Plymouth Bobcats Beat Bedford Bulldogs

Do you know who coined the word “nerd” in the 1950s? The answer to this quintessential Granite State Challenge question — Dr. Seuss — was worth 10 points in the opening round of a game that pitted cats against dogs. Plymouth Area Regional High School emerged the winner against Bedford High School in this week’s Granite State Challenge by a  final score of600 to 280.

The Plymouth Bobcats were represented by captain Richard Lyons, Rhys Harris, Konner Bird, and Martin Runquist, along with alternates Austin Sanders, and Clayton Titus. They were coached by Jay Fogarty and Troy Harris. The Bedford Bulldogs were represented by captain Brad Silver, Bailey Ellis, Josh Taranto, and Jacob Nover, and alternates Luke Knedeisen, and Siddartha Lavu. The Bulldogs were coached by Jon Cannon and Robby Zeller.

 Plymouth admitted to some good luck on their path to victory. They buzzed in quickly when asked to name the main character of Charlotte Brontë’s novel about an orphan governess. “Our team just finished reading Jane Eyre, so we were laughing when that question came up.”

Plymouth now advances to the quarterfinals of Granite State Challenge. Hosted by Jim Jeannotte, the popular quiz contest began the season with Granite State Challenge Super Sunday at Manchester Community College. 46 New Hampshire high school teams took a qualifying test to secure one of only 16 spots on Granite State Challenge.  At the conclusion of the season, this year’s Granite State Challenge champion will move on to compete in the first-ever High School Quiz Show Invitational at WGBH in Boston against the winners of Maine Public’s High School Quiz Show: Maine . The winner of that game will face the winner of the semifinal game between Massachusetts and Rhode Island in a battle to decide the High School Quiz Show Invitational champion.

New Hampshire's top high school academic teams demonstrate remarkable teamwork, quick thinking and smarts as they play Granite State Challenge. 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.

Watch Granite State Challenge Saturdays at 6 PM on New Hampshire PBS, with multiple airdates on NHPBS and NHPBS EXPLORE. You can view the latest games, try your hand at online GSC Quizzes and track the progress of your favorite team at nhpbs.org/gsc.

Granite State Challenge is generously funded by lead sponsor Unitil; additional funding is provided by NEA-New Hampshire, Heinemann Publishing, New Hampshire Lottery, D.F. Richard Energy, HRCU Measured Progress, the NHHEAF Network Organizations, and Super Sunday Sponsor Manchester Community College.

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Carla Gordon Russell
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