Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Jackson Block’s name.
The Rocket League state title came down to overtime in Game 7 on Friday. The first team to score would win, and Guyer High School’s esports team was forced to go on the defensive.
In the video game Rocket League, players drive rocket-propelled cars to hit a giant ball in an extreme version of soccer. League matches are decided through a best-of-seven series, and Waco Midway High School was tied with Guyer, forcing Game 7 to go into overtime.
Then Guyer junior Justin Peacock virtually drove his car to block a goal from going into the net.
His defensive block let teammate Jackson Block, a freshman, to cross the ball to senior Colby McDaniel — and with the state title on the line, McDaniel scored the championship goal to give Guyer’s Rocket League esports team its first PlayVS Texas state championship title.
“My adrenaline is pumping,” Peacock said after the win. “… In Game 7 to end it like something like that, it’s just crazy.”
Guyer entered the state playoffs undefeated and ranked first in the state. Midway ranked second and was not going to make it easy for the Wildcats.
Both teams went back and forth with fast-break goals and defensive blocks in the first three games. Just as it looked like Guyer would win the state title with 50 seconds left in Game 5, Midway continued to fight back to eventually even the series.
While the Guyer esports team played Friday’s game using the University of North Texas’ esports gaming PC in a room at UNT’s Pohl Recreation Center, their families watched through a livestream video in a separate room.
Parents cheered as Guyer scored goals and groaned as Midway continued to pressure Guyer. Finally, families cheered loudly as Guyer won the championship in overtime.
Guyer’s esports coach Margarete Neale said the match was a roller-coaster ride and was speechless after Guyer’s win. Neale said she was proud of how her students handled the pressure — with communication the biggest aspect of the win.
“When you hear them communicating, they’re just so mature in their approach to the game,” Neale said.
Peacock said Neale pushed the team throughout the season and has been supportive since she started the program.
“She was super supportive,” Peacock said. “She’s working super hard to build the club up. She was really the one that helped motivate us to get everything done and push harder. I’d like to thank her for doing that throughout the entire season.”
Guyer’s win is the first esports state title in Denton ISD. Neale said she started Guyer’s esports program in 2020, but because of the pandemic, the program was left in limbo until 2021, when it restarted with Neale in charge of the first esports season.
Guyer lost a couple of games in the best-of-seven series in the state playoffs, but the team members technically ended the season undefeated since they won all their playoff series.
The state title qualifies the team for the national tournament. Block said the team will celebrate the state title, but they’ll now focus on the mistakes they made to be ready for the national tournament.
“We don’t want to let it get to our heads,” Block said. “We saw nationals ahead of us. That’s the big prize pool. Me and the boys are just going to touch upon the little stuff that we messed up. That was a very close game. We’ve made some mistakes we are going to move on — hopefully, get a little bit better as time goes.”
