during another break.
Unified football games, played during halftime of each game, drew some of the loudest cheers from student sections that were filled with hundreds of fans who stood from start to finish of their respective school’s games, supporting their schools and teams regardless of what the score on the field was.
“We’re really happy to be here,” Rocky Mountain junior Xander Yates said as he and his friends cheered on the Lobos. “Rocky’s bringing spirt.”
Not that Fort Collins, Fossil Ridge and Poudre didn’t.
Students were cheering and chanting throughout the night, regardless of the score on the field at the time.
“This is something that everybody looks forward to,” said Carter Mills, also a junior at Rocky Mountain. “It’s fantastic. … It’s a great atmosphere.”
Editor's note: This story has a correction. Abe Chatila ran for two touchdowns, quarterback Bradley Mallette threw for one, and Rocky Mountain’s defense pitched a shutout in a 26-0 win over Poudre in the second game of the doubleheader at Canvas. Chatila's last name and Mallette's first name were spelled incorrectly in a previous version of this story.
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins shocks Fossil Ridge in thrilling opener of Canvas Classic
