Semifinal Showdown: Nashua South vs. Profile on Granite State Challenge

QUARTERFINALS

Durham, NH (May 4, 2026) - The Purple Panthers of Nashua South battle the Profile Patriots in the first GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE semifinal game on Thursday, May 7 at 8:30 p.m. on New Hampshire PBS.

The Purple Panthers of Nashua South are captained by 12th-grader Henry Long and include fellow 12th-graders Eric Picanco and Thanasi Miris, along with 10th-grader Charlie Long. Rounding out the team are alternates 12th-grader Jerry Primo and 10th-grader Lexie Ross. The team is coached by Social Studies teacher Lex Duval and English teacher Kelli Thornhill-Telerski. The Purple Panthers were Granite State Challenge champions in 2016 and 2017.

Feeling confident about his team’s knowledge, Nashua South team captain Henry Long feels confident about this team’s knowledge, “I’m just really excited because we haven’t made it this far in the four years that I’ve been in high school, so this is really exciting for us.”

Nashua South team coach Kelli Thornhill-Telerski felt the team’s excitement was pretty infectious. “We’ve never seen them this excited,” said Thornhill-Telerski. “They’re here because they love trivia, they love playing this game, and they love watching it.” The Purple Panthers worked on their buzzer skills in preparation for a win in the semifinal game.

The Profile Patriots are led by 12th-grader captain Maddie Perkins and feature a lineup of fellow seniors Moses Rolfe, Wyatt Wright and Raiden Valentine. The team’s alternates are 9th-graders Henry Hamilton and Andy Rolfe. The Patriots are coached by school counselor Jill Brewer and Social Studies teacher Paul Savard, representing a school of 130 students in Grafton County that serves the communities of Bethlehem, Easton, Franconia and Sugar Hill.

Enjoying the entire process with her teammates, Profile team captain Maddie Perkins felt reflective on the upcoming match. “This is either our second-to-last match or our last match of pretty much our entire high school,” said Maddie. “So, whether we win or not, we’re just here to have fun and make some memories.”

Being a small school, with an average class size of 32 students, Profile team coach Paul Savard remarked that he’s had many of these students multiple times throughout high school and has seen how much they’ve grown. “In basketball, you can pass the ball to somebody, but here it’s on them,” said Profile coach Savard. “This is a culmination of their education, and they can see it, and that’s kind of rewarding.”

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 on GRANITE STATE CHALLENGE, Thursday, May 7 at 8:30 p.m. on New Hampshire PBS.  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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