(upbeat music) - [Announcer] WVIA's Scholastic Scrimmage is made possible in part by... (inspiring music) - [Narrator] Are you a high school senior or college student trying to further your education?

The Luzerne Foundation can help.

The Luzerne Foundation is a Northeastern Pennsylvania-based community nonprofit that provides over 70 scholarships a year to students.

The Luzerne Foundation, we are here for good.

(bright music) (whistle tooting) (energetic music) ♪ Go ♪ - Welcome to the 19th season of WVIA's Scholastic Scrimmage.

I'm your host, Paul Lazar.

Scholastic Scrimmage is a question and answer competition featuring high school students from across the WVIA viewing area.

In each program, two schools will compete in a single elimination tournament for a chance to win $1000, $3000, or $5000.

Tonight's match features Benton versus Delaware Valley.

Representing Benton are Isabel Sorber, Daniel Sleiman, Christian Lyons, and Max Coker.

Their advisor is Jennifer Posey.

Representing Delaware Valley are Christopher Fleming, Dominic Agron, Nathaniel Carso, and Jackson Hancock.

Andrea Del Freo is an alternate as is Isabella Hemler, and their advisor is Robert Curtis.

Scholastic Scrimmage is a game of rapid recall of factual information, so let's take a moment and review the rules.

The first team to buzz in will have an opportunity to answer a toss-up question.

Correct answers to these questions are awarded 10 points, and that team will then receive a five-point bonus question.

If that toss-up answer is incorrect, no points will be deducted, but the question will then rebound to the other team.

If the other team answers correctly, they'll be given the toss-up points but will not receive a bonus question.

Well, let's go ahead and get started with this toss-up question in world history.

What Japanese leader surrendered on August 15th, 1945, after- (buzzer buzzes) Jackson, Delaware Valley.

- Emperor Hirohito.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus.

This era began 65 million years ago.

It was an era of great variety and change.

Name this era, also known as the Age of Mammals.

(buzzer buzzes) - Paleolithic.

- No, it's the Cenozoic Era.

So let's go to a toss-up now in general knowledge.

Some have been made of wood, others of ivory and stone, but all have held high dignitaries.

Identify this seat, believed to be the ancestor- (buzzer buzzes) Jackson, Delaware Valley.

- Throne?

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus now.

This Filipino politician, who answers to the nickname Bongbong, or the initials PBBM or BMS, served as the governor of Ilocos Norte and later as a representative of the Second District of that province, before serving as a senator of the republic from 2010 to 2016.

Name this politician who was elected as the 17th president of the Philippines in 2022, an office that his dictator father held 36 years earlier.

(buzzer buzzes) - Juarez?

- No, Ferdinand Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos.

Let's go to a toss-up now in physics.

The Newton is the unit of force in the SI system, and this is the unit of force in the- (buzzer buzzes) Christopher, Delaware Valley.

- Kilogram meters per second.

- Nope, we're gonna finish and rebound to Benton.

In the CGS system, 100,000 of these units are equivalent to one Newton.

Give the name of this unbalanced force needed to give one gram of mass and acceleration of one centimeter per second per second.

- I don't have an answer.

(timer dings) - Ran outta time there.

That's dyne, dyne.

Our next toss-up is in American history.

Before leaving the Philippines, this outstanding general said, "I shall return."

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson, Delaware Valley.

- MacArthur.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus now.

Biff and Happy were the sons of what fictional character?

- Clifford.

- The Big Red Dog.

- Clifford the Big Red Dog.

- No, (laughs) we're looking for Willy Loman, but I love the answer.

- [Jackson] Thanks.

- Let's go to the toss-up now in US geography.

There are eight main islands that make up the state of Hawaii.

Of these eight islands, two begin with a K. One is Kauai.

Name the other island.

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson, DelVal.

- Kaloa?

- Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

(team whispering) (timer beeps) That's Kahoolawe, Kahoolawe.

Our next toss-up is in world geography.

This country is home to the world's second-largest river system in the world and has the world's largest jungle.

It's the fifth most heavily populated country in the world and is the only country on its continent- (buzzer buzzes) Dominic, DelVal.

- Brazil.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus question.

The highest educational institution of the US Navy is the Naval War College, located in the state of Rhode Island.

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson.

- The Submarine Academy.

- No, we're looking for the city, which was Newport, Newport.

Let's go to a toss-up now in biology.

This fine layer of tissue that surrounds the oyster's body ensures that the shell develops.

It also creates nacre.

That's commonly referred to as mother of pearl, (timer beeping) which is used to make buttons and other ornamental objects.

It is the same nacre that lines the inside of the shell that forms pearls.

Name this body part that creates the nacre and continuously increases the size of the shell as the oyster grows.

(buzzer buzzes) Christopher, DelVal.

- Expander?

- Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

(timer beeps) Okay, the answer was in the question, nacre.

So that sound that you heard signals the end of the first quarter, and it's now time for the Lightning Round.

In this segment, each team will have an opportunity to answer as many of the 12 rapid-fire questions as they can in one minute.

Benton has won the coin toss and will pick first.

Your categories are Biology or American History.

- Oh, I don't know.

(team whispering) - We'll do Biology.

- Biology it is, and your time begins when I finish reading the first question.

Identify these terms associated with moths and butterflies.

The body part or segment that contains the flight muscles.

(buzzer buzzes) - Wing?

- [Paul] Thorax, holes on the sides of the abdomen used for breathing.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- [Paul] Spiracles, a flexible tube-like tongue used for drinking and feeding.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- [Paul] Proboscis, the body segment that contains the organs for digestion.

- Abdomen.

- Abdomen.

(buzzer buzzes) - Abdomen?

- [Paul] Yes, the name for the scientist who studies moths and butterflies.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- [Paul] Lepidopterist, the butterfly's lower lip.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- Labium, the feelers on the head used for balancing and smelling.

(buzzer buzzes) - Antenna?

- [Paul] Yes, sense organs attached to the mouth parts that help determine food sources.

(buzzer buzzes) - Tongue.

- [Paul] Palpus, the scientific order into which butterflies are classified.

- Pass.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- [Paul] Lepidoptera, chemicals that are secreted by moths to attract a mate.

(buzzer buzzes) - Hormones.

(timer beeping) - [Paul] I'm sorry?

- Pheromones.

- Pheromones is correct.

You got that right under the buzzer there, Benton.

Great job, Daniel.

That's gonna wrap up your portion of the Lightning Round.

You know a lot about butterflies.

Delaware Valley, we're coming over to you.

Your remaining category will be American History, and again, your time begins when I finish reading the first question.

Name the US president who worked each of the following jobs or had these careers early in life before becoming the president of the United States.

A peanut farmer.

(buzzer buzzes) - Jimmy Carter.

- [Paul] Yes, a movie star.

(buzzer buzzes) - Ronald Reagan.

- [Paul] Yes, a tailor.

(buzzer buzzes) - Zachary Taylor?

- [Paul] Andrew Johnson.

A model for "Cosmopolitan Magazine."

(buzzer buzzes) - Richard Nixon?

- [Paul] Gerald Ford, commander of the Union Forces during the Civil War.

(buzzer buzzes) - Ulysses S. Grant.

- [Paul] Yes, a land surveyor.

(buzzer buzzes) - George Washington.

- [Paul] Yes, postmaster in New Salem, Illinois.

(buzzer buzzes) - Abraham Lincoln?

- [Paul] Yes, the sheriff in Erie County, New York.

(buzzer buzzes) - Chester A. Arthur.

- [Paul] Grover Cleveland, a real estate developer.

(buzzer buzzes) - Donald Trump.

- [Paul] Yes, the manager of the football team at Stanford University.

(buzzer buzzes) - Lyndon B. Johnson.

- [Paul] Herbert Hoover, a haberdasher.

(buzzer buzzes) - FDR.

- [Paul] Harry Truman, an ordained minister and the pastor in the Disciples of Christ Church.

(buzzer buzzes) - Woodrow Wilson.

(timer beeping) - Nope, that's James Garfield.

Okay, DelVal, you did great in the Lightning Round.

That's going to wrap it up for that portion, and after that, we currently have Delaware Valley in the lead over Benton, 70 to 15.

Now we're going to go ahead and move into the second quarter with this toss-up question that's a literature toss-up.

This short story by Bret Harte is a leading example of local color fiction.

The characters are trapped in the snow.

Two prostitutes, the Duchess and Mother Shipton, are among the party.

What is the name of this story?

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson, DelVal.

- "Snowed In"?

- Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

(team whispering) (timer beeps) - That's "The Outcasts of Poker Flat."

Let's move on to another literature toss-up.

This famous American poet lived in the 1800s.

Some of his more familiar long poems are "The Courtship of Miles Standish" and "The Song of Hiawatha."

Name this poet who is- (buzzer buzzes) Jackson, Delaware Valley.

- Nathan Hawthorne?

- Is incorrect, I'll finish the question and rebound it to Benton.

Name this poet who is a professor of modern languages at Harvard.

- I don't know.

(timer beeps) - That's Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Let's go on now to a toss-up in earth science.

A transverse wave can travel long distances over water.

Its low point is known as a trough.

What term refers to the high point of a transverse wave?

(buzzer buzzes) Isabel, Benton.

- (laughs) Tsunami.

- Is incorrect, rebound to Delaware Valley.

(buzzer buzzes) - A peak?

- Nope, you're close.

We're looking for crest, crest.

Our next toss-up is a music toss-up.

It doesn't take long to play, but by what more popular name is "The Waltz in D-flat Major, Opus 64, No.

1" by Polish composer Frederic Chopin known?

(buzzer buzzes) - Daniel.

- "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

- No, rebound to Delaware Valley.

(buzzer buzzes) Dominic.

- "Vols"?

"Vols"?

- Nope, We're looking for "The Minute Waltz," "The Minute Waltz."

Here's your next toss-up, this one in astronomy.

Caph and Schedar are stars in what northern constellation named for an Ethiopian queen who in Greek mythology is the mother of Andromeda?

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson, DelVal.

- Sheba?

- Nope, rebound to Benton.

(buzzer buzzes) - Athena?

- No, we're looking for Cassiopeia, Cassiopeia.

Let's go on to a toss-up in botany.

Sugarcane is harvested and the juice is removed.

The juice is boiled to extract the sugar.

Name the dark brown byproduct of processing- (buzzer buzzes) Jackson, Delaware Valley.

- Molasses.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus now.

Only 11 of his 44 comedies survive.

Name the Greek playwright who is considered the master of old comedy.

His works included "Lysistrata" and "The Frogs."

(buzzer buzzes) - Sophocles?

- No, Aristophanes.

Great guess, though.

Let's move on to a toss-up in computer science.

It consists of an array of cells and is used in a variety of business applications.

Identify this type of software which includes popular- (buzzer buzzes) Dominic, DelVal.

- Spreadsheet.

Is correct, and here comes your bonus.

He played 17 seasons with the New York Yankees.

He was a member of six World Series champion teams.

He was the first Major League Baseball player to have his number retired by a team.

Which baseball player was nicknamed The Iron Horse?

(buzzer buzzes) - Lou Gehrig.

- Is correct for your bonus points, DelVal, very good.

Let's move on to a toss-up in literature now.

The novel "Beloved" tells of a dysfunctional family whose home is haunted.

The family has been enslaved in the past, and the book is based on a true story of slavery in Kentucky.

In which free state was the 1987 Tony Morrison novel, "Beloved," set?

(timer beeping) (buzzer buzzes) - New York.

- Christopher, DelVal.

- New York?

- Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

(buzzer buzzes) - Kentucky?

- Nope, the answer was Ohio, Ohio.

Well, that sound that you heard signals the end of the first half, and we're now going to give our contestants just a little bit of a break and the opportunity for those of you at home to get to know them a little better, and we'll start with the students from Benton.

And Isabel, I'll come to you first.

Tell me who your favorite musician is and why.

- I don't know.

(laughs) I'm not sure - We'll circle back with you.

- I wasn't expecting that question.

- Daniel.

- My favorite musician has to be Chris Stapleton, just because I love his voice and how he just creates his songs, just excellent.

- Amazing voice.

Thank you.

Christian.

- I like Frankie Ford.

I'm not really sure why.

I just kinda do.

- [Paul] Okay.

(laughs) Max.

- I'm a big fan of The Beatles.

- You have good taste.

Thanks for being here, Benton.

Good luck the rest of the way.

Delaware Valley, we're coming over to you.

Christopher, what is your favorite music artist, and tell us why.

- My favorite music art artist is Radiohead, and I just like love their music, and I don't know, Tom York's voice is pretty great on those records.

- All right, thanks, Christopher.

Dominic.

- I'm a big Billy Joel fan.

As a piano player myself, the way he writes is just, it's really enjoyable to play and also to listen to.

- No one else is like him.

Nathaniel.

- I'm a big fan of band from the '90s, Counting Crows.

I think their music is very unique, and I love it.

- [Paul] Excellent, thanks Nathaniel, and Jackson.

- I would say mine has to be Edith Piaf.

She has probably the best singing voice of all time in my opinion.

- Thank you, Jackson.

It was very nice to see all of you again.

Let's go ahead and begin the third quarter with this toss-up question in world geography.

Calgary is the third largest city in Canada.

It has the highest number of millionaires per capita of any major Canadian city.

Calgary is in what Canadian province?

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson, DelVal.

- Alberta.

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus.

"The Open Boat" is a short story that was first published in 1898.

It was based on the author's experience of being stranded at sea for some 36 hours after the ship he was on hit a sandbar and sank.

Who wrote this book told from the point of view of a newspaper correspondent?

(buzzer buzzes) - Jack London?

- No, Stephen Crane, Stephen Crane.

Let's go to a toss-up in anatomy now.

These sensory receptors detect changes in muscle length, which allows the brain to detect body positions.

Bag fibers and chain fibers are examples.

What are they?

(buzzer buzzes) Christopher, DelVal.

- Neurons?

- [Paul] Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

(buzzer buzzes) - Nerves?

- That's muscle spindles, muscle spindles.

Our next toss-up is in literature.

Hester Prynne was the protagonist of "The Scarlet Letter."

She's condemned by her Puritan neighbors.

What was Hester Prynne's occupation?

(buzzer buzzes) Isabel, Benton.

- Seamstress?

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus question.

She was murdered in her camp in December 1985 after living in isolation for nearly 18 years with wild gorillas in the mountains of East Central Africa.

Name this American zoologist upon whom the movie "Gorillas in the Mist" was based.

(timer beeps) That's Dian Fossey, Dian Fossey.

Let's go to a toss-up in literature.

William Luce wrote a one-woman play called "The Belle of Amherst" that opened on Broadway in New York City in 1976.

Upon which American poet's life is this play based?

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson, DelVal.

- Sylvia Plath?

- Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

(timer beeps) That's Emily Dickinson, Emily Dickinson.

Let's go to a toss-up now in theater.

In theater, what is it called when an actor or actress who's being considered for a part is given an additional interview?

(buzzer buzzes) Christopher, DelVal.

- Callback?

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus now.

This fireside poet's most famous prose includes the "Breakfast Table" series.

He was also a physician, a lecturer, an inventor, and although he never practiced, was trained in law.

What famous poet wrote the poem "The Chambered Nautilus"?

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson.

- Emerson?

- Is incorrect, we're looking for Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Let's go to a toss-up now in astronomy.

Only 12 people have ever walked on the moon.

The first was Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission.

What Apollo 17 commander was the last person to walk on the moon?

(buzzer buzzes) Christopher, DelVal.

- Michael Collins?

- No, rebound to Benton.

(timer beeps) That's Eugene Cernan.

Here's your next toss-up, and this one's in American history.

The Swanson Company introduced the first TV dinner to American consumers in 1953.

What type of meat was featured in this frozen dinner that was designed to be eaten while watching television?

(timer beeps) (buzzer buzzes) Jackson, Delaware Valley.

- Beef?

- Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

(buzzer buzzes) Daniel.

- Ham.

- Nope, looking for turkey.

That sound that you heard signals the end of the third quarter and another Lightning Round.

This time Delaware Valley will pick first.

Your categories are General Knowledge or Vocabulary.

- General Knowledge we'll take, thank you.

- General Knowledge it is, and your time begins when I finish reading the first question.

It's the letter S. Identify these people, places, or things that begin with the letter S. The oldest permanent town in the United States.

(buzzer buzzes) - St. Augustine, Florida.

- [Paul] Yes, a layer of the Earth's atmosphere.

(buzzer buzzes) - Stratosphere.

- [Paul] Yes, the capital city of the Dominican Republic.

(buzzer buzzes) - Santiago.

- [Paul] San Salvador, a section of a ship having inferior accommodations that's reserved for passengers paying the lowest fares.

(buzzer buzzes) - Steerage.

- [Paul] Yes, the last name of the author who created the character of Frankenstein.

(buzzer buzzes) - Shelley.

- [Paul] Yes, the chemical element whose symbol was derived from the Neo-Latin term natrium.

(buzzer buzzes) - Sulfur?

- [Paul] Sodium, the last name of the 18th century political economist who wrote "The Wealth of Nations."

(buzzer buzzes) - Smith.

- Yes, an instrument that records the strength and duration of earthquakes.

(buzzer buzzes) - Seismograph?

- [Paul] Yes, glands located beneath the hair follicles that supply oil to the skin and the hair.

(buzzer buzzes) - Secretion?

- [Paul] Sebaceous glands, the biologist who developed the oral polio vaccine.

(buzzer buzzes) - Sinclair.

- [Paul] Sabin, the president of Egypt from 1970 to 1981.

(buzzer buzzes) - Skip.

(timer beeps) - That was Anwar Sadat, Anwar Sadat.

All right, Delaware Valley, great job in the Lightning Round.

Benton, we're coming over to you, and your remaining category will be Vocabulary.

And once again, your time begins once I finish reading the first question.

A resident from Illinois is called an Illinoian, and the residents from Minnesota are called Minnesotans.

Tell the name given to the residents from the following states, Missouri.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- [Paul] Missourian, Maine.

(buzzer buzzes) - Mainite?

- [Paul] Mainer, New York.

(buzzer buzzes) - New Yorkers?

- [Paul] Yes, Washington.

(buzzer buzzes) - Washingtonites?

- [Paul] Washingtonian, Wyoming.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- [Paul] Wyomingite, Texas.

(buzzer buzzes) - Texans.

- [Paul] Yes, Rhode Island.

(buzzer buzzes) - Rhode Islanders.

- [Paul] Yes, Nebraska.

(buzzer buzzes) - Nebraskans?

- [Paul] Yes, Florida.

(buzzer buzzes) - Floridian?

- [Paul] Yes, Idaho.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- [Paul] Idahoan, Delaware.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- [Paul] Delawarean, Maryland.

(buzzer buzzes) - Pass.

- That's Marylander.

Okay, Benton, you made up some ground there in that Lightning Round, great job.

After that, we currently have Delaware Valley in the lead over Benton, 145 to 50 as we now begin the last segment of the game with this toss-up question in cinema.

What female director became the second woman in the 93-year history of the Oscars to win the 2021 award for best director for her movie "Nomadland"?

(timer beeps) That's Chloe Zhao.

Let's go to a toss-up in mythology.

Prior to the 1820s, what we knew about Egyptian mythology came from old writings and from other languages.

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson, Delaware Valley.

- The Rosetta Stone?

- Is correct, very good.

Here's your bonus now.

He was romanticized after his death and became the subject of many authors.

He's said to have tied lit fuses under his hat to frighten his enemies.

(buzzer buzzes) - Blackbeard.

- Is correct for your bonus points, DelVal.

Our next toss-up is current events.

On June 5th, 2024, the Starliner, a partially reusable spacecraft, made its first mission with a crew on board.

What company manufactured the Starliner?

(buzzer buzzes) Christopher, DelVal.

- Boeing?

- Is correct, and here comes your bonus.

The painting "The Banjo Lesson" shows a man teaching a young boy how to play the banjo.

The artist captures a sense of modesty and family.

What African American artist painted "The Banjo Lesson" in 1893?

(buzzer buzzes) - John Coltrane.

- No, we're looking for Henry O. Tanner.

Let's go to a toss-up now in literature.

She published her first novel, "East Wind: West Wind" in 1930 and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for her book "The Good Earth."

Name this American novelist who became the first American female to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1938 for her novels about life in China.

(timer beeps) That author was Pearl S. Buck.

Let's go on now to a toss-up in sports.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame has 135 inductees.

It honors both players and other contributors to the sport.

In what Rhode Island city is the International Tennis Hall of Fame located?

(buzzer buzzes) Nathaniel, DelVal.

- Providence?

- Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

- I don't know what it is.

(timer beeps) That's Newport, Newport.

Let's go on now to a toss-up in US geography.

This tributary rises in the Cascade mountains and coast range in West Central Oregon and flows northward before emptying into the Columbia River.

The land in this river valley is one of the richest farmland areas in the state of Oregon.

Name this river that serves as a highway to Portland and that allows small ships to travel as far as Eugene after passing through the locks at the falls.

(buzzer buzzes) Jackson, Delaware Valley.

- The Snake River?

- Is incorrect, rebound to Benton.

- I don't know.

(timer beeps) - That's the Willamette River, the Willamette River.

Here's your next toss-up in mythology.

It was where Thor, Loki, Balder, and Odin lived.

It was fortified and often associated with images- (buzzer buzzes) Jackson, DelVal.

- Asgard?

- Is correct, and your bonus now.

To become a practitioner of this medical specialty requires a minimum of eight years of college, plus longer if you pursue a specialty.

In many respects, they're like a pediatrician since their patients cannot communicate what the problem is or how they feel.

Identify this career choice that requires both an interest in science and a love of animals.

(buzzer buzzes) - Veterinarian?

(timer beeps) - Is correct for your bonus points, DelVal, and that's the end of the game.

And our winner tonight is Delaware Valley over Benton, 185 to 50.

Congratulations, Delaware Valley.

You're going to be moving on, and we'll see you next time with another round of Scholastic Scrimmage.

I'm your host, Paul Lazar, and thank you for watching.

(powerful music) - [Announcer] WVIA's Scholastic Scrimmage was made possible in part by... (inspiring music) - [Narrator] Are you a high school senior or college student trying to further your education?

The Luzerne Foundation can help.

The Luzerne Foundation is a Northeastern Pennsylvania-based community nonprofit that provides over 70 scholarships a year to students.

The Luzerne Foundation, we are here for good.

(upbeat music)