In a twisted tale of four distinctly different quarters, the White River football team lost its season opener Friday night 35-13.

The Hornets fell at Fife High, playing just the second game on Fife’s spiffy new Fieldturf facility. Until this season, Fife was one of the few schools in the region still sporting natural grass conditions.

The first half ended with White River leading 7-0 and Fife guilty of nothing but self-inflicted wounds. During those opening periods, the Trojans fumbled the ball away three times and tossed an interception. Fife fumbled a fourth time but managed to recover.

For their part, the Hornets found the end zone midway through the second quarter. A 29-yard scoring toss from Dustin France to Garrett Severson capped an impressive 11-play drive in which France completed all four of his passing attempts and carried the ball four times.

Aside from the scoring drive, the first half ended with White River punting three times and losing the ball on downs twice.

The second half was nightmarish for the Hornets, as the host Trojans scored touchdowns on all five of their possessions.

White River cut the margin to 21-13 early in the fourth quarter when Hunter Hendricks took the ball and raced 69 yards for a touchdown. The drama was short lived, as Fife scored 14 seconds later to regain a two-TD cushion.

Hornet fortunes took a serious hit early in the fourth quarter when France was carried from the field. He suffered a sprain and did not return.