MENOMONIE, WI — On Saturday, Oct. 18, Carthage Rocket League (RL) Red brought home the inaugural Red Cedar Rumble LAN championship at UW Stout's brand-new Esports Arena. As rocket-powered cars soared, the Firebirds scored on the opportunity to secure Carthage Esports' first LAN championship of the 2025-26 competitive year.

After receiving a generous $1 million donation from the UW-Stout Foundation and Alumni Association for Fall 2025, UW-Stout used it to create a "brand-new, state-of-the-art" Esports Arena. It was publicly opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 2. The space is roughly 1,900 square feet, designed with gamers and spectators in mind. Rows of 34 high-end gaming PCs – 10 reserved for a competition stage, and comfortable seating, completed the Arena. Additionally, UW-Stout installed recessed lighting, textured walls, spectator monitors, and a production room where livestreamed commentary can be performed for online viewers.

UW-Stout Blue Devils Esports relocated from a former classroom in Heritage Hall to the first floor of its Robert S. Swanson Library & Learning Center. This allowed the Blue Devils to invest the donation into a larger space with the program's administrators, coaches, players, and spectators in mind. Roughly 75% of this budget was used for renovation. The remaining 25% was spent on new computers, monitors, broadcasting technology, and special equipment – chairs and tables – designed for esports.   

For those looking to learn more, click here on UW-Stout's website.

Carthage RL Head Coach Timmy Connors mentioned his appreciation for the venue. "I think the venue was fantastic, UW Stout, and specifically Coach Crxis (Aaron Froelich) did a great job of designing the arena for a competitive but comforting environment."  Senior captain Alex Vaile coined the experience as "a lot of fun for us." His teammates, Owen Perry and Kyle Branski, played in their first-ever collegiate LAN.

The UW-Stout Esports Arena hosted the Red Cedar Rumble Local Area Network (LAN) event on Saturday, Oct. 18. This would be UW-Stout's first event held within the new arena. 

[Red Cedar Rumble Overview]

The Red Cedar Rumble was a Rocket League tournament featuring several teams across the Midwest competing at the new UW-Stout Esports Arena in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The schools in attendance included Carthage College, Iowa Western Community College (IWCC), Michigan State University (MSU), Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, UW–Eau Claire, UW–River Falls, and the event host itself, UW-Stout.

These eight teams formed an impressive showcase of Rocket League talent from the UW system and the Big Ten. Together, they were part of a Group Stage / Playoff seeding structure. Group Stage began at 10 a.m. CST—two groups of four teams played in a round-robin best-of-three format. From there, teams were seeded for a final playoff bracket that started at 1 p.m. CST. Upper/lower bracket matches were best-of-five, while the semi and grand finals were best-of-seven.

UW-Stout welcomed spectators to come and watch a spectacle of excellent Midwest Rocket League talent inside the newly established Esports Arena. If fans were not able to visit the campus's Robert S. Swanson Library, they could watch two livestream feeds covering the tournament on UW–Stout's Twitch channels. With the event's conclusion, fans who wish to relive the magic can watch on UW-Stout's primary broadcast and secondary broadcast. 

[Carthage RL Red's Performance]

Carthage RL Red, including senior captain Alex Vaile (Vaile), freshman Owen Perry (Kor), and Kyle Branski (xray), joined alongside Head Coach Timmy Connors, started their run in the Red Cedar Rumble with Group Stage action.

Group Stage: The Firebirds were placed in Group A with the Michigan State Spartans, Minnesota Golden Gophers, and UW–River Falls. After playing in the round-robin format, Carthage went 3-0 and moved on toward the playoffs. The Group Stage run started with a 2-0 sweep against Minnesota. Carthage as a team accumulated five goals, four assists, four saves, 10 shots, and eight demos. They held the Golden Gophers to only a single goal across the best-of-three series. Against Michigan State, Carthage achieved another 2-0 sweep. In this series alone, Branski topped out with five goals, one assist, two saves, 11 shots, and a demo. Perry led the team with 10 demos while Vaile complemented with five assists. A complementary performance from the Firebirds that garnered significant momentum. 

Playoffs (Upper vs. MSOE Raiders): To start their playoff run, Carthage faced the MSOE Raiders in a best-of-five series. The result was a convincing 3-1 victory. 

Game One was a 4-1 win for the Firebirds after forcing 15 shots on net to MSOE's three. Perry exploded for three goals and one assist on six shots. Branski followed with one goal on four shots. Game Two was a series-tieing, 4-3 victory for MSOE. Although the Firebirds forced 13 shots, the Raiders found more quality within their nine shots. Perry led the way with two goals on four shots, while Vaile added one himself. 

Game Three was a momentum-shifting 9-1 victory for Carthage. They shot the ball 12 times, twice as many as MSOE (six). Perry scored four goals on four shots with two assists and two saves. Vaile added three goals on five shots, three assists, and two saves. Branski tacked on two goals on three shots, with three assists. To wrap up the series, Carthage won 6-0 in Game Four. Perry had another stellar performance with three goals on five shots. Vaile contributed with two goals, two assists, and five saves. Branski would add one goal and two assists.

Playoffs (Semifinal vs. MSU Spartans): After a great performance against the MSOE Raiders, Carthage moved on to a best-of-seven semifinal against the MSU Spartans. The Firebirds obtained a 4-1 victory and advanced to the grand final.

Game One was a close 3-2 Carthage victory. About 15 shots were forced by the Firebirds in comparison to MSU's 11. Vaile finished with two goals on seven shots with a save. Branski added one goal on four shots with two saves. Perry provided three saves and five demos to pressure the Spartans throughout. Game Two followed a similar pattern with Carthage winning 3-2. The Firebirds' 11 shots were enough to score three goals – two from Branski and one from Vaile. Perry dominated MSU with seven demos. 

Game Three was a 3-1 MSU win. Although Carthage forced ten shots on net, they came up short. MSU player Sibs recorded two crucial goals while stockpiling six saves to halt the Firebirds' momentum. Branski scored the lone goal for Carthage on six shots. In Game Four, Carthage would take the mantle back and clinch series-point with a 4-1 win. Branski and Vaile both scored two goals each, while Perry recorded two assists. Another factor was Carthage's ability to outgain MSU in boost stolen (1,859-999).

To advance toward grand finals, Carthage took Game Five by a 4-1 score. Once again, Carthage forced 10+ shots on net (12) and made MSU uncomfortable. Branski topped out with two goals on seven shots, while Perry and Vaile notched a goal each. Besides his ability to score goals, Perry became a big help for demolitions, recording the most out of any player in this series (17).   

Playoffs (Grand Final vs. UW-Stout): With a stacked resume entering the grand finals, the Firebirds were tasked to win one more series. A series against a team with homefield advantage – the UW-Stout Blue Devils. Despite this, Carthage remained fierce and won the series 4-1, claiming the Red Cedar Rumble championship.

Game One was taken by UW-Stout 2-0. The Blue Devils held Carthage's high-pressure offense to only four shots on net. Wisconsin High School Esports Association (WIHSEA) Alumni and UW-Stout player Voltdestroyer logged in the game's two goals on three shots. However, Game Two showed that Carthage could not be shut down for long. It was a 4-0 shutout with 18 shots on net for the Firebirds, with only one from UW-Stout. Given the abnormally large gap in shots forced, Carthage were able to tie the series 1-1. Perry and Vaile scored two goals each on 5+ shots with two assists respectively.

Game Three ended with a 3-2 Carthage win. Once again, the Firebirds' offense was fast and potent, eclipsing 18 shots on net for the second consecutive game. Branski scored all three goals on 10 shots. Perry and Vaile added three assists combined to support their teammate. Game Four continued to showcase Carthage's dominance, winning 3-1. The Blue Devils could only force five shots on net, while the Firebirds had 14. This time Perry scored two goals on six shots, Branski secured a goal himself, and Vaile logged two assists.

To wrap up the Red Cedar Rumble, Carthage took Game Five by a 3-1 score. A 12 shots on net performance spelled doom for the Blue Devils. Vaile scored two goals on eight shots, Branski secured one goal on two shots, and Perry added two assists.

Throughout the grand finals, Carthage RL Red led in these major categories: Goals (13-6), Assists (13-5), Shots (66-22), and Demos (26-11).

[Carthage RL Red's Final Recorded Statistics From The Red Cedar Rumble]

• Kyle Branski (xray): 23 Goals, 16 Assists, 10 Saves, 77 Shots, 21 Demos, 28.5% Shooting   
• Owen Perry (Kor): 22 Goals, 16 Assists, 23 Saves, 64 Shots, 47 Demos, 34.3% Shooting
• Alex Vaile (Vaile): 20 Goals, 23 Assists, 23 Saves, 68 Shots, 23 Demos,  29.4% Shooting

Team Stats: 65 Goals, 55 Assists, 56 Saves, 209 Shots, 91 Demos, 31% Shooting   

[Carthage RL Red Coach and Player Comments Regarding The Red Cedar Rumble]

Coach Timmy Connors: "Carthage Red stayed focused on the task the entire time we were there. They never let up, no matter how far in the lead they were in a series. In the last two series of the day against seeds No. 2 and No. 3, they only lost one game in each series, showing their dominance against some of the top teams in the area. I want to highlight Vaile specifically for his obvious growth as a leader and the way he kept himself level-headed throughout the entire tournament. His calmness was infectious, and I believe that led us to the victory. All three of them played some of their best brands of Rocket League, and this makes me even more confident about the future of this team, especially in tough competition in a LAN environment."

Alex Vaile: "We felt very confident throughout the tournament, and this experience will be very important going forward as we will have more LANs to come this semester."

Kyle Branski: "It was awesome to be able to go out there and play against some decent teams. We played really well and dominated the whole event, and we are proud of how we did, but we are constantly striving to improve, and we will continue to grind to our fullest."

Owen Perry: "It was a really cool experience. The first LAN I ever played at and it was set up pretty well. The new room they had was really nice and organized. The PC's were good too. The group stage and tournament were both fun to play in. The team dominated throughout, which was awesome. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience."

Carthage Esports is currently competing in its Fall 2025 semester under the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) and Wisconsin Esports Conference (WEC). Follow us on all social media platforms (@carthageespots) to stay updated with information regarding weekly matches. Visit the archives section of this website to find Weekly Recap material written by Carthage Esports Broadcaster Andrew Czysz Jr. Follow our Twitch channel as well to get notifications when broadcasts go live.