Boise, Rocky boys soccer rivalry has ‘bad blood.’ It took OT to decide district title
The Boise and Rocky Mountain boys soccer teams have mutual respect for each other, having played in the 6A District Three Tournament championship game the past two seasons.
But that doesn’t mean they have to like each other.
In a game that featured six yellow cards and an ejection, the Grizzlies outlasted the Brave 3-2 in overtime Wednesday at Fort Boise to win their second straight district title.
“We have bad blood with Boise. They’re our biggest rivals,” Rocky Mountain senior striker Rylan McPherson said. “We’re not gonna just let them win. We’re going out with a fight. We put our all into it.
“We do not go soft on each other. We’re going in to attack, and we’re going as hard as we can.”
In a little more than a year, the Brave and Grizzlies have played five times, with Rocky having now won four in a row. But Wednesday’s win wasn’t a given for the top-seeded Grizzlies (15-1-2).
Boise (14-3-1) appeared to be on its way to victory, leading 2-1 after a goal from senior forward Baraka Dayi off an assist from sophomore C.J. Zambukos in the 76th minute. The Brave scored despite being a man down after junior forward Confiance Ishimwe was ejected for his second yellow card in the 70th minute.
“This is the hardest they’ve played all year,” Boise coach Mike Darrow said. “I couldn’t be prouder of them for what they did and how they played.”
The Grizzlies kept pressing — hoping for the equalizer — when McPherson was fouled in the box in the final minute of regulation. He converted on the penalty kick, forcing overtime.
“I thought we had to gut it out,” Rocky Mountain coach Bill Taylor said. “We were under a lot of pressure.”
Rocky Mountain’s golden goal in overtime came courtesy of a counter attack that started with junior left back Garrison Torres, who bested several would-be defenders and launched a shot toward the goal that bounced off the near post and landed at the feet of junior right wing Gabe Hernandez on the other side of the goal.
It was a scenario the Grizzlies had been practicing religiously, and Hernandez booted it in, setting off a celebration.
“I was there to clean it up,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been practicing that exact shot in practice a 100 times a day, at least. ... It felt good to finally put it to rest.”
Hernandez assisted on the Grizzlies’ first goal of the game in the 13th minute, which McPherson tucked just under the crossbar inside the far post. Boise then knotted the game at 1-1 in the 43rd when defender Avi Rajbhandari corralled the rebound from a corner kick. It was Rajbhandari’s first goal of the season.
The Grizzlies, who were last year’s state runner-up, and the Brave advance to state next week at Coeur d’Alene High School. They’ll be joined by fellow District Three qualifiers Bishop Kelly, Owyhee and Mountain View.
“Everybody knows that this is unfinished business time,” Taylor said. “So we’re going to be very focused and ready to go.”
This story was originally published October 16, 2024 at 8:41 PM.
