NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!

ALPENA — The Alpena Community College esports team claimed the NECC Division VIII Rocket League national championship Tuesday night, outlasting Fanshawe College’s FUEL squad in a seven-game series that came down to a Charlie Best goal 15 seconds into overtime of the deciding match.

The Lumberjacks took the championship series 4-3 in a back-and-forth final that saw ACC build a 3-1 lead, watch Fanshawe force a winner-take-all Game 7, and then close it out in dramatic fashion behind Best, Isaac Zocco, and Max McCarty.

Best, who plays under the gamertag Chuckles7557, opened the series by leading the Lumberjacks to a 2-1 victory in Game 1, finishing with a team-high 454 score and two goals. Fanshawe answered in Game 2, taking a 1-0 overtime decision in a defensive battle that exposed how tightly matched the two teams would be.

Game 3 belonged entirely to ACC. The Lumberjacks rolled to a 4-1 win, with Best posting a remarkable 670 score and four goals in the most lopsided match of the series. Game 4 followed with another 2-1 ACC victory, this time keyed by Zocco (gamertag Dazoc), whose 452 score and two goals gave the Lumberjacks a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Fanshawe refused to fold. Behind strong play from snipermcgee5, profit, and SP4ZZY, the FUEL squad took back-to-back 2-1 decisions in Games 5 and 6 to even the series at three games apiece and force a deciding Game 7. Zocco posted 485 in Game 5 and Best added 408 in Game 6, but Fanshawe’s balanced attack carried both contests.

That set the stage for a Game 7 that lived up to every bit of the moment. The two teams battled to a tie in regulation before Best ended it just 15 seconds into overtime, sending the ACC team into celebration as national champions. Best finished the clincher with 487 points and two goals. Zocco added 410 with a goal and an assist. McCarty (gamertag NeatWall3) contributed 390 with a goal and two assists.

The championship caps a dominant inaugural season in the NECC for the Lumberjacks, who finished with an 11-2 overall record. ACC went 5-2 in Division VIII East regular season play, swept their playoff bracket 3-0 to claim the East title, and then ran the table at nationals with three straight wins to capture the crown.

What makes the run all the more remarkable is the timeline. First-year coach Aaron Guitar didn’t take over the program until after the fall semester was already underway, leaving him to build a roster, install a system, and prepare the team for NECC competition all on a compressed schedule. The result was a national championship in his very first season behind the bench.

Guitar is no stranger to ACC athletics — he is a Lumberjack alumnus who played baseball during his time on campus, and he currently serves as an assistant baseball coach and athletic office coordinator in addition to leading the esports program.

Best, Zocco, and McCarty are all dual-sport athletes who also compete on the ACC baseball team that Guitar helps coach.

ACC’s esports program also fielded competitive teams in two other titles during the 2025-26 NECC season. The Rainbow Six Siege squad finished 3-3 in Division VI play during its spring campaign, while the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Crews team competed in Division V during the fall 2025 season.

Lumberjacks athletics congratulates Coach Guitar and the entire esports program on bringing home a national championship in its first year competing in the NECC.