LAKEWOOD – The battle of the two top-seeds played out Thursday at Localhost, as the top-seeded Titans of Legend High School took on No. 2 seed Bear Creek Gold Rocket League from Bear Creek High School.
 
In what started as a defensive battle, Bear Creek found its rhythm in the fourth game and never looked back, en route to a 4-2 victory and the school's first-ever esports state championship.
 
"Hopefully this win will help fuel our program at our school to get more kids involved and just to let them know that there's a community around us; that even if they're playing at home and playing alone, there is a team that you can join and be out there," Bear Creek head coach Angela Wagner said.
 
Bear Creek, making its first appearance in the finals, won the first game against Legend before dropping the next two.
 
"I really think that winning that first game was clutch [for our team], because even though they went down those next two games, it just gave them the boost that they needed to know that they won one, and that they could do it again," Wagner said. "Since they had won one, it turned into 'We've done it before. How do we do it? What works for us? What doesn't work? What do we need to tweak?'"
 
All they needed was for their senior Jaxson Gralund to get hot, and that he did.
 
All three Bear Creek players scored in the third game, with Isaiah Zubia-Blea and Kayden Simmons each scoring once and Gralund scoring twice to even the match at 2-2.
 
Simmons then opened the scoring in the fourth game before Gralund poured on a hat trick to give the Bears an opportunity to clinch the title in the sixth game.
 
"Jaxson is super competitive of himself," Wagner shared. "He's always wanting to get better and be there for the team, but he's super great about not wanting to carry that team. He is really a team player. I think he talked to them about how he could go ahead into certain moves, but what did he need from them to support those moves? And what does that mean in our back, in our mid? Who's going to get the boost to support him if he's carrying it in? Are they going to take it? Or, if he has a shot, should he go?
 
"I think him getting his confidence back after that second loss and just remembering that he can rely on those guys and that they've got him, that's what carried us through."
 
Bear Creek didn't let up in the sixth game, as Zubia-Blea scored the lone goal of the frame, helping the Bears to their school's first state title since the gymnastics team won its 11th state championship in 2010.
 
"We have a lot of kids who have put their heart and soul into [our program] for quite a few years… they're still following us and helping us now and watching us today, so to see their wants and their hard work kind of come to fruition also means a win for them," Wagner said.
 
Bear Creek advanced to the finals by knocking off Chaparral's Chaparral Crossbar Club 4-1, in the semifinals. The Bears started the tournament with a 4-0 win over Jefferson's Jefferson Saints in the first round and then defeated Centaurus' CHS RL Varsity, 4-2, in the second round.
 
Legend advanced to the finals by defeating the defending state champions, Denver East, 4-1, in the semifinals. The Titans also knocked off Steamboat Springs' eSailors RL Black in the first round and Chatfield's Rocket League Varsity in the second round.