Fort Collins surges in 2nd half to knock off Colorado football power

The first half was sloppy but the second half was sensational.

Fort Collins opened the 2026 season and new head coach Jeff Brennan's tenure by knocking off a Colorado high school football powerhouse.

The Lambkins scored 21 straight points and held on by a thread late to upend Columbine 21-20 on Aug. 21 at PSD Stadium in a thrilling Week Zero matchup.

It didn't always look like a fun debut after a sluggish and frustrating first half.

As the sun went down, though, Fort Collins got the party started, scoring on three straight electric possessions.

Hyped junior quarterback Jace Garcia threw for over 300 yards, including touchdown passes on consecutive possessions to Bode Hammerschmidt and then Donovan Dumas in the third quarter.

Junior wideout Preston Mozer was quiet early but then made two huge downfield catches for long gains. The first one immediately set up a 20-yard Vicente Romero TD scamper on the next play.

The Lambkins dormant offense needed just under nine electric minutes for the three decisive scores.

The game was typical for August football, with the teams combining for nearly 20 penalties and six turnovers.

An inexperienced Fort Collins defense stepped up, making multiple fourth down stops and recovering three fumbles.

Columbine, which is now in Class 4A, stalled out following an early touchdown drive and didn't recover until the Lambkins led 21-7.

The Rebels responded in a big way and scored on consecutive drives to put the party temporarily on hold.

The latter touchdown came with just 1:05 left, but the extra point missed wide left to set off a raucous celebration on the home sidelines.

This story will be updated. Return to coloradoan.com/sports for more.

Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins surges in 2nd half to knock off Colorado football power