POCATELLO — The Snake River Panthers played like two completely different teams this season, bouncing back from a 0-3 start to win five of their last six regular-season games and qualify for the playoffs. Then they kept the winning streak rolling last week to earn a rematch with the Sugar-Salem Diggers, who beat the Panthers back in August.

Snake River looked primed for a microcosm of that sort of turnaround Thursday night, when they recovered a perfectly placed pooch kick to start the second half. The Panthers turned that free possession into a quick score, cutting into what had been a 21-0 Digger halftime advantage.

At the midway point of the third quarter, the Panthers trailed 28-6 and had the ball near midfield — still threatening the three-time reigning state champs.

But like the c

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