AHSAA E-Sports: State champions crowned in Florence

Bob Jones High School won its ninth consecutive AHSAA E-Sports Rocket League title Monday at the E-Sports Spring Championships at UNA’s Guillot University Center in Florence.

Grissom won the first Rocket League spring title in the AHSAA’s first year of E-Sports competition in 2019.

Coach Aubree White’s team included captain Luke Scherer, Max Dunkerley and Jonah Brooks. The trio beat Lee-Huntsville’s team 4-0 winning 3-0, 4-2, 5-0, 2-0 in the sets. Coach Zack Romiske’s Lee squad was captain Talha Budak, Jason Emerson, Jordi Herrera and Cooper Nunn.

Bob Jones High School also won the Madden game competition with Corey Robinson, playing as the Kansas City Chiefs, won 2-0 over St. Paul’s Episcopal player Noah Abrams, who chose the San Francisco 49ers as his team both games. Robinson’s Chiefs won 20-16 and 24-8. Abrams’ coach is Kelli Etheredge.

Other winners at the AHSAA’s ninth E-Sports championship series on Monday were James Clemens (Mario Kart game), McGill-Toolen (Splatoon) and Davidson (Super Smash).

Mobile’s Davidson High School posted a 2-1 victory over LAMP of Montgomery in the Super Smash competition. The Warriors, coached by Aimee Tucker, were led by team captain Quinn Huddleston. Other team members were Isaiah McNulty, Logan Lee and Jerome Daniels. LAMP’s team, which won the two previous Super Smash state titles, is coached by Jarel Chisholm. The squad included team captain Samuel Holmes, Cristian Carabjal, Michael Daniels and Ian Shin. Shin competed last week in the Class 4A/5A state tennis championships for LAMP, winning his first match at No. 1 singles before falling to eventual state champion William Johnson of Jasper in the second round.

James Clemens, coached by Pamela Paquette, rebounded from a first-game 121-113 setback in the Mario Kart finals, to beat Thompson’s team 140-91, 127-107, and 133-101 to finish 3-1. Team members for the Jets were John Scott (captain), Zachary Ellenberg, William Hart, Ryan Phillips and Sophia Rogers.

Daniel Pruitt’s Thompson team consisted of Andrew Peploe (captain), Elliott Landry, John Arquello Ceja, Davis Foreman and bench players William Deaver, Chris Howell, Chris Gutierrez and Annie Ruth Fesh.

McGill-Toolen’s team defeated Hazel Green 2-1 in the Splatoon finals. The Yellow Jackets from Mobile won Games 1 and 3 with the Trojans taking Game 2. Chris Harrison captained McGill-Toolen’s squad, coached by Judd Plushie and Daniel Tillman. Other team members were Bryan Roza, Pierce Rampulla, Zachary Tillman and bench players Christifer Vallereal and Caroline Clem.

Hazel Green’s squad, coached by William Bailey, included captain Audrey Benson, Kaeson Fudge, Arabella Lingner, Cayden Ned and Georgia Morgan.