THE DALLES - The Corvallis High football team's 2009 season came to an end at The Dalles Wahtonka, losing 17-7 in the first round of the OSAA 5A state playoffs, held on a damp, shivery Friday the 13th.

Corvallis (4-7) took the lead on junior running back Dominic Wooten's 1-yard run midway through the first quarter. Senior quarterback Ross Orman added the extra point for a 7-0 lead. The Spartans could not have guessed that the offense would stop there as TDW (8-2) scored 17 unanswered points - all in the first half - for the 10-point win.

Sloppy play killed CHS, with three interceptions and three lost fumbles sprinkled throughout. Only one fumble turned directly into a score for the Eagle Indians, but with the turnovers, momentum continually swayed in the home team's favor.

"Our kids played hard and the six turnovers spoke for themselves," coach Chris McGowan said. "And other mistakes happened at inopportune times. We showed fire and heart in our last two games we played and hopefully the young kids can build on it. We're young enough and they showed enough disappointment (after Friday's loss) that they'll remember it.

"Our defense really did a good job, especially in the second half and gave our offense a chance to win it."

Wooten finished with 145 yards on 34 carries and one touchdown. He said, "We came out strong in the beginning and we had it going. When they scored their second touchdown, they had the momentum and that's when we slipped. We felt good coming out in the second half, but overall we couldn't finish. We made mental mistakes that there is no excuse for. ... It wasn't that we weren't ready, we just didn't come out strong enough."

Junior back Vince Grosso echoed Wooten's comments.

"We needed to step up in the second half, and we did, we didn't let them score," he said.

Orman, who had a two-year starting role as CHS's quarterback, had a sour end to his football career, finishing just 4-for-15 passing for 27 yards and three interceptions.

"Ross has been our leader all year," McGowan said. "I feel bad for a guy like that. He's done a great job as a three-year starter. And we had a great night from a guy who doesn't get mentioned a lot, senior Josh Woods at offensive guard. We moved the ball really well and were tough up front. He's a three-year starter who is low maintenance and high output."

The Dalles Wahtonka 17, Corvallis 7

CORVALLIS 7 0 0 0 - 7

THE DALLES WAHTONKA 7 10 0 0 - 17

First quarter

CHS: Dominic Wooten 1 run (Ross Orman kick), 4:26

TDW: Ray Niko 14 run (D.J. Taphouse kick), 2:34

Second quarter

TDW: FG Taphouse 22, 9:06

TDW: Isaac Bailey 9 pass from Duncan Wilcox (Taphouse kick), 2:01

RUSHING: CHS - Wooten 34-145, Grosso 3-8. TDW - Taphouse 3-13, Niko 22-139, Kuechmann 3-5, Garcia 3-5, Wilcox 8-9, Timmons 3-21.

PASSING: CHS - Orman 4-15-3 27. TDW - Wilcox 3-11-0 27.

RECEIVING: CHS - Spencer Huddleston 1-9, Nolan Hansen 2-9, Wooten 1-5. TDW - Bailey 1-9, Timmons 2-18.