Bandon quarterback Keith Murray goes for a big gain during Saturday’s Cranberry Bowl win over Valley Catholic. World Photo by Steve McCasland.

Bandon won the Cranberry Bowl on Saturday, beating visiting Valley Catholic 31-8.

There was a lot for coach Rod Taylor to be happy about the week after the Tigers lost the season opener 21-0.

“It was a different team from last week,” he said.

The Tigers rolled up 210 rushing yards, with Jordan Siemer accounting for 118 and Steven Gaspar and Zinger Santos adding 43 and 40, respectively. Meanwhile Bandon limited the Valiants to 86 total yards.

Buster Webb had an interception in the first quarter to set up Keith Murray’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

The Tigers led 8-2 at halftime, with Valley Catholic scoring a safety when Murray was sacked in the end zone in the first quarter.

Siemer had a touchdown run in the third quarter and Archie Garrett returned an interception for a score in the fourth.

After Valley Catholic scored, Murray finished the scoring with another 1-yard run.

Kevin Bretthauer had 33 yards on 12 carries to lead the Valiants, a first-year program.

In addition to the defense and rushing attack, Taylor also was pleased with the Tigers’ discipline.

“We only had six penalties,” he said. “That’s a huge improvement.”

VOLLEYBALL

Pirates reach semifinals

Marshfield advanced to the semifinals of the Roseburg Invitational on Saturday before falling to eventual champion West Salem.

In morning pool play, Marshfield beat Eagle Point, 25-15, 25-21; split with Crescent Valley, 25-19, 16-25; and lost to North Medford 25-20, 25-21.

That put the Pirates in second place in their pool and in the championship bracket, where they beat Grants Pass 25-21, 25-16 before losing to West Salem 25-18, 25-23.

“Overall, we did some good things, but we are still playing inconsistently at this time,” said Marshfield coach Tammie Montiel.

Marshfield played without Jenna Welsh, who is nursing an ankle injury, and with Nicole Zyta playing only part of the time as she recovers from an accident.

“We played around with a few different lineups without Jenna and without Nicole at full speed,” Montiel said. “So, with really only one day of practice in those lineups, I thought we put up a good showing. We served the ball pretty tough and dug up a lot of attacks.”

Ali Worthen had 28 kills, 30 digs and six aces for Marshfield, while Taylor Scott had 12 aces and 34 digs. Melanie Stout had 19 kills, Brittney Young contributed 30 digs, and Nikki Gross had 42 assists and five aces. Leslie Silver had 30 assists with five aces.

North Bend used the day as a chance to grow more with a young team.

The Bulldogs lost to Sprague 25-15, 25-11; fell to Grants Pass 25-16, 25-16; and then beat Springfield, 25-23, 25-17, in pool play. That put the Bulldogs in the consolation bracket, where they fell to Eagle Point, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12.

“The girls competed hard and I was pleased with their effort,” coach Les Willett said. “I felt we improved during the day.”

Alexandra Mateski had 25 kills and nine digs during the day. Kayla Yokbay had 14 kills, with a solid .300 hitting percentage, and Anna Helland and Jodi Smartt had nine kills each. Bulldog libero Kelly Coolen had 23 digs and five aces. Katie Banta had 39 assists and four aces, while fellow setter Ahndrea Medina had 16 assists and 10 digs. Haley Dunham had three aces and six digs and Ashley Horlacher had six digs.

“We are playing better now than at the beginning of the week and I hope we continue to improve with each match in the following week,” Willett said. 

Vikings take title

Siuslaw beat Toledo in the championship match at the Dunes Classic in Reedsport on Saturday.

The Vikings topped the Boomers 25-11, 25-12 in the championship match.

Siuslaw beat Bandon in the semifinals, while Toledo edged Reedsport in three games.

Pacific, North Douglas, Yoncalla and Glide also participated in the event.

Panthers win consolation title

Gold Beach won the consolation title at the Oakridge Tournament on Saturday.

In pool play, the Panthers lost to Monroe 25-22, 25-20; split with Scio, 18-25, 26-24; and beat Oakridge 25-11, 25-19. In the consolation bracket, Gold Beach beat Harrisburg 25-19, 25-14; and then topped Oakridge again, 27-25, 23-25, 15-8.

Miranda Hunnicutt was nominated for the all-tournament team for the Panthers.

Gold Beach starts league play on Thursday against Bandon and hosts a tournament on Saturday.

SOCCER

Panthers win opener

Gold Beach opened its second season as a high school program with a 1-0 win over Illinois Valley on Friday.

The Panthers got the only goal of the match when Andrew Martinez scored in the first half.

Coach Tamara Snook was pleased with the play of her team.

“Sure, there were a few missed kicks and bad traps, but there was not a single player what didn’t contribute to the win,” she said. “The spectators that came to watch were treated to a fast-paced, energetic game that was fun to watch.”

Snook said the Panthers had good communication, passing and hustle to muster 18 shots on goal, to eight for Illinois Valley. Kendal Glazner and Leland Snook played strong defense in front of goalie Jake Hatten, who recorded three saves.

Brett Martin and Miles Bernadett-Peters were strong in the midfield. Brody Carpenter and Sidney Snook also had good matches, Tamara Snook said.

The Panthers host the Brookings-Harbor junior varsity team today and open league play against St. Mary’s on Sept. 18.

Pirates-Crusaders draw

Pacific and St. Mary’s played to a scoreless draw at Medford on Saturday.

“We got a great game out of our goalkeeper, Julian Carter,” Pacific coach Tom Swenson said. “He had 14 save for us, but some of them were spectacular.”

The Pirates also got strong play in the midfield by Willy Wayrynen and Steven O’Brien, Swenson said.

“It was a good start for us for an opening game,” he said. “We were pleased with the result. It’s always a challenge for us to come over here and play in the heat, but the kids did a good job and seem to be in good enough condition to hang with them all the way.”

CROSS COUNTRY

Vikings sweep

Siuslaw took both team titles at the annual Road, Lake & Dune Invitational at Winchester Bay on Saturday.

Siuslaw’s girls, the three-time defending Class 4A state champions, swept the top three spots and edged Bandon 34-37 in the team scoring.

Samantha Pummer won the 5,000-meter race that includes a tough stretch on the sand dunes 22 minutes and 33 seconds, with Jennfier Hague second in 23:17 and Raelyn Robinson third in 23:48.

Bandon had five of the top 10 with Rachel Ledig fourth, Jackie Brown sixth and Melinda Torres, Amanda Berry and Audrey Moss-Strong eighth through 10th, respectively. Myrtle Point’s Hailie Huffman was fifth.

Siuslaw’s boys scored 23 points to easily beat runner-up South Umpqua.

Joe Campbell won the race for the Vikings, finishing in 18:48. Siuslaw’s Travis Stevens was second, with teammates Jacob Berkner fifth, Brad Finnell seventh and Scott Dana eighth.

South Umpqua’s D.J. Flores was third overall. Bandon’s Blake Larkin was ninth, Reedsport’s Eli Garner 10th and Myrtle Point’s Jeff Veysey 11th.

All the South Coast teams in the meet also will be at the North Bend Invitational on Tuesday at Tugman State Park near Lakeside.