Senior Night is designed to be memorable.

Player tributes, parents with roses and a sentimental video mashup marking the years.

Blackfoot has such a night on Oct. 6 at Blackfoot High School — and it was a Senior Night the visiting Shelley Russets are unlikely to forget.

The Russets won a banger over the rival Broncos that night, scoring last in a 4-3 thriller highlighted by big offensive runs and bigger defensive stands.

“That was a good win for us,” Shelley coach Troy Taylor said at the time. “A good win.”

Minutes later, as fans of both teams gathered their camp chairs and headed for the exits, a shih tzu named “Lola” belonging to Blackfoot assistant Carlos Labra took a moment to … um … relieve herself on the pitch.

“Well, that pretty well sums up the night, doesn’t it?” longtime Blackfoot head coach Liam Pope said with a laugh. “I guess we know how Lola feels about that one.”

Yep, it was memorable Senior Night, alright.

Six days later at the 5A District VI Tournament, Blackfoot punched back, outscoring Shelley 5-4 in another banger.

Two nights after that, the Broncos overcame both rain and the top-seeded Idaho Falls Tigers, winning 3-0 to claim the district title and the automatic state berth that goes with it.

“Yeah, those (district tournament games) were good wins for us,” senior Fernando Orozco said. “Really good wins. That tournament win over Shelley was deeper for me, because Senior Night is not a night to be losing on.”

Fellow senior Gio Labra echoed that sentiment, adding that while the Senior Night loss definitely hurt, it also helped.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs,” Gio said. “But having so many downs teaches us that we can bounce back.”

The Broncos smothered Shelley in the second half of their district matchup, outscoring the Russets 4-1. Then it was more of the same against Idaho Falls.

“We got punched in the mouth against Shelley, but we came back out and fixed it in practice,” said center back Aaron Torres-Garcia. “It really showed at districts.”

One specific aspect of the win over Idaho Falls was Blackfoot’s regular victory in 50-50 balls. Orozco suggested that was because the Broncos “wanted it more,” and teammate DiDier Perez added that was due to a fire set by coach Pope.

“Once the keeper puts it up, Liam expects us to be there,” Perez said. “Whether it’s the first one or the second, he expects us to be there and challenge it hard.”

Now it’s onto the state tournament in Nampa in an opening round, 11 a.m. matchup against Twin Falls (12-6-1) at Columbia High School.

The Broncos (8-3-4) not only seem to be peaking at just the right time, they are doing so with one of the most experienced rosters in the state — classification notwithstanding.

“We’re one of the top teams and can compete with the best,” Blackfoot senior Josiah Ballesteros said. “We dominated the second half against Shelley and then I.F., and if we can keep playing like that, we have a chance.”

Blackfoot brings 11 seniors to Nampa, which is a staggering number by any metric.

To illustrate just how many upperclassmen that is, here they are, one by one.

Yahir Carlon Ojeda, Connor Searle, Daniel Garcia, and Arturo Juarez Gamino, Daniel Olivarez, Graeden Adams, and the aforementioned Torres-Garcia, Orozco, Labra, Ballesteros, and Perez.

“Our seniors always leave a strong legacy,” Pope said. “Even in years when we haven’t had success, the seniors have left an example of how to work hard and give everything.”

“And this year’s seniors have been unreal.”

When it comes to success, Coach Pope’s Broncos have known almost nothing but success over his 17 years.

Blackfoot has had a winning record in all but three of those seasons. Over the remaining 14 seasons, the Broncos win 77% of the time.

“Our boys have always given everything, and that makes a coach want to come back every year,” Pope said. “My coaching staff, past and present, have always been brilliant. I’ve been a lucky man.”