Central Esports team comes into 2025 with several titles to defend. Led by coach Jonathan Franta, teams first semester looking to defend titles include the Chess, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, and Marvel Rivals team for the fall.  

“Well, it’s all about getting better and getting to the next steps,” Franta said. In the Central region, Overwatch ranks 11th and Fortnite ranks eighth.  

When it comes to Rocket League, the team is searching for ways to pull away with a championship again.  

“Our best player that we had graduated, but I’ve got a freshman that just came up that is just as good. He is a low diamond,” Franta said.  

Graduate Mohammed Aiden was replaced, and since then Rocket League sits third in State. Franta describes it as a team effort. 

Central has some of the best players in the state, including senior Koen Allgood and junior Jaxn Montgomery, who are top 10 in the state and leading a team who is 13th in the state. Right behind Westside at 12th and Buena Vista, who they faced at the end of October, at 10th.  

Central is overall ranked 26th in the country currently, dropping only one rank from last year. 

Franta went on to describe Esports as one of the most unique experiences in sports, due to dealing with technical issues.  

“I once had to replace his keyboard while he was playing mid-match. Since we can’t call timeouts, it can get very intense,” Franta said.  He also had to reschedule a lot of games due to these similar issues. Using an example of facing a team in Canada, who did not have internet access the full day of their match, due to their school’s policy for that day. While it can be intense, Franta is forced to have quiet coaching. 

One thing Franta said he’s most excited about this year is that Esports in Nebraska are branching out into nine OPS schools. “Last year they did not join us in the state league, so we now have a lot more competition this year,” Franta said.