Bigfork’s first esports team headed into playoffs

When Lance Peterson heard MHSA released esports as an emerging activity, he got to work forming his own team.  

“My motivation for starting the whole program was, it’s actually the fastest growing source of scholarship money in the country right now, esports scholarships. So, it’s something that’s really growing and I want to get our area involved in it early so we can be leaders in that kind of push,” Peterson said.  

The Bigfork High School junior put in the work to find PlayVS, a national esports organizer, and gather his teammates to compete in Rocket League, a sort of “car-soccer” game. Fellow junior Donovan Stutzman and sophomore homeschooler Zachary Mix, both seasoned Rocket League players, agreed to be a part of the program. After asking around the school, choir teacher Erik Heuchert, who had never played or seen Rocket League before, agreed to be their coach.  

“It’s just fun to watch them work together and accomplish things,” Heuchert said.  

And Bigfork’s first sports team certainly has accomplished things. After a month of play, they are seeded number two out of 88 teams in the Mountain region headed into playoffs.  

The players each log in from their homes, two on Xbox and one on PC, Thursdays at 4 p.m. From there, they play best of five, five-minute sets against other schools across class, but all in the Mountain time zone. Mix leads in goals, Peterson has the highest goal-shot percentage, and Stutzman has the most saves on their team.  

“I feel like we’ve dominated everybody except [La Cuerva High School, Albequerque] we lost to last week, which sounds cocky but I don’t know how else to put it,” Mix said. The team has only lost two matches this season.  

The players reference Proplay, give each other feedback, save their game footage for replays, and talk strategy just like any other team. They have turned something they used to do at home alone into an activity they can build teamwork skills, earn scholarship money and represent their school through.  

“I think it’s more productive than me just going and playing in general. At least I’m actually competing for something,” Stutzman said. He recently attended a college fair where esports were represented and was excited to see he could pursue his hobby in new ways. 

Nov. 21 the Vikes will begin playoffs against Oregon Charter Academy, who they have previously beat 3-1. Playoffs end mid-December, with the chance to continue playing on the national level.  

The Vikings have plans to grow their program, too. Currently they must play separately at home, as the school does not allow access to their Wi-Fi for gaming, but someday Peterson hopes to get enough PCs at the school that the team could play in one room. Enrollment will open again in February, with the opportunity for more players to join and compete in different games or on a Bigfork 2 team.  

They have also started their own Twitch channel at Twitch.tv/bigforkhighschoolesports for anyone who wants to watch. Peterson’s brother, Levi, commentated on their last game, which they want to continue.  

Though the Vikes are currently the only Rocket League team on PlayVS in Montana, they hope to get another team to play them in-person next year at a Local Area Network event for spectators to watch in the high school gym.  

“That’s the dream,” Peterson said.