Marble Falls esports team in nationals
The Marble Falls High School varsity esports team poses for a photo with coach Linden Colwell (left) the day before national competition. Players Jimmy Harlow, Jeremy Williams, Jesse Jimenez, and Alex Turley have only lost one game this season and went undefeated in the spring league when they took a Texas state championship in the popular game Fortnite. Courtesy photo
The Marble Falls High School varsity esports team is vying for a national title in Vanta Esports League Fall Classic, which pits student-gamers from across the country against each other on digital battlefields. The Mustangs take on their first opponent at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, for a shot at making the finals in December.
In its first official year, the MFHS esports squad qualified for nationals by winning the Texas Esports League Championship in May.
The Mustangs face off against the Northview High School Titans of Johns Creek, Georgia, in a first-round match of Fortnite, a popular team-based, first-person-shooter game. They will play as a team, online, from their home computers.
If Marble Falls secures a win on Friday, the team advances to the final round on a yet-to-be-determined time and date after the Thanksgiving break.
The MFHS esports program is led by coach Linden Colwell, a gamer himself, who believes the Mustangs have what it takes to make it to the next level.
“Personally, it’s a lot of fun watching these guys play and progress as students and as people,” he told DailyTrib.com. “It’s just opening a lot of doors for these boys.”
The team consists of four seniors: captain Jeremy Williams, Jesse Jimenez, Jimmy Harlow, and Alex Turley. They went undefeated in their state run in May, and they have only lost one game in the fall league.
“We didn’t take playing as seriously until we came into the esports league,” Williams told DailyTrib.com. “We were all friends that played together before, but playing competitively has made it 20 times better.”
Williams will also compete individually in the Fall Classic in Brawlhalla, a 2D fighting game that has players battle as historic warriors.
According to coach Colwell, serious opportunities are available for the players after high school with esports scholarships based upon this year’s performances.
The MFHS esports program is new, starting this past spring as part of the district’s Afterschool Centers on Education, which provides support for students outside of normal school hours.
Colwell credits the support of ACE high school site coordinator Renae Feller, Marble Falls High School Principal Patrick Hinson, and Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Jeff Gasaway for much of the team’s success.