By Al Camp
Chronicle staff

     OKANOGAN - Big plays and costly penalties proved the undoing of Okanogan in a 24-21 loss to River View in the first round of the state football playoffs Nov. 14.
     No. 10 River View advances to take on No. 2 Connell, which eliminated No. 9 Cascade, 34-14, in the first round.
     Okanogan stays home to prepare for winter sports, and to consider how close they came to a quarterfinal appearance.
     "We played good enough to win," Okanogan coach Denny Neely said. "You have to convert your opportunities. We didn't]t convert and they did. That happens down the stretch."
     The Bulldogs appeared to be in command of the seesaw game when Enver Figueroa (21-121) scored from 11 yards out with 10:33 left in the game.
     Jordan Bradley dived just over the goal line for a two-point conversion to put the Dogs up 21-17. River View would need to score a touchdown to win the game and not rely on their kicker, Rafael Mendoza.
     "It was a gamble, it paid off," Neely said.
     In the next few minutes:
     - Bradley nearly came up with a fumble,
     - River View reached Okanogan's 21 only to have Figueroa knock the ball out of quarterback Matt Wilhelm's hand and his brother, Jovany Figueroa, recover the fumble.
     - Jerid Peterson ran 17 yards to River View's 27 before a pass over the middle would be intercepted.
     - Dillan Zunie-Allen got his hands on a sidelines pass that would have led to a touchdown, had he been able to haul the ball in.
     - Okanogan stopped River View on fourth and eight, with Ryan Price and Haden Bristol defending on a pass to Brendan Hoch (6-105) with 6:09 remaining.
     After the Bulldogs punted, Chance Watt (26-198) went right, found no room and went back to his left and speed 43 yards to Okanogan's 11.
     A face mask call put River View at Okanogan's one-foot line, where Wilhelm, with a little boost from behind, scored with 3:04 left.
     After converting a fourth-and six with a pass to Enver Figueroa (3-40), Price would be intercepted on a high throw down the right sidelines with less than a minute to go.
     In the seesaw game, River View scored first on a 33-yard field goal by Mendoza with 1:02 left in the first quarter.
     "The kid can kick," Neely said, noting he booted the kickoff in the fourth quarter out of the end zone so that Okanogan started at the 20 and could not get a run back. "It looked like it would be good from about 50."
     Okanogan answered with Figueroa scoring from six yards out early in the second quarter.
     "He played really well both sides of the ball," Neely said. "He definitely left it there on the football field."
     River View took its second lead with a pass to tight end Eric Farnworth with 9:30 to in the half.
     In a game with six lead changes, the Bulldogs went on top 13-10 after Price (10-19 116, 2 TD, 2 INT) passed 22 yards to Peterson in the right corner of the end zone. Marty Staggs was unable to convert after a high snap for the kick.
     "He tried to go right but nobody was out there," the coach said. "He ended up eating it so it was 13-10 at the half."
     With four seconds before the half, Watt almost lit up the scoreboard by turning up the right side. Jordan Bradley and Bristol knocked him out of bounds around the five as time expired.
     "Thank God it did not hurt us," Neely said of a blitz coming on a blown coverage.
     In the second half, River View's Kris Welch sped 64 yards to the one-foot line before quarterback Matt Wilhelm (17-28, 1 INT by Danny Parks) scored to regain the lead at 17-13.
     Both teams stopped fourth down plays in the second half.
     Neely said penalties hurt, including a chop block on the late drive and interference on a pass in the second half.
     Other rushers for Okanogan, which gained 175 yards on 31 carries, included Connor Tupling 3-17 and Price 4-6. Neely was happy with the rushing game, as the Dogs had rushed for a total of 79 yards in the previous two games.
     Okanogan last was in the state playoffs in 2006, when Connell beat the Bulldogs in the first round.
     "Going into the season, I would never have believed we would tie for second and go this far in the playoffs," Neely said.
     Okanogan suited up 27 players each week, the coach said.
     "I thought they played pretty well," Neely said, noting seven starters will return on offense and eight on defense.
     "They will be headed to the weight room on Monday."