Second-half surge lifts Blackfoot in opening round of state tournament
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IDAHO FALLS – The state tournament is never easy. It’s not supposed to be easy.
But one look at the 5A boys soccer bracket and it was clear that Blackfoot would have its hands full.
First up in Thursday’s opening round was Sandpoint, which was state runner-up a year ago.
A potential semifinal matchup with No. 1 seed and defending state champion Wood River awaited with a win.
As every coach in every sport at every level would say, never look ahead.
The Broncos took care of their business on Thursday, downing Sandpoint, 5-1.
Blackfoot coach Liam Pope was quick to point out the game was closer than the final score, despite an impressive second half by the Broncos, who turned a 1-1 halftime score into a rout.
“I thought we played well in the first half,” Pope said, noting a defensive lapse on Sandpoint’s early goal to take a 1-0 lead.
Two quick goals by the Broncos early in the second half changed the pace and basically opened the floodgates for Blackfoot, which was aggressive and put the game away with four goals.
“It was more of a reminder of what we wanted the boys to do when they had those chances,” Pope said of the second half. “We had a lot of good possessions … but we weren’t converting, so some small adjustments and it opens things up as well. We get those two quick goals and at that point Sandpoint has to gamble more and that opens up holes behind.”
The Bronco lineup does have postseason experience after advancing to the third-place game at last year’s state tournament.
“This is a resilient group anyway,” Pope said. “When we were 1-0 down, it was just a case of ‘Calm down and let’s go.’”
Josiah Ballesteros scored a hat trick for the Broncos.
“We’ve been down before,” Ballesteros said of the team’s early deficit. “We’ve been practicing on our mentality and staying in the game.”
And so much for not looking ahead.
Blackfoot will play No. 1 Wood River in Friday’s semifinals. The match is 3 p.m. at Bonneville High.
Idaho Falls also advanced to the 5A semifinals with a 3-2 win over Century. The Tigers will face Vallivue at 1 p.m.
Teton, which knocked out three-time state champion Sugar-Salem in the District 6 tournament, also advanced to the 4A semis with a 1-0 win over Bonners Ferry. The Timberwolves will play CDA Charter at 1 p.m. at Real Life Fields in Post Falls.
On the girls side, Pocatello shut out Twin Falls, 2-0, in the 5A opener and will play Lewiston at 1 p.m. at Hillcrest High.
In 4A, defending state champion and top seed Sugar-Salem rolled over Homedale, 9-0. The Diggers will play American Falls in Friday’s semifinal at 1 p.m. at Real Life Fields in Post Falls.
American Falls beat Marsh Valley 2-1 in overtime.
STATE TOURNAMENT
BOYS
6A
Bishop Kelly 2, Thunder Ridge 1 OT
5A
Blackfoot 5, Sandpoint 1
Idaho Falls 3, Century 2
4A
Teton 1, Bonners Ferry 0
CDA Charter 2, American Falls 0
GIRLS
6A
Boise 1, Highland 0 OT
Rocky Mountain 4, Madison 0
5A
Middleton 6, Idaho Falls 1
Sandpoint 1, Hillcrest 0
Pocatello 2, Twin Falls 0
4A
Sugar-Salem 9, Homedale 0
American Falls 2, Marsh Valley 1 OT