Bishop Guertin High School Comes from Behind to Best Nashua North High School on GSC

QUARTERFINALS

Durham, NH (May 1, 2026) – Do you know the name of the first commercial mica mine in the United States? This question went unanswered during a recent match between Bishop Guertin High School and Nashua North High School on GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE. Bishop Guertin played a strong game to defeat Nashua North 415 to 270 in the last quarterfinal game of the season.

Captain Mohid Khan, a 12th-grader, led the Bishop Guertin Cardinals. His team included fellow 12th graders Declan Pyles, Teddy Bond and Aidan Coffey. Team alternates were 10th-grader Grant Leonardi and 12th-grader Carter Rick. The Cardinals were coached by English teachers Katie Graham and Jeannette Riendeau. Bishop Guertin High School enrolls 800 students from Nashua, Merrimack, Bedford, Hudson, Hollis and Pelham.

The Nashua North Titans were captained by 12th-grader Ryan Mamos. The team roster included 12th-grader Daniel Morcos,  Ethan Hobbs and Benjamin Kelly. The team’s alternate was 11th-grader Marie Nalen. Nashua North was coached by Social Studies teacher Timothy Bosch.  Nashua North High School enrolls 1,650 students from the city of Nashua.

Nashua North began the game strong, pulling ahead by 60 points in the first half of round one. But as the opening round progressed, Bishop Guertin hit their stride and in the final seconds of the round managed to capture a narrow lead at 105 to 90.

Both teams struggled in the game’s strategically tricky Three Strikes and You’re Out Round, using up their designated passes and strikes before they could hear all ten questions, but Bishop Guertin edged out their rivals with five correct answers to Nashua North’s two.  In the rapid fire 60-second round the Titans answered seven questions correctly and the Cardinals gave eight correct answers, making the score 235 to 190, a respectable but not insurmountable lead for Bishop Guertin.

As the final round began, Bishop Guertin was clearly not about to allow for a come from behind win from their rivals. “We did start off really slow, so we were a little bit worried,” said Bishop Guertin Captain Mohid Khan, “but we really  clutched up at the end and that helped us.”

By the end of the game, Bishop Guertin had amassed a commanding 145 point lead, with a 415 to 270 final score. Khan singled out  his teammate Teddy Bond’s performance. “I knew the team from North would be fast, but Teddy was really fast,” said Khan. “He was able to answer a lot of questions before them and I think that was really the difference.

For Bishop Guertin Coach Jeannette Riendeau, the best part of the game was seeing her students maintain their composure when they were down. ”I'm very proud of how they rallied and came back.”

While the Nashua North team was disappointed by the result, they remained positive about the experience. “Part of me always wanted to see Nashua North and Nashua South make it all the way to the finals,” said Titans coach Timothy Bosch. Nashua South is playing in next week’s semifinal game. “But it was great, both sides played well.”

Titans captain Ryan Mamos, who will be graduated from Nashua North at the end of the school year, said the opportunity to compete on GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE was one he appreciated. “It's a good experience to look back on, you know.  Every game, he (host Jon Cannon) gave us signed cards. Every time we dig those up we’ll  just remember a good time.”

The first commercial mica mine in the country was Ruggles Mine, which is now a tourist attraction in Grafton, NH featuring loose gem and mineral collecting.

Next week, Nashua South High School and Profiled High School will kick off the semifinal round on Thursday, May 7th at 8:30 p.m. on NHPBS. You can also stream it on the PBS App, the NHPBS YouTube channel, or online at nhpbs.org/gsc.

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.

Catch the next game of GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE on Thursday, May 7th at 8:30 p.m. on NHPBS. 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, and more at the GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE web page, or try your hand at daily brain teasers on the GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE Facebook page.

GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE is funded by lead sponsor Unitil, with additional funding from Safety Insurance and NEA New Hampshire.
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