FORT COLLINS – Derek Hester and TJ Mabe shared a lengthy embrace near the Palmer Ridge locker room after the Class 4A state title game Saturday.

Both players exchanged pleasantries, several chest pats and one final embrace before entering the locker room at Canvas Stadium.

The Bears’ first loss of the season was a bitter pill to swallow as the 20-6 loss to No. 2 seed Erie broke their 13-game win streak and dashed Palmer Ridge’s hopes of its first 4A title.

“I’m proud of our guys, they fought to the end,” Palmer Ridge coach Zach Carlton said. “We tried to make it close at the end but couldn’t quite finish. We’re very proud of our guys and our senior class.”

Palmer Ridge entered the title game as the No. 1 seed and with a high-octane offense that averaged 43.2 points per contest.

That output was nearly on par with the 45 points per game the Bears averaged in 2017 when they earned their first of three consecutive 3A state championships and beat Erie 46-21 in the title game.

But this Erie squad proved to be a different beast.

The Tigers had Blake Barnett, a Kansas State commit who, on Oct. 20, broke Christian McCaffery’s career touchdown record of 141 set in 2014.

Barnett had 155 TDs entering the title game and added another with 4:51 left in the first quarter on an 11-yard strike to Josh Levine to build a 7-0 lead.

Erie’s senior quarterback built the lead to 13-0 in the second with 10:26 on the clock after a 5-yard run to the end zone for the Tigers.

For Palmer Ridge, the 13-0 deficit was the largest of the season and the second time the Bears trailed in 2023.

The Bears overcame a 19-7 deficit in the season opener at Don Breese Stadium and beat the Red Hawks 28-27. Palmer Ridge’s 13-0 hole in the playoffs marked the lone time they trailed this postseason.

The Bears kept the Tigers off the board on their final drive of the first half with sacks by Holden Wright and Mabe, which pushed Tigers kicker Mason Guven out of his range.

Guven’s kick fell short to end the second quarter and kept the Tigers’ lead at 13-0.

“I was super proud of those guys and they know our standard on that side of the ball and that’s all we can ask for,” Carlton said.

Palmer Ridge found momentum late in the third quarter that carried to the fourth to give the Bears their only score of the game.

Hester capped a 9-play, 63-yard drive with a 30-yard pass on second-and-2 to Jimmer Weir, who was all alone in the back left corner of the end zone with 11 minutes left in the game.

The Tigers blocked the PAT, which kept the score at 13-6.

On a run early in the final frame, Barnett injured his left ankle when he attempted a cut to the right. He said, “I felt something pop.”

Barnett’s evident limp prevented him from scrambling, but he still pieced together a drive that got the Tigers into Palmer Ridge territory.

Palmer Ridge made a defensive stand and forced Erie to make a play on third-and-5 from the Bears 32.

They did.

Braylon Toliver broke to the right side of the field and hustled until a Bear caught him and nearly made a touchdown-saving tackle.

But Toliver reached the end zone, put a damper on a potential undefeated season for the Bears and game Erie its first title since 1997.

“We turned to each other and said we’re going to have to go out and win it,” Barnett said. “Our boys were in the trenches. … Our sophomore running back had to go out there and get some yards.”

The Tigers held the Bears to single digits and a season-low six points, a feat no team had accomplished since Loveland beat Palmer Ridge 10-7 in last year’s semifinals.

This is just the third time since moving to 4A in 2020 the Bears have scored 10 points or fewer – Loveland also held the Bears to six points in the 2020 title game.

As Bears players gathered around Carlton in the postgame huddle, the first-year coach shared a final message with his coaches and players: “This loss doesn’t define you.”

“We were resilient and I think you guys saw that today,” Carlton said. “Even being down 13 at halftime, our guys didn’t quit. They kept fighting the whole time.”