Photos: Palmer v. Eagle River football

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Eagle River's Mike Thompson carries the ball in the second half. Palmer beat Eagle River, 47-6, in football on Thursday, September 3, 2015.

For once, the Eagle River Wolves football team feels the light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train heralding certain, impending doom.

Granted, the Wolves fell to 0-4 with Thursday night's 47-6 Northern Lights Conference loss to visiting Palmer, but their drop this season to the medium-school division from their previous station among large-school teams has softened the blow.

Neither a 20-0 loss to Kodiak nor last week's 33-14 loss to Ketchikan in a game Eagle River led 14-13 after three quarters were anything like the sort of blowouts the Wolves routinely suffered in nearly a decade of large-school competition.

Read more: Despite 47-6 loss to Palmer, Eagle River feels optimistic