For the Tomahawk Leader

TOMAHAWK – The Tomahawk Hatchet eSports team participated in its final two scrimmage matches last week ahead of this week’s official kickoff of the season.

Photos submitted by Paula Norman.

The eSports team is broken down into two separate teams: one that plays Smite, a five-game player of strategy; and another that plays Rocket League, a three-on-three soccer game with cars. Each Rocket League game lasts five minutes in a best-of-five series.

The Smite team, made up of Jacob Anderson, Brandon Stiff, Gavin Myre, Tim Herman, Zach Suchomel and Wyatt Leasure took on Baraboo on Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Coach Paula Norman said the two squads were evenly matched at the beginning, but Tomahawk ultimately fell apart when Baraboo began triple-teaming Tomahawk players.

“In the end, Tomahawk fell short, but improved so much from the first scrimmage the week before,” Norman stated.

On Thursday, Feb. 25, the Rocket League team, made up of Drew Albert, Nathanael Graeber, Caisson McPherson and Jaxson Werner, faced off against Whitefish Bay A, and Whitefish Bay ultimately came away with the win.

“It was the first time ever the Hatchets were able to compete as a team as we’ve been having technical difficulties,” Norman said. “With hot spots and Nintendo Switches, we were able to compete. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done.”

The eSports season is set to kick off this week. The Smite team will face plaShullsburg BSMS Wednesday, March 3. As of press time, the Rocket League team did not know the opponent it would face on Thursday, March 4.

Wednesday’s Smite match will be livestreamed on the School District of Tomahawk’s website, beginning tentatively at 3:45 p.m.. To stream the match, visit www.tomahawk.k12.wi.us/schools/high/activities/.