The Poudre High School Impalas took on the Mountain View High School Lions as the opener for the fifth annual Canvas Classic Saturday.
The Impalas came onto the field looking for redemption after a rocky 2025 season, as they finished 1-9 — 1-4 within the conference. Meanwhile, the Lions dealt with a hard season of their own, as they lost all conference games, finishing with an overall record of 1-9.
Both teams walked into Canvas Stadium with an opportunity for new beginnings, especially since it was the Lions’ first time playing in the Canvas Classic.
This year, Canvas Credit Union deviated from previous years, including an earlier date, a three-game showcase and more teams from surrounding school districts in the Northern Colorado area. This game was also the first officiated game in Canvas Stadium since CSU’s move to the Pac-12.
With the affiliation of the newly revived conference also came a redesign of the field, which is now adorned with the Pac-12 logo at each of the 25-yard lines.
“It’s just a cool opportunity for (my players) to come out here, and they could see the stadium on TV and come watch the Rams play,” PHS head coach Eric Tonkin said. “The opportunity to come out and play, be on this field … (is) a really cool experience for them.”
PHS fought and came out on top, shutting out MVHS 35-0.
Both sides of the ball would prove to be proficient for PHS, as Charlie Swanson and Truman Beard led a defensive unit that prevented the Lions from gaining momentum, while big moments from Charles Gebhardt and Borrayo Henderson Bronson on the offensive side of the ball helped propel the Impalas to their win.
Gebhardt showcased his speed and ability for PHS as he secured four touchdowns.
“I think more speed work and not just strength training … definitely helped me hit the edge faster and just score the touchdowns,” Gebhardt said.
Bronson also had a big game, ultimately preventing the Lions from scoring off a forced fumble. This drive would ultimately secure a touchdown for PHS.
“Just trusting in the coaches, trusting in my own line, trusting in everybody, (made) it pretty easy for me today,” Bronson said. “I know you still got to execute, but everybody makes it pretty easy for me.”
The second game of the day certainly lived up to the name of being a “classic”, as many fans found themselves caught up in a tight game that went down to the wire.
The Rocky Mountain High School Lobos went into their second game of the season against Thompson Valley High School looking to bounce back after a tough 36-0 loss to Eaglecrest High School. To make matters tougher for RMHS head coach Phil Underwood, several of his players hadn’t played in a setting such as Canvas before.
“We only had four guys that had played in Canvas before,” Underwood said. “I think as a program, we were a little nervous.”
This game would quickly prove to be back and forth throughout all four quarters, as it was consistently anyone’s game. But Finley Lucas pulled ahead for the Eagles, as he was consistently mobile throughout the game, ending with a passing and rushing touchdown. Not only did he have to make split-second decisions on the go, but he also led some key drives that forced the Lobos to respond in a timely manner.
Jamie Steele, head coach for TVHS, placed a lot of trust, not only in Lucas, but the offense as a whole, as they were able to keep the game close and fans on the edge of their seats.
However, RMHS was ready with a response, as the defense stifled some drives that allowed them to keep the lead for a majority of the game. An offense led by quarterback Ty Frank was also instrumental in RMHS’s success, ending the game with four passing touchdowns, received by Cam Franz, Josh Larson and tight end Kasen Brown, who had a notable catch to give RMHS the lead within one of its final offensive drives of the game.
What followed was a moment that RMHS and TVHS fans will remember for quite some time.
Within the second half, the game already had three lead changes, but the last was the most notable.
With less than two minutes remaining, the Eagles found themselves within 20 yards of tying the game and keeping their hopes alive of a season opening win, until tragedy struck. The ball left Lucas” hands towards a receiver on the left side of the field, but Blake Leetham picked off the ball for the Lobos before being downed by a swarm of white uniforms.
An eruption from both players and fans of RMHS followed.
Overall, both teams put up a hard fight, and but the Lobos secured the win, 26-21.
“It’s a great environment, here with my guys, they help me through everything,” Leetham said. “I had some bad moments (in the) first half, but they helped me bounce back and got me through it. And then in those big moments, obviously, you got to have some level of composure to really keep you in the game.”
The 2026 Canvas Classic ended with Fort Collins High School pulling out the win over Windsor High School, 49-14.
Reach Landon Blanco at sports@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
