District tournament update: Preston, Marsh Valley, Century, Highland advance; Pocatello, Snake River eliminated

EASTERN IDAHO — Following a busy Tuesday, the Highland Rams find themselves one win from a district title and state tournament berth, while Century, Preston and American Falls all moved one win closer to the same fate.

Marsh Valley and Aberdeen are both still alive but have already lost one game each and are backed into a corner, playing for their state tournament chances.

The boys’ soccer state tournament will be played Oct. 22-24 at three separate venues.

Here is where things stand across District 5:

6A

Highland (9-6-2, 6-2) went into the 6A District 5 tournament as the No. 1 seed and opened its tournament run with a 3-2 victory over No. 5 Rigby (3-13, 1-7) at Highland High School. With the win, the Rams earned passage into Saturday’s district championship, where they will meet the winner of Thursday’s matchup between No. 3 Thunder Ridge (11-5-1, 4-3-1) and No. 2 Canyon Ridge (7-6-2, 5-2-1).

The 6A District 4-5-6 tournament owns 1.5 state berths, meaning the champion will earn a spot in the state tournament, played at Hillcrest High School, and the runners-up will enter the play-in round.

5A

No. 2 Century (8-4-4, 7-3-4) got its postseason started with a 4-0 home victory over No. 7 Bonneville (3-10-3, 3-8-3), advancing into Thursday’s 5A D5 tournament semifinals. There, the Diamondbacks will host No. 5 Blackfoot (6-8-2, 5-7-2) for a spot in Saturday’s district title game.

No. 3 Pocatello (7-6-4, 6-4-4) was bounced in Tuesday’s elimination round, after losing, 2-1, at home against No. 6 Skyline (5-8-4, 4-7-3).

With two state bids on the line, the district champion and runner-up will both book their trips to the state tourney, which will be played in Sandpoint.

4A

After beating No. 5 Snake River (2-12-1, 1-7) 2-1 on Monday, No. 4 Aberdeen (2-12-2, 1-7) fell to No. 1 Preston (12-4-1, 7-1), 6-2, on Tuesday, sliding into the losers’ bracket. No. 3 Marsh Valley (6-11-1, 4-4) lost 2-0 to No. 2 American Falls (9-8, 7-1), but bounced back to beat Snake River 9-1 on Tuesday and avoid elimination.

While the Panthers’ season has come to an end, the other four teams that make up 4A’s 5th District are still in the hunt for the district’s lone state bid.

Host Preston will face American Falls on Thursday, the same day Aberdeen battles Marsh Valley. The district championship round will open on Monday, with an if-necessary game set for Tuesday.

The 4A state tournament will be played at Burley High School.