Pocatello pulls off district semis win in physical back-and-forth with Century

POCATELLO — A chippy game, one that saw more penalty cards than goals, ended with the Pocatello Thunder celebrating a 2-1 playoff victory over their rival Century Diamondbacks at Lookout Field Thursday night.

The first half was one focused on defense, yielding just one goal. And while both teams played physically, neither went far enough to receive a penalty card. The second half was an entirely different story, producing single goals for both teams, as well as five penalty cards, including one red.

Pocatello junior Zen Griggs opened the scoring, beating the Century defense for a goal in the 9th minute.

The two very familiar squads spent the next 45 minutes getting even more familiar.

By the time Century netted the equalizer in the 55th minute, the physicality had nearly taken the game over.

In the 62nd minute, Century’s Isiah Trejo received the match’s first card, a yellow. But it was far from the last. Griggs received his own yellow for Poky, as did Koa Hunt and one other Thunder teammate. As time dwindled down, Diamondbacks’ Liam Reed received a red card and immediate ejection.

And in the midst of it all, sophomore Jason Boyle netted the winning goal.

With the win, Pocatello claimed the right to rest a week and let their heads cool. Century, on the other hand, will play Preston Tuesday for the right to challenge Poky again next Thursday.