There's never been a city boys basketball game like Fort Collins-Fossil Ridge in the Great 8

Live updates, score:Colorado Great 8 basketball features Fossil Ridge-Fort Collins city rivalry

Saturday's boys basketball Great 8 showdown between Fort Collins and Fossil Ridge isn't merely rare.

It's unprecedented in Fort Collins boys basketball history.

According to Colorado High School Activities Association records, this is the first time Fort Collins city rivals have ever met in the quarterfinals or later of the state boys basketball tournament.

There was a 2000 Final Four girls matchup between Rocky Mountain and Fort Collins. But it's never happened on the boys side.

For context, Poudre High School opened in 1963, giving Fort Collins its first in-city rival. Rocky Mountain opened in 1973 and Fossil Ridge opened in 2004.

The playoff bracketing has often changed over the years, with an old sub-district and district format limiting the possibility.

Still, Saturday's matchup at the Denver Coliseum will be a remarkable occasion for Fort Collins.

"I think that’s absolutely terrific," said Fort Collins boys coach Bruce Dick. "Would we rather play for the state championship? Sure. But we’re excited to be part of that history."

Coliseum city clash:What to know about Fossil Ridge-Fort Collins basketball in Great 8

A seminal moment for Fort Collins basketball

Fossil Ridge coach Matt Johannsen arguably knows local high school basketball better than anyone.

The FCHS alumnus played at the school and coached as both a Lambkins assistant and head coach for nearly a decade before taking over the new Fossil Ridge program in 2004.

Saturday's matchup is proof of concept for his longtime mission: elevating Northern Colorado basketball onto the state scene.

"When I started coaching 30 years ago, I wanted to be part of making Northern Colorado basketball good," Johannsen said. "I like to think I’ve made some contributions. What we’ve done at Fossil Ridge to make us respected in the north, I think this game will be a testament to it. I’m proud of that."

The last state title for a city boys team came in 1954, when Fort Collins claimed the crown. Saturday's winner will be just the eighth city boys team in the last 50 years to make a Final 4.

There was a rich area history in earlier years, with Fort Collins claiming four state championships from 1941-54 and Windsor winning state and national titles in the 1920s.

In the modern era, Colorado basketball's balance of power has largely remained farther south on the Front Range, though Fossil Ridge has challenged that recently with state runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2022.

"The state’s gone through such cycles with where the talent is, but it always seems to revolve around the Denver area," said Dick, who coached at Green Mountain from 1982-2005 before coaching "up north" at Rocky Mountain, Resurrection Christian and now Fort Collins.

"Northern Colorado basketball is in great shape, though."

Dick and Johannsen have helped elevate the local hoops standard, so it's fitting they'll be facing off Saturday.

"To compete against someone you have a lot of respect for, I love it," Johannsen said. "At the same time, I want to go win it."

"We absolutely both want to beat each other," Dick said. "After the game, the relationship will still be the same. We'll be rooting for the other."

The showdown is on:How Fossil Ridge, Fort Collins set up rematch in Great 8 with Sweet 16 wins

Players make the rivalry

The two schools, separated by just three miles, have formed a spirited city rivalry since Fossil opened nearly 20 years ago.

And in a tight-knit, small-roster sport like basketball where there's plenty of overlap on the club level, the players know each other well.

That familiarity fueled the intensity in a packed gym during Fort Collins' 55-52 road win at Fossil Ridge on Jan. 31.

Now the rematch is here.

"It’s going to be crazy, but it means a lot, though," said Fort Collins senior Luke Wagstaff after the Lambkins' Sweet 16 win. "I’m buddies with all those guys at Fossil, so it’s fun to compete with them.”

"Even though they’re good friends and play on the same AAU teams, that goes out the window in the high school games," Johannsen said. "These kids want to beat each other, and that’s where the rivalry comes in."

Both coaches made sure to emphasize that this is not the state championship game and not the "be-all, end-all."

But SaberCats senior Nick Randall called this game the "elephant in the room" since brackets were released. And Dick said, "We're embracing that there's two Fort Collins teams."

Finally, it's all set up.

A week between Sweet 16 and Great 8 games to build the anticipation. A Saturday afternoon game, facilitating easy travel for fans. And a dream city matchup decades in the making.

"It's going to be a great feeling and I hope there's going to be a lot of fans from Fort Collins coming to cheer us on," Randall said. "We want to show Denver what Fort Collins is all about."

Notable Fort Collins basketball achievements

• Last state title: Fort Collins girls (1983)

• Last boys state title: Fort Collins (1954)

• Boys state runner-ups: Fossil Ridge (2014, 2022), Rocky Mountain (2000)

• Boys Final 4 appearances: Fort Collins (1941, 1944, 1945, 1954, 1977), Fossil Ridge (2014, 2022), Rocky Mountain (1987, 2000, 2001), Poudre (1972)

• Unique seasons: Rocky Mountain and Fossil Ridge each had both boys and girls teams reach the Final 4 in the 2000 and 2014 seasons, respectively.

• Special season: In 2014, the Poudre and Fossil Ridge girls teams each reached the Final 4 but did not meet.

What to know about Saturday's Fort Collins-Fossil Ridge playoff game

Go: 1:15 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Denver Coliseum. Tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for students, seniors and children.

Watch: The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network's CHSAA page, nfhsnetwork.com/associations/chsaa. A subscription is required to watch.

Follow along: Coloradoan journalists Chris Abshire, Kevin Lytle and Lucas Boland will have live coverage at Coloradoan.com and on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins-Fossil Ridge playoff 1st in city boys basketball history