The Dalles football loses to Woodburn in overtime, 28-21

WOODBURN — The host Bulldogs scored on their first overtime possession and then stopped The Dalles from scoring in the extra period to preserve a 28-21, non-league football win on Oct. 3 over the visiting Riverhawks.

Woodburn High School (1-4) snapped a nine-game losing streak which started midway through last season. The Dalles (2-3), which started 2-0 this season, begins its four-game 4A Special District 5 schedule on Oct. 10 at Ontario (1-4).

The Dalles outscored the Bulldogs 21-0 after Woodburn had taken a 14-0 lead. The first Riverhawk TD came on a 49-yard Bryson Cates run. The sophomore took a handoff and ran off right tackle. Tight end Hunter Bustos delivered a kick-out block and Cates used burly running back Josh Brackenbury’s downfield block to get to the outside and win a footrace to the end zone.

Late in the third quarter, Cates scored on a one-yard run. London Leitz added one of his three point-after kicks to tie the game, 14-14. The short TD run was set up by quarterback Logan Mitchell’s 32-yard pass to Leitz in a seam of the Bulldog zone, giving The Dalles a first down at the Woodburn 3-yard line.

The Dalles took a 21-14 lead with 8:35 remaining. Receiver Reese Kenslow, lined up on the right side, used a juke move to freeze a Woodburn defender 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Kenslow took off down the sideline, slowed a bit on his route to snag Mitchell’s pass at about the Woodburn 45 and then continued to the end zone untouched to complete the 64-yard scoring play.

Woodburn tied the game on its next possession and The Dalles had one last chance to pull out the win in the closing minutes. The Riverhawks moved to the Woodburn 6-yard line on Mitchell’s 10-yard scramble run. Following a timeout with 19 seconds remaining, Mitchell and Cates couldn’t connect on a pitch play going right and Woodburn recovered the ensuing fumble to end the threat.

Woodburn had the ball first in the overtime period, where each team gets one possession at the 25-yard line to try and score. Woodburn quarterback Mason Pickett delivered what turned out to be the game-winning points on a 12-yard run. On its overtime possession, The Dalles had a first-and-goal at the 6-yard line. Two running plays, which netted minus one yard, were followed by two failed pass attempts.