The Brookings-Harbor High School football team did its best Thursday night to stem the tidal surge that was the high-powered Siuslaw High School offense but failed to stop them in time, and lost  13-49 to the Vikings.

Not only is Siuslaw undefeated in Far West League play, they are also the top-ranked team in the state according to the OSAA ranking system.

The Bruins began the first series of the first quarter with a fumble for a loss of approximately five yards and a sack for a loss of 10 more before being forced to punt the ball away to the Vikings.

The defense was unable to contain Viking star Sonny Tupua as he scored the first two touchdowns of the game – one running and one receiving – for Siuslaw.

On the kickoff following the Vikings’ second touchdown, the Bruins gave their fans hope and something to cheer for as sophomore Chandler Dodd took the short Viking kickoff and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown, breaking two tackles and outrunning the final defender for six points.

Bruin place-kicker Chandler Gotfried put the point-after attempt through the uprights to bring the team within a touchdown.

On the Bruins’ kickoff, the Vikings kick return team looked to return the favor but were stopped short by Gotfried’s open field tackle that put the runner flat on his back and saved a potential touchdown.

The Vikings would score once more in the first quarter before scoring 21 points in the second quarter to go into the locker room at half time with a score of 7-42.

The Bruins kicked off to start the second half and promptly gave up a touchdown to the Vikings’ Tupua.

The next two defensive series for the Bruins seemed to indicate a change in the momentum of the game as the Bruins forced a fumble deep in the Vikings territory on the first and Tyler Lueckfeld intercepted a Siuslaw pass on the second. 

The Bruins were unable to convert on either defensive stop though, and the score remained 7-49 until late in the fourth quarter.

With two minutes remaining in the fourth, Dubby McKinney broke open a 60-yard touchdown run to get the Bruins to 13. A missed point-after attempt stranded them and the game ended with the Bruins’ loss.

“We’re a young team,” Head Coach Joe Morin said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’ll be competitive against South Umpqua next week.”

When asked what it would take to pull the Bruins out of their three-game losing streak, captain Lueckfeld said they needed to focus.

“We need to practice hard,” he said. “We’ve got to get it together and focus on what’s going on on the field, and not off of it.”

The Bruins travel to South Umpqua on Friday to take on the Lancers who are winless for the season.