Trinity High beats Souhegan High on Granite State Challenge

The Games Are Afoot!

DURHAM, NH (February 14, 2025) — The Trinity Pioneers outlasted the Souhegan Sabers on GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE in Round One, 400-330. This game was a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal.

The Souhegan Sabers team included 12th graders Morgan Hallet and Caleb Brower, 10th grader Rhys Macdonald and 12th grade captain Kasen Fox. The team alternates were 12th grader Emma Crisman and 10th grader Aaron Coleman. The Sabers were coached by American studies teacher Nicholas Drinkwater. Souhegan enrolls around 750 students from Amherst and Mont Vernon.

The Trinity Pioneers team included 12th grader captain Desmond Lee along with 12th grader Tyler Welch and 11th graders Long Nguyen and Teagan Hilliard. The team was rounded out with alternate 12th grader Madeleine Souza. Social studies teacher Andrew Lavoie and math teacher Louis Sievers were the coaches for the Pioneers. Trinity High is a parochial school located in Manchester and enrolls around 300 students.

ROUND ONE
The first round was a tight contest. Trinity took an early 30-point lead with three consecutive correct answers by team captain Desmond Lee, and his teammates added more points to the board to give the team an 80-40 lead.

The Sabers slowly chipped away as the round went on as Kasen and Rhys added to the Sabers score, putting them behind by just 30 points, ending the round by a score of 130-100.

“I was impressed by Souhegan. They did really great; they really killed it. They were a great opponent. I feel fortunate to have played them,” said Trinity captain Desmond.

ROUND TWO – THREE STRIKES AND YOU’RE OUT
In the Three Strikes and You're Out Round, each team picks a 10-question category and each team member, starting with the captain, gets one question. The team continues to answer questions until they miss three questions. Each team also has three passes in the round. If a team answers all 10 questions correctly, they pick up an additional 10 points.

Both the Sabers and the Pioneers struggled in the round. Souhegan went first and struck out with only two correct answers, choosing not to use any of their passes and giving the Pioneers a chance to extend their lead.

The Pioneers did slightly better. Tyler answered both of his questions correctly, and the team also picked up 20 additional points bringing Trinity to a 170-120 lead at the halfway point.

“Our three strikes and you’re out round, there's probably some room for improvement there. Using our passes and stuff that’s always tricky because you always feel in that moment like it’s just you, but it never is, and our teamwork is one of our greatest strengths,” said Trinity captain Desmond.

ROUND THREE – 60-SECOND ROUND
In the 60-Second 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 a 10-point bonus. Team members can confer in the round, but the captain answers for the team.

Souhegan had a massive comeback in the round; they chose the category “Something’s Fishy” and answered nine out of 10 fish-related questions correctly. That one missed question in the round made them miss out on the 10-point bonus, but it did give them a fighting chance in the final toss-up round.

Trinity had a solid performance as they answered seven of their ten questions correctly in the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” category in which all answers started with the word “happy.” At the end of the round, Trinity’s 50-point lead was cut down to 30 points.

FINAL ROUND – TOSS-UP
In the final round of the game, each correct answer is worth 20 points, but teams lose 20 points with an incorrect answer and a lead can be easily lost or gained in the round.

The last round was the ultimate toss-up. The round had four lead changes that kept the players, coaches, spectators and host Jon Cannon on the edge of their seats.

Trinity’s Desmond and Teagan answered two in a row, then the Sabers went on a run and answered the next six questions correctly, picking up 120 points.

Trinity came back with captain Desmond answering two questions correctly, only to have Souhegan’s Morgan and Kasen pick up 40 more points for the Sabers.

Morgan and Kasen got one each and went ahead again. Then Trinity’s Long came in with a correct answer, putting Trinity in the lead.

As the time ticked off the clock, both teams answered a question. The Sabers gave it their all but couldn’t come back despite coming very close in the end, Trinity picked up the win with a final score of 400-330.

“I think we played the last round exactly how we should have. I think we messed up in the first round only,” said Souhegan’s Kasen. “I think if we had just gotten out a little more ahead, I think that would have been good, but I think we played the last round as well as we could have.”

“I think it's a great game. They obviously know a lot of trivia. We know a lot of trivia and I think it comes down to the buzzers we were able to get in, get the questions we knew and you know the questions you can't control getting asked, or having to answer in the team round,” said Souhegan coach Drinkwater. “I think we fought back hard in the second round, picked a good category, but that’s how it goes.”

“I think the biggest thing is just to let the kids know that it's hard when the camera is on you but to have fun with each other. We laugh a lot when we're in practice, and they should always carry that spirit forward, even when the bright lights are on,” Trinity coach Lavoie added post-game. “Be the same person you always are and trust each other.”

The Trinity Pioneers will play Plymouth Regional High in the first Quarterfinal match, which will air on April 3rd, 2025 at 8:30 p.m. on NHPBS.

Catch the next first-round game of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE, airing on Thursday, February 20th at 8:30 p.m. on NHPBS where Gilford High meets Tilton School. You can also stream it on the PBS App, the NHPBS YouTube channel, or online at nhpbs.org/gsc.

Test your knowledge with GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE online quizzes, or try your hand at daily brainteasers on the GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE Facebook page.

GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE is funded by lead sponsor Unitil with additional funding from Bangor Savings Bank, Safety Insurance, NEA New Hampshire and Aroma Joe’s.

About Host Jon Cannon: 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 some of New Hampshire's brightest high school students 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.