Nashua High South Comes from Behind - Defeats Portsmouth High

Granite State Challenge - Round One

(DURHAM, February 22, 2020) – Do you know what crime Eunice Cole of what is now Hampton, New Hampshire was indicted for in 1656, 1673 and 1680? Neither team has a chance to answer that question, as time ran out in the first round!

Playing for the Nashua High South Purple Panthers were Captain George Eid, Njeri Kiritu, Sri Korandla, Andrew Guo, and alternate Sahil Mahendrakar. The team was coached by Greg Montaine. Nashua High South is one of two public high schools in Nashua and enrolls close to 1,800 students. The Purple Panthers are no strangers to Granite State Challenge. They were champions in 2016 and 2017.

The Portsmouth High Clippers were represented by Captain Francis Powell, Josie Sedam, Rio Marcus, and Hannah Rubin. The team is coached by Hannah Dul. Portsmouth High School has an enrollment of around 1,100 students.

Both teams played a strong in the opening round as the lead went back and forth ending a 80-80 tie. Portsmouth played a strong second and lead by a score of 300-180 at the end of the round. Going into the 60-second round Nashua chose the category "Stuck in the Middle" and answered eight out of ten questions correctly that included the word "middle" missing on only George Elliot's novel, Middle March and the maiden name of the current Duchess of Cambridge - Kate Middleton. Portsmouth chose the category " Large and in Charge" and correctly answered nine out of ten questions whose answers included the word "big" missing only on the clue, movie featuring the character, the Dude - The Big Lebowski." At the end of the 60-second round, Portsmouth lead by a score of 390-280.

In the final round, correct answers are worth 20 points, but an incorrect answer costs a team 20 point and leads can quickly be lost. Nashua was aggressive and slowly came back from behind, winning the game by a final score of 540-450.

Oh, that crime Eunice Cole was indicted for three times, witchcraft.

The winner of the match will meet either Londonderry or Souhegan High in the quarterfinals.

Granite State Challenge is funded by lead sponsor Unitil; with additional funding from NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, New Hampshire Lottery, Heinemann Publishing, Cognia, HRCU , and Manchester Community College.

Granite State Challenge features New Hampshire's top high school academic quiz teams as they demonstrate remarkable teamwork, quick thinking, and smarts to beat the clock and buzz in first on this iconic New Hampshire game show. The game emphasizes quick recall of math, science, social studies, language arts, and fine arts facts—along with questions about current events, entertainment, sports, and New Hampshire.

You can follow your favorite team, test your own knowledge with GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE online quizzes, and more at the GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE web page or try your hand at daily brainteasers on the GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE Facebook page.