All the typical trappings of Fort Collins high school football are in place as a new season kicks off.
For the first time in school history, Poudre football will not face another city team during the 2026 season.
Poudre has played at least one of Fort Collins, Rocky Mountain and Fossil Ridge in football every year since opening in 1964. It’s usually been multiple matchups vs. city rivals each season since Rocky opened in 1973.
But expanded conferences, Poudre’s declining enrollment in recent years and scheduling conflicts prevented a city game from happening for the Impalas this fall.
“It’s unfortunate, for sure. That’s just the way that things are rolling with conferences changing and our enrollment,” Poudre coach Eric Tonkin told the Coloradoan.
Expanded conferences are one factor.
Poudre is now in an eight-team conference of primarily 4A teams, providing seven league games. The other three city teams are all in a revamped seven-team 5A league, meaning six conference clashes.
Then, this year’s expanded Canvas Classic tripleheader gave Poudre, Rocky and Fort Collins each another non-league game against other Northern Colorado teams.
That left Poudre with only two non-conference slots open in its 10-game 2026 schedule.
Declining enrollment has also hit the Poudre program hard in recent seasons. The Impalas dropped to Class 4A in 2024 and have gone 6-24 overall the last three seasons. They’re just 3-12 vs. city teams since 2020.
Tonkin said Poudre and Fort Collins tried to get a game together this season. However, the timing of when each team needed a game kept changing as other prospective opponents backed out or changed dates.
Poudre-Fort Collins is the city’s oldest and most-played football rivalry. It’s also the only one to be played twice in one season, with playoff matchups in 1974 and 2006.
“I’m disappointed, especially for their players, because city games are always the ones you look forward to,” Fort Collins coach Jeff Brennan said.
Rocky coach and alumnus Phil Underwood remembers some intense battles between the Lobos and Impalas during his own Rocky playing days from 1998-2000.
“Personally, when I knew we weren’t playing Poudre, it was like part of my soul died. We have so many Rocky alumni on our staff that the Poudre game meant a lot to,” Underwood said.
Rocky-Poudre has been the city’s longest continuous football rivalry. The two teams met every year from 1973-2025, spanning 53 straight seasons.
“It just stinks, because that game has been played for 50-plus years. This year just won’t feel the same,” Underwood said.
Fossil Ridge and Poudre played every year from 2010-23, but that series was already not continued during this past two-year CHSAA cycle.
Tonkin said he understands the headwinds working against these city games for Poudre. Still, he hopes that Poudre can get at least one of its traditional city rivals back on the books going forward.
“Hopefully, this is the only two-year cycle where this happens. There’s a lot of history and tradition with these games in Fort Collins and we want to continue that,” Tonkin said.
- vs. Fort Collins: Poudre leads 36-26-1Enjoying this article? Support our work with a small crypto donation.
- vs. Fossil Ridge: Series is tied 7-7
vs. Rocky Mountain: Lobos lead 27-24-2
vs. Fort Collins: Poudre leads 36-26-1
vs. Fossil Ridge: Series is tied 7-7
vs. Rocky Mountain: Lobos lead 27-24-2
- Aug. 21: at Severance
Aug. 29: vs. Mountain View (Canvas Classic)
Sept. 10: vs. Boulder
Sept. 18: at Longmont*
Sept. 25: at Frederick*
Oct. 2: vs. Roosevelt*
Oct. 9: vs. Loveland*
Oct. 16: at Northridge*
Oct. 22: at Grand Junction*
Oct. 29: vs. Greeley West*
Aug. 29: vs. Mountain View (Canvas Classic)
Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Why Poudre isn’t playing any Fort Collins football rivals in 2026
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