For nearly a full half, the crowd at Braves Field was given a show of the capability of the new look Star Valley offense and it was very popular.  The second half?   Well, it wasn’t pretty.

With five second half turnovers, including three inside their own red zone in the third quarter, the Braves saw a 14-0 lead turn into a 32-14 loss to the Snake River Panthers.

The game started off with the Panthers moving the ball very effectively down the field before the Braves were able to force a turnover.  While turnovers were the issue for the Braves in the second half, it was the main issue for the Panthers in the first.

In fact, due to several forced turnovers from the Star Valley defense, the Braves found themselves with possession of the football for the majority of the first half.

The lid came off the scoring bucket as Chris Jenkins connected with Jon Scherbel on a deep slant, while Scherbel took it the distance, a score of 63 yards.  The two would hook up again in the second quarter, this time for a 66-yard touchdown, putting the Braves up, 14-0.

With Star Valley driving once again inside the Snake River red zone and 21-0 looking like a distinct possibility, the Panthers claimed the first of several turnovers as Randy Rosendiz intercepted an errant pass and returned it to midfield

From that point on, it was all Snake River as they would score 32 unanswered points during the remainder of the game.

For a complete recap and for expanded details, please read the September 11, 2008 edition of the Star Valley Independent.

The Braves will host the Cody Broncs in their first 4A West Conference game of the year next Friday at SVHS.