Herkimer Generals inaugural Call of Duty Esports team earns No. 4 seed for postseason

Herkimer County Community College’s inaugural Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Gunfight esports team is headed to its first postseason National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE) invitational tournament.

The Generals duo, freshmen Christian Mandia, of Utica, NY, and Jayden Vargas, of Bronx, NY, went an undefeated 6-0 in their regular season, taking a clean 3-0 sweep in five out of the six matchups, earning a No. 4 tournament seed. The team is coached by Frank Drapalski, systems programmer/analyst, and Joshua Lanza, technical assistant for the Academic Support Center.

“Frank and I are extremely proud of the work Christian and Jayden have put in this season,” Lanza said. “They’ve positioned themselves within striking distance of a national title in Herkimer’s first esports season, which is a great accomplishment on its own.”

While this tournament is billed as an invitational, the NJCAAE plans to make it an official tournament next season due to the game’s popularity.

The Generals will face off against the Samsons of Michigan’s Gogebic Community College at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 19. The game can be watched live on Herkimer College’s Twitch channel: twitch.tv/herkimer_generals_esports.

If they win, the duo moves on to the semi-finals on April 26. Winning teams will immediately head into the championship matchup that same evening.