As the ties between Colorado State University and local high school football teams grow stronger with the Canvas Community Classic expanding in 2026, The Collegian’s Gideon Aigner saw fit to highlight the best of the best.
The teams and players that qualify for this list all attend the six high schools in Poudre School District that offer tackle football: Fort Collins, Rocky Mountain, Fossil Ridge, Poudre, Timnath and Wellington.
Players must have participated in at least seven contests prior to the playoffs, and though playoff performances may boost a player’s standings on this list, missing the playoffs does not detract from an individual player’s likelihood of making this list. Statistics help a player’s odds of making this list, but other factors like gravity also affect player selection.
The only position where a team’s performance affects selection to this team is the Coach of the Year.
There is one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, five offensive linemen, two defensive tackles, two defensive ends, two linebackers, three cornerbacks, two safeties, one kicker, one punter and one athlete — a player who could make the team in multiple positions.
There are also awards for the Freshman of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Player of the Year and the Coach of the Year.
Without further ado, The Collegian is proud to present the first ever All-Fort Collins high school football team.
QB:
Justin Cranford (Sr – Fort Collins)
2085 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, five interceptions, 205 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns
RB:
Jack McKeon (Sr – Fort Collins)
2197 rushing yards, 27 rushing touchdowns, 140 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns
Brayton Meglen (So – Wellington)
858 rushing yds, 12 rushing touchdowns, 283 receiving yds, four receiving touchdowns
WR:
Bode Nesbitt (Sr – Rocky Mountain)
823 receiving yards, nine receiving touchdowns
Eli Swanson (Sr – Fossil Ridge)
1168 receiving yards, 16 receiving touchdowns
Carter Gaines (Sr – Timnath)
510 receiving yards, eight receiving touchdowns
TE:
Caleb Camping (Jr – Fossil Ridge)
391 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns
OL:
Mason Bandhauer (Sr – Fort Collins)
Committed to Penn State, Bandhauer made the most of his final season as a Lambkin, leading an OL and found himself ranked as No. 9 prospect in Colorado by ESPN.
Pierce Decker (Sr – Poudre)
The Wyoming commit demonstrated his FBS-level talent all season long, causing his opponents to scheme almost exclusively around him. Decker was Poudre’s main offensive weapon and his skills in the trenches will be sorely missed.
AJ Shedenhelm (Jr – Wellington)
Shedenhelm has improved every year he’s played for Wellington, and he’s visibly acted as a leader for the squad in their 2A revenge tour. Shedenhelm helped make way for 3423 rushing yards and 57 rushing touchdowns.
Yamil Torres (Sr – Rocky Mountain)
Torres headlined a very well-rounded Rocky Mountain OL which produced 1005 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns over the course of the year. Despite being undersized, Torres was able to shove around some of Northern Colorado’s best defensive talent all season long.
AJ Chwialkowski (Jr – Timnath)
Chwialkowski’s third year for the Cubs was his most productive yet. Helping to fill holes left by injury, Chwialkowski’s OL made way for 1591 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns.
ATH:
Tanner Gray (Sr – Wellington)
729 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, 727 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns, 63 tackles, 24 tackles-for-loss, nine sacks, 30 hurries, one interception.
DT:
Porter Park (Sr – Fort Collins)
47 tackles, 11.5 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, five hurries.
Anijah Garner (Jr – Wellington)
43 tackles, 7 tackles-for-loss, 4.5 sacks, 8 hurries.
DE:
Ezra Batjargal (Sr – Wellington)
47 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, five sacks, 26 hurries.
Dylan Mock (Sr – Timnath)
75 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, four sacks, seven hurries, one field goal block.
LB:
Kaden Souders (Sr – Fort Collins)
81 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss, three sacks, eight hurries, six interceptions, 138 interception yards, two passes deflected, one punt block.
Brady Swigert (Sr – Rocky Mountain)
123 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery.
CB:
Syncere Gonzales (Sr – Timnath)
19 tackles, 1 tackle-for-loss, four interceptions, 95 interception yards, 10 passes deflected, one fumble recovery.
Champ Rivera (Sr – Rocky Mountain)
44 tackles, four interceptions, one pass deflected.
Adriel Hernandez (Jr – Fossil Ridge)
65 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, two interceptions, nine passes deflected.
S:
Teagen Greiman (Jr – Wellington)
83 tackles, 9 tackles-for-loss, one sack, two interceptions, three forced fumbles.
Tyler Trujillo (Sr – Poudre)
52 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, three interceptions, one forced fumble
K:
Ian Bankson (So – Rocky Mountain)
28/28 points after touchdown, 3/4 field goal attempts, long of 37 on field goals
P:
Fernando Lopez (Sr – Fort Collins)
1063 punting yards, 40.9 yard average, seven in 20
Freshman of the Year:
Eli Mills (Fr – Poudre)
10/13 points after touchdown, 1/1 field goal attempts, 12 receiving yds, one kickoff, 60 kickoff yards
Mills is admittedly in scarce company, being one of the only freshmen in the city to get substantial playing time, but he made the most of it.
A solid special teams unit is the foundation of the game and if Mills builds on this campaign, he has a promising career ahead.
Offensive Player of the Year:
Jack McKeon (Sr – Fort Collins)
The state’s leading rusher. Fort Collins’ first playoff win since 2021. 29 total touchdowns, more than some teams in Colorado had the whole season.
McKeon could not be denied in any way, and as such, he is the Offensive Player of the Year.
Defensive Player of the Year:
Kaden Souders (Sr – Fort Collins)
Without Souders, the Fort Collins Lambkins’ defense would have been entirely different. Souders made plays across the field all season, leading the city in interceptions, pressuring QBs and acting as a last line of defense.
His contributions helped the Lambkins host a playoff game for the first time in a long time, and as such, he is The Collegian’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Player of the Year:
Tanner Gray (Sr – Wellington)
Gray capped off his illustrious career with one of the best seasons a football player in Northern Colorado has seen. With 29 touchdowns on offense, nine sacks, and MVP in his school’s first state championship win in over 70 years.
It may be a while before Fort Collins sees a career like Gray’s, and for this he is The Collegian’s Player of the Year.
Coach of the Year:
Travis Peeples (Wellington, fourth year, 13-0)
After losing a heartbreaker in the 2024 2A state championship, Peeples and his Eagles flew into the 2025 season as favorites, eventually justifying that on Nov. 29 with the first state championship won by a Fort Collins area squad since 1969.
During their run, the Eagles scored 537 points and only allowed 62, beat seven playoff teams, and won their first state championship since 1953, winning against the Elizabeth Cardinals by a score of 35-0.
While the squad is losing Gray, the Eagles are primed to be playoff regulars as long as Peeples stands at the helm.
Honorable Mentions:
OL Ali Alschawabkeh (Sr – Wellington)
K Benjamin Halloran (Sr – Timnath)
LB Bron Southworth (Sr – Fossil Ridge)
ATH Charlie Swanson (Jr – Poudre)
DE Cohen Saunders (Jr – Fossil Ridge)
QB Colton Jantz (So – Fossil Ridge)
LB Cormac Loughlin (Jr – Rocky Mountain)
RB Cyle Kisner (Jr – Wellington)
ATH Dominic Giron (Sr – Timnath)
QB Drew Raymond (Sr – Timnath)
OL Elijah Golly (Sr – Poudre)
S Erik Jacobson (Sr – Rocky Mountain)
LB Ethan Thurnes (Jr – Wellington)
LB Garrett Sims (Sr – Poudre)
WR Griffin Campain (Sr – Fort Collins)
LB Ivan Hochhalter (Jr – Timnath)
LB Jack Knackstedt (Sr – Timnath)
OL Jared Kennedy (Jr – Wellington)
DE Justin Schlicting (Sr – Fort Collins)
LB Max Shubert (Sr – Poudre)
RB Mitchell Deangelis (Sr – Timnath)
OL Melvin Foley (Jr – Fossil Ridge)
WR Preston Mozer (So – Fort Collins)
K Seth Long (Sr – Wellington)
TE Tanner McLean (Sr – Wellington)
QB Ty Frank (Jr – Rocky Mountain)
Reach Gideon Aigner at sports@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegianSpts.
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