MORELAND — For three quarters, the battle between Bear Lake and Snake River for the 3A 5th District crown was a tight one, with the Bears trailing 22-19 and the Panthers driving as the third quarter came to a close.

    But Snake River scored in the opening moments of the fourth quarter to widen the lead, and Bear Lake quarterback Jaden Crane threw three interceptions during the final 12 minutes, all of which led to Panther touchdowns. Snake River scored 21 points in the fourth quarter on its way to a 43-19 win and the district crown.

    “It’s a heartbreaker for us,” said Bear Lake coach Jared Farmer. “We kept it close for a while and then the turnover bug got us. It’s tough to win a game with five turnovers.”

    “The kids were ready, they came to play,” said Snake River coach Jeff Dalley, of his team. “They knew how important this game was, and it meant going to the playoff, and they played the game we needed them to play.”

    The Bears played fairly mistake free for much of the game, but that turnover bug as Farmer called it, popped up in the third quarter. They opened the quarter with an eight-play drive capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass from Crane to receiver Kasey Keetch, but when the Bears were looking to complete a two point conversion, Crane was intercepted.

    After the Panthers responded with a touchdown of their own on a 4-yard run by quarterback Kade Keller, Crane fumbled the ball on the Bears 34-yard line just two plays into their next possession.

    The Panthers took eight plays, scoring in the opening moments of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run from running back Brad Coombs, who finished the night with four touchdowns, racking up 87 yards on 16 carries to lead all Panther running backs.

    The rest of the game went pretty much the same, with Crane tossing an interception on the fourth play of the Bears’ next drive. Wyatt Vogler, who doubles as a running back and a defensive back grabbed Crane’s pass at the Bears’ 42-yard line and ran it back to the 12-yard line, setting up a Coombs 10-yard touchdown run.

    Crane would throw interceptions on the first play of the Bears’ next two possessions, Panthers defensive back Damon Dance grabbing one, and Vogler picking off the Bears’ quarterback a second time.

    Dalley had praise for his defense.

    “The defense did a great job, the linebackers did a good job, and when we needed plays, the secondary came up and stepped up and made some plays for us,” he said. “Overall, everybody did their job. I was proud of all of them.”

    The Panthers (6-2,3-0) will now host Teton next Saturday in the first round 3A state playoffs. Bear Lake (4-4, 2-1) will play Sugar-Salem on Thursday at Holt Arena in Pocatello.