FORT COLLINS – Palmer Ridge hoped the tears left behind at Canvas Stadium would be those of joy.

They were not.

As the final horn sounded, Dakota Ridge, 4A’s No. 1 seed, bolted to the sideline to celebrate with teammates, coaches and fans.

A handful of Bears football players pulled their teammates from the turf to their feet Saturday and embraced as they collected their 4A runner-up plaque following a 38-14 loss to the Eagles in the state title game.

“Our guys love each other and we saw that on full display,” Palmer Ridge coach Zach Carlton said. “They’re going to compete for each other and pick each other up after the game, as well.”

The Bears (13-1) scored a season-low 14 points and allowed a season-high 38 points and a bulk of the Eagles’ touchdowns came in the first quarter.

Dakota Ridge (14-0) built a 21-0 lead after the first quarter and had a 28-7 halftime cushion. Cole Harris found Eli Stewart on fourth-and-4 for a 22-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to give Palmer Ridge its lone first-half score.

In the third, the Bears briefly found momentum after they forced the Eagles to turn it over on downs and followed with another dose of Harris to Stewart. Harris threw to a wide-open Stewart, who toted the ball 65 yards to the end zone to cut the lead to 28-14 with 10:02 left in the third.

Although the Bears tamed the Eagles’ offense in the second half, Dakota Ridge held Palmer Ridge scoreless in the second half.

“I’m proud of our guys’ effort and for competing all the way through,” Carlton said. “They did a great job with the halftime adjustments.”

Dakota Ridge previously qualified for one state title game, which took place in 2004, when the Eagles lost 35-29 to ThunderRidge. The Eagles secured their first championship and quarterback Kellen Behrendsen finished with four touchdowns and one interception, just his third of the year.

Behrendsen’s father and coach, Jeremiah Behrendsen, has been a part of the Eagles’ team for 21 years, and Behrendsen called Saturday’s win “a full-circle moment.”

“As a little kid, (I remember) going to every single practice, making pad forts, talking to the coaches and the kids,” Behrendsen said. “(It’s) really awesome that I could bring this home with my brothers and my dad.”

Stewart hopes to bring that sort of fortune to Palmer Ridge. The Bears won three consecutive 3A championships from 2017-19. Palmer Ridge also made the title game in 2020 in its first season in 4A, but lost 42-6 to Loveland during the OVID-shortened season.

In 2023, the Bears lost 20-6 to Erie, and this year marks the third defeat in the title game. Stewart, who was a sophomore on the 2023 state runner-up team, said he’s proud of what he and his teammates accomplished in four years.

“We balled out this whole season, and I’m proud of that,” Stewart said. “If I had to do this again, I would still want to go this same path with these same dudes who I love so much.”

But Stewart, a senior, said he has a hunger for more that he expects juniors and underclassmen to carry into future seasons.

“I would say the legacy that we leave behind is unfinished business,” Stewart said. “For future generations at Palmer Ridge, they need to go out there and keep trying for No. 1. The culture at Palmer Ridge is way different from other schools, and we’ll keep fighting.”