Plymouth Regional High Defeats Salem High

Granite State Challenge - Round One

(DURHAM, March 3, 2023) - Plymouth Regional High defeated Salem High in game five in the first round of Granite State Challenge.

Playing for Plymouth Regional High were captain and senior Dash Ough, junior Khalil Dakhlia, senior Natalie Boyer, and sophomore Reagan Sutherland. The team alternates were seniors Jason Vuong, Alex Luehrs, and Trevor Tobine. Jay Fogarty and Troy Harris coached the team. Plymouth Regional High enrolls around 647 students from Plymouth, Ashland, Holderness, Campton, Rumney, Wentworth, Warren, Ellsworth, Waterville Valley, and Thornton.

Playing for Salem High was captain and senior Luke Bottomley along with seniors Grace Quimby, Mohammad Abu-Ghosh, and Jess Kamal. The team alternates were junior Kelsey McGibbon and seniors Sara Watanabe and Lizzy Jackson. The team was coached by Bernard Campbell. Salem High School enrolls around 1,250 students.

ROUND ONE
Dash Ough of Plymouth answered the first two questions about Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and James Earl Jones and Reagan Sutherland up another 10 points for Plymouth with a question about the location of Waterloo. Natalie Boyer of Plymouth answered the next question about author Roald Dahl. Grace Quimby picked up the first 10 points for Salem by knowing that a mycologist studies fungi like mushrooms bringing the score to 40-10. Khalil Dakhlia picked up the next 10 points for Plymouth with a question about the 1943 Supreme Court Case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette.

Luke Bottomley picked up 20 points for Salem with the Unitil Power Question about the Flash and narrowed the score to 90-60. With less than 20 seconds left in the round, Khalil Dakhlia of Plymouth correctly gave the Roman numeral for 36, the number of the first Super Bowl won by the New England Patriots and the round ended with Plymouth in the lead by a score of 100-60.

THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT ROUND
The second round of the game is the Three Strikes and You're Out Round. Each team picks a 10-question category, and each team member gets a question, starting with the captain. The team continues to answer questions until they miss three questions. Each team also has three passes in each round. If a team answers all 10 questions correctly, they pick up an additional 10 points. Plymouth went first and Dash Ough and Khalil Dakhlia each answered three questions correctly, Natalie Boyer answered two questions correctly and Reagan Sutherland answered one question correctly and the score was now 190-60

In their round, Salem's Luke Bottomley answered two questions correctly and the other questions stumped the team. At the end of the round, the score was 190-80.

60-SECOND ROUND
In the third round, alternates join their teams. Each team picks a ten-question category and has 60 seconds to answer the questions. If they answer all ten correctly, teams get up a 10-point bonus. Team members can confer in the round, but the captain answers for the team. Salem chose the category Stone Face in which all of the answers were individuals with names that referenced a rock, mineral, gem, element, or metal. The team picked up 70 points in the round.

Plymouth Regional chose the category Deadline in which all the answers were related to the word dead. it was a lively round and the team cleared the board and picked up 110 points. At the end of the round Plymouth led by a score of 300-150.

FINAL ROUND
In the game's final round, each correct answer is worth 20 points, but teams lose 20 points with an incorrect answer and leads can quickly be lost or gained. Grace Quimby picked up the first points for Salem with a question about the song "Barracuda." Plymouth's Khalil Dakhlia picked up the next 40 points with questions about author Lewis Carrol and runner Roger Bannister, Dash Ough picked up another 20 points for the team with a question about the Badlands in South Dakota, and Khalil Dakhlia correctly spelled the word pharaoh for another 20 points and the score was now 380-170. Mohammad Abu-Ghosh picked up 20 points for Salem by identifying the word scarf as meaning a piece of clothing or a slang word for eating very fast. Dash Ough of Plymouth picked up 20 points with a video question about John Sununu from Charlotte Cotti the 2022 New Hampshire Kid Governor. Jess Kamal of Salem picked up 20 points for her team with a math question, but in the end, Plymouth won the game by a score of 480-150.

Plymouth Regional moves on to the quarterfinals where they will meet the winner of the next Round One Game between Bow High School and Mascoma High School airing on Thursday, March 9 @ 7:30 pm on NHPBS.

Hosted by Bow High School teacher and former Granite State Challenge coach (Bedford High), contestant (Belmont High), and Granite State Challenge crew member, Jon Cannon, 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 hands at daily brainteasers on the GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE Facebook page.

GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE is funded by lead sponsor Unitil; with additional funding from NEA New Hampshire, Safety Insurance, The New Hampshire Lottery, D.F. Richard Energy, Cognia, and HRCU.