POCATELLO — In a black hat and glasses that kept his mask snug, Jamshid Roomiany stood on the sidelines of Century’s soccer field with his arms crossed. He paced up and down constantly, shouting adjustments and hollering after any missteps.

The last few minutes, though, he was able to rest. His junior varsity squad went in and wrapped things up as Century improved to 8-1-2 (3-0-1) after an 8-0 walloping of Pocatello on Thursday afternoon.

At this point, the victories are routine, especially in what was basically a meaningless game.

Even before Thursday, Century had wrapped up the No. 1 seed in a three-team division that also includes Poky and Preston. Now, the Diamondbacks can turn their attention to the district tournament, which is set to begin next week after Century concludes its regular season Saturday against Burley.

Finally.

An entire year has passed and Century still hasn’t been able to earn redemption, still hasn’t played for a chance at vindication.

Last season, under former coach Rocky Rhoads, the Diamondbacks were the No. 1 seed at the district tournament — which, in a way, turns this year into deja vu. The only difference was the conference. It wasn’t just a three-team fight between Century, Poky and Preston. Instead, the Diamondbacks were a part of a 10-team conference, which increased parity.

In an effort to throw off the top-ranked squad, opponents began stacking their defense to stymie Century’s offense and hope they could pull through in a defensive slugfest. It worked. Both Canyon Ridge and Twin Falls beat the Diamondbacks in penalty kicks, clearing the No. 1 seed out of the bracket after just three games.

“It was pretty tough,” senior wing Kam Murdock said. “We dominated the whole season and we played a lot of crappy teams, so we struggled when we played those better teams.”

The offseason led to uncertainty. Rhoads left the program, heading to a full-time role at the local travel soccer club, CGA — where Roomiany also coaches. Roomiany had been the girls soccer coach at Century for years before retiring from teaching last summer. That date proved to be problematic. State rules mandated that he had to sit out 90 days after retirement, which meant no coaching last year.

He still kept up with the Century program, though. Most of the boys have been on his CGA teams for years. So he watched — both the torrid pace they set in the regular season and the collapse in districts.

When Rhoads stepped back, he and Roomiany spoke. They talked about the best way to keep the culture and trust within the program both cared so much about.

“And I decided to take the team this year,” Roomiany said. “Meanwhile, we are really looking to see who else we can bring into the program so we can gradually — he walked out, I want to walk out too.’”

Whether that’s next year or a decade from now is irrelevant to the seniors, who worried about the impact a new coach would have on their final go-round. A number of them created a Snapchat group chat to discuss how they wanted to play, the lineup configurations they hoped to see and any rumors about the next coach.

Roomiany’s hire, to them, was a relief.

“Both great coaches,” said senior defender Evan Yost. “Rocky is very technical-based. Roomi doesn’t like to go into a game thinking we’re going to dominate. He just wants to play well. He doesn’t mind if we tie a game, as long as we play well, he’s happy.”

And this year, Roomiany has had plenty to be excited about.

The seniors who have played under him at CGA for years have a lot to do with that — namely Murdock, Yost, Garret Surmelis, and Mikey Montanez, the quartet who were named to the All-Area team as juniors.

“Everyone is after Kam and Evan Yost,” said Roomiany, referring to college coaches. “Evan is definitely capable of playing wherever he wants … Physically, he’s matured. Attitude-wise, he has matured, but he has room. But he has all the tools to get to the next level. I think college will be an easy step for him.”

Yost, though, doesn’t like to talk much about himself. He seems pretty ho-hum about his collegiate interest, a notion amplified with the uncertainty brought about by COVID. But, ask about his teammates and he could speak for hours.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who loves soccer more than Kam. He lives it. He breathes it. That’s all he wants to do in life is soccer, and he puts in the effort,” Yost said. “And Garret, he just wants to get better. He’s always trying to improve, trying to get playing time wherever he can.”

Yost senses the yearning for redemption this season. Maybe it’s because of what happened last year. Maybe it’s because they’re doing it with a new coach. Maybe it’s because it’s their senior year.

All Century seems focused on is advancing. From districts to the state tournament to a trophy.

The three-team conference will help the Diamondbacks do that. So will the hoard of talent they returned in 2020. But they know, just like last year, there will always be teams gunning for them, trying bizarre tactics and strategy to knock them off.

And yet, they remain confident.

“We don’t want to think it’s easy,” Murdock said. “We want to keep the mentality that we’re playing bigger teams, so we can take the win in (the district tournament) then head to state, and hopefully win there, too.

“We’ve got (districts) in the bag. As long as we stay committed.”

CENTURY 8, POCATELLO 0

In its final regular-season conference game of the season, Century dismantled Pocatello, beating the Indians 8-0.

“We always come into these games confident,” senior defender Evan Yost said.

The Diamondbacks defense, led by Yost, only allowed a handful of real shots on net, one of which lazily bounced past the goalkeeper and nicked the post.

That wasn’t too heart-stopping given what Century did on offense.

The Diamondbacks netted six goals by half and added a pair in the second. Senior Brayden Stouse was the first to celebrate. Yost and Garret Surmelis each had two. Dawson Carter netted one. Senior Xander Christian snuck a penalty kick just inside the iron. And senior wing Kam Murdock’s lone goal came on a breakaway where he outran his defender and had no trouble flicking it past the Poky keeper.

“We had the speed and athleticism on our side, but we were also playing really smart today,” Murdock said. “We had a guy sit over their offensive line so they kind of pressed back a little bit. Our guys could come through and came through and scored.”

Century (8-1-2, 2-0-1) plays Burley at home Saturday for a non-conference showdown before it begins the district tournament next week. Pocatello goes right into the district tournament.