This week on Granite State Challenge, the Wildcats of Fall Mountain Regional High School... take on the Purple Panthers of Nashua South!

Only one team will advance.

Granite State Challenge starts now.

Major funding for the production of Granite State Challenge is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by Safety Insurance, NEA New Hampshire, and viewers like you.

Thank you!

Get ready.

It's time for New Hampshire high schools to match wits in a high-stakes scholastic showdown.

It's time for Granite State Challenge!

Here's your host, Jon Cannon!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the 44th season of Granite State Challenge.

Our season started back in November when dozens of teams from around the state competed in our test-in Super Saturday Challenge.

And of those, 16 are here for this year's tournament.

Let's introduce to you the two teams we have playing this week.

First up, we have the team from Fall Mountain Regional High School.

Hi, my name is Ben.

I'm a senior.

My name is Lennon.

I’m a senior.

My name is Josh.

I'm a senior.

My name is Riley.

I'm a junior.

Their alternates are juniors Keegan and Nate, and the team is coached by social studies teacher Nick Belsky.

And they're the team from Fall Mountain Regional High School.

And their opponent this week is the team from Nashua South.

I'm Henry, and I'm a senior.

I'm Eric, and I'm also a senior.

I'm Thanasi, and I’m also a senior.

I'm Charlie, and I'm a sophomore.

Their alternates are senior Jerry and sophomore Lexi, and the team is coached by social studies teacher Lex Duval and English teacher Kelli Thornhill-Telerski.

And that's the team from Nashua South.

Those are our teams this week, but we do have one more introduction for you.

Back with us again for our 44th season is our beloved judge Ann Boulanger.

[applause] All right, teams, introductions are out of the way.

Go ahead and grab those signaling devices.

We're going to play some Granite State challenge As you know, and as you know at home, we play in 4 rounds, and in round one we do 10-point toss-up questions.

So, Fall Mountain and Nashua South, good luck!

Here we go.

The Olympic Games were first held in ancient Greece, probably in 776 BC, to honor this Greek god and were later held every Olympiad, or four years.

Thanasi of Nashua South?

Zeus.

That's right.

This Chicago Bulls shooting guard and small forward widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time costarred with Bugs Bunny in Space Jam.

Josh of Fall Mountain?

Michael Jordan.

Yes.

Nope, that was correct.

We'll give it to you.

You will find Mario, Luigi, and Bowser in this video game franchise.

Eric of Nashua South?

Mario.

Yeah.

Mario Brothers is right.

This cartoon cat hates Mondays, and Nermal loves lasagna and pizza and barely tolerates Odie the dog.

Ben of Fall Mountain?

Garfield.

Yes.

Teams, what is a combination of two or more elements chemically- bonded together called?

Riley of Fall Mountain?

A compound.

That's right.

Teams, what is cetology the study of?

Cetology is the study of whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

All right, teams, Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Bach’s Brandenburgs are examples of this type of musical composition written for one or more soloists and an orchestra.

Lennon of Fall Mountain?

A symphony.

Sorry, no.

Nashua South?

Henry?

A concerto.

A concerto is right.

This author wrote The Awakening, an 1899 novel about Edna Pontellier’s struggle for independence in 19th-century society.

Eric of Nashua South?

Wharton?

Sorry, no.

Fall Mountain?

No talking.

Sorry.

It is Kate Chopin.

All right, teams, we got our first math question of the season.

You've got some paper and pencil there for you.

I want you to find the area of a parallelogram with a base 8 and height 5.

Henry of Nashua South?

40.

That's right.

Our next question is our Unitil Power Question.

It's worth double the points, so a 20-point toss-up question coming to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hi, I'm Amanda Vicinanzo with Unitil, and here is your Power Question.

He is a British spy and an international man of mystery.

Eric of Nashua South?

James Bond.

Sorry, no.

Riley of Fall Mountain.

Benedict Arnold.

Nope, sorry.

We're looking at the Power Question, remember?

It is Austin Powers that’s who we were looking for.

That's all right.

We do have another math question for you to write up.

All right.

Demoted planet Pluto was discovered in 1930.

It takes 248 years for it to complete and orbit around the sun.

Since its discovery, barring some yet unknown scientific discovery to extend human life, we will all be dead when that occurs in this year... Charlie?

2178.

Yes.

Correct.

All right, teams.

The name of this U.S.

river that flows from Minnesota to Louisiana is fun to spell.

Spell its name.

Eric of Nashua South?

M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.

You got it.

Teams, in what sport will you find a bogey, a birdie, and an eagle?

Ben a Fall Mountain?

Golf.

You would.

You may know this artist from her award- winning songs bad guy and What Was I Made For?

Lennon of Fall Mountain?

Billie Eilish.

Correct.

This platform which allows users to post photos and stories is owned by Meta, which purchased it in 2012.

Josh of Fall Mountain?

Instagram.

Yes.

All right, teams.

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, we present our Semiquincentennial question This is a 25-point toss-up question coming to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hello.

I'm teacher and author John Herman, and I have a question for you.

These April 19th, 1775, battles inspired the phrase The shot heard round the world.

Thanasi of Nashua South?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord.

That is correct.

Corrosion and combustion are both examples of this type of chemical reaction that releases energy in the form of heat or light.

Those are the exothermic reactions.

All right, teams, take another look at your monitors.

This author is known for writing adventure stories such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.

Eric of Nashua South.

Washington Irving.

Correct.

This rapper was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1997.

He had posthumous hits with the songs Hypnotize and Mo Money Mo Problems.

Thanasi of Nashua South?

Tupac Shakur.

Sorry, no.

Fall Mountain?

Biggie Smalls.

Got to ring in.

Riley of Fall Mountain?

Biggie Smalls.

Yes.

Biggie Smalls, the Notorious B.I.G.

In a 1997 heavyweight championship match, this boxer bit off a chunk of his opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear.

Riley of Fall Mountain.

Mike Tyson.

Correct.

This artist, considered the first professional American painter, is known for portraits of colonial leaders and has a famous square in Boston named after him.

Eric of Nashua South?

Copley.

Yes.

John Singleton Copley is right.

And that sound ends the round.

And after a quick-paced, fast-paced round, it looks like Nashua South is out to a bit of a lead.

[applause] Great job, teams.

We’ll keep it up.

But we're going to take a break in the action and get to know our players a little bit between this round and the next round, and we're going to start with the team from Fall Mountain Regional High School.

Fall Mountain Regional High School serves a number of towns from Sullivan and Cheshire counties... about 490 students.

And of that number, this team is made up of these four and they're alternates.

We're going to start with Riley down here at the end.

Now Riley, you have a hobby, a passion for racing.

What do you race?

I race go-karts.

Okay, so I find this really fascinating.

How did you get into racing go-karts?

It’s been like a family thing for a long time.

My dad has done it for a long time.

His dad did it.

And like, it’s a family thing.

Okay, so it's a whole family thing.

Who's the best in the family?

Me.

You are the best in the family?

I think I’m the best, yeah.

[chuckling] Do they think you're the best, too?

Um... maybe.

Yeah.

Yeah, well, you've got a lot of time to show them who's the best in the family.

Good luck.

Keep it up.

All right.

Joining Riley is Josh, who is an Olympic gold medalist.

But maybe in a different Olympics than those you're familiar with.

Go ahead and tell us.

So, at our school, the day before winter break, we do what we call a candy cane Olympics where we have these makeshift Olympic Games centered around Christmas things and candy canes... Sounds fun.

And what are you a gold medalist in?

Snowball toss, which is just a basketball arcade game.

Okay.

And candy cane canyoning.

Okay.

And what is that?

There's a cup taped to the edge of a table, and you get a candy cane and a string.

Gotta drop it in a cup.

Gotcha.

All right, well, congratulations on your gold medals.

All right.

Joining Josh is Lennon, who, during the lockdown of Covid, had a mission.

And what was your mission?

To perfect Animal Crossing.

All right, so Animal Crossing is a video game.

It's on, you know, the Switch and things like that.

And why did you choose to try to perfect it?

Well, early on, my sisters and my dad began playing it, and they would always talk in the morning about, Oh, I hit this certain goal or achievement.

And I am a rather competitive person, so I decided to try my hardest to get the game and perfect it before them.

Gotcha.

So, not out of love, but out of spite.

Out of spite.

All right.

Fantastic!

All right.

And the captain of the team is Ben, who also is heavily invested in a video game.

Tell us about it.

So, on FIFA, or FC 26 now, I play a lot of manager/ career mode.

I manage a team.

I started them out in the lowest English leagues and helped them get promoted.

Gotcha.

So, you have been sort of creating in this video game a soccer or an English football team.

What league have you gotten your team up to so far?

Right now, we're in EFL Championship, which is the second-highest division there.

Gotcha.

All right.

And how many hours does it take to sort of get a team like that?

Does it take a lot?

Or are you just a good manager?

I've gone up in a short amount of seasons, but I'm like maybe 20 hours into the current one I’m doing.

All right, fantastic.

Excellent.

Well, hope the team does well, and I hope this team does well.

The team from Fall Mountain Regional High School!

[applause] All right.

And their opponent this week is the team from Nashua South.

Nashua South, of course, is in Nashua, New Hampshire.

It has an enrollment of 1,635 students.

And among them, we're going to start down here at the end with Charlie.

Now, Charlie, you are not the only member of your family on this team.

Yes.

My brother Henry is also here.

Okay.

So, older brother Henry is the captain.

All right.

So, maybe captain in waiting over here.

Has your brother given you any good advice on how to do well on Granite State Challenge?

Yeah, he’s given me the whole rundown... some of the patterns that are on the show, how it works.

And I've also gotten to watch him play before, so I know how it works.

All right.

It's good to have a supportive older sibling to help you.

Excellent.

All right.

Next up is the Thanasi.

Now, Thanasi, the first question in the show today was about ancient Greece, a subject you’re familiar with.

Tell us.

You could say I'm quite familiar.

I placed fourth with my brothers on a team at the AHEPA International Hellenic History Tournament this past summer.

And this past November, we won the northeast tournament again, so we'll be heading to the international competition again next summer.

So, this is a tournament to celebrate Greek history.

So, you got fourth last year, and you're already in the pipeline to compete again this year, hoping to do better than fourth?

Yes.

What are you hoping for?

We're hoping for first, obviously.

That’s right!

Always out to get it.

Excellent.

Well, good luck with that.

Thank you, Jon.

You’re welcome.

All right.

Eric!

Also a gamer but likes to play... is it a card game with your family?

It’s a card game.

Okay.

What’s it called?

It’s called Avalon.

And we talked a little bit earlier... the goal of the game, you have sort of villains and you have good guys.

And so, is the goal of the good guys to figure out who the villains are?

No.

The goal of the good guys is to pass the missions.

Oh, okay.

So, you get missions, and the goal of the bad guys is to do what?

To fail the mission.

To sabotage the missions.

Okay, so given the choice, are you a good guy or a villain?

I prefer to be a good guy.

You prefer to be a good guy.

Well, that's probably a good thing.

That probably says a lot about you.

Excellent, Eric.

All right.

And team captain Henry is a football fan, but unlike most of us in the New England region, you're a fan of what team?

The Buffalo Bills.

Go Bills!

Okay, so a Buffalo Bills fan.

How’d you become a Buffalo Bills fan?

Is this a choice?

I was born into it.

My mom is from just outside Rochester, New York, so, naturally, I have to support the Bills.

Gotcha.

And have you had the chance to go to any Bills games?

Yes, I've actually been to six.

Okay.

Is it crazy as we are told that it is.

Oh, yeah.

Have you broken any tables yet?

Not yet, but maybe one day.

The day is coming, everybody!

And that is the team from Nashua South!

[applause] All right, teams.

Excellent!

We're going to move right on into round two.

And, of course, round two is our three strikes and you're out round.

And the way that this works is we go player by player down the line.

Each player gets a question.

All right.

If you get it correct, we give you 10 points.

If you don't, no big deal.

We keep going until all ten questions are asked or until three strikes and you're out.

And just so you know, each team has three passes.

So, if you don't know the answer, you can pass it to your teammate next to you.

All right.

So, we start with Fall Mountain because we do this alphabetically.

And Ben, we'll start with you.

This is your question.

This singer performed her hit song Umbrella at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show.

Taylor Swift.

It is Rihanna.

Lennon.

This singer was selected as the headline act for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.

Bad Bunny.

Correct.

Josh, this bunny in Alice in Wonderland was late for a very important date.

It is the White Rabbit.

Riley.

This director, known for films like Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, directed a 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland.

Tim Burton.

Correct.

Ben, Tim Cook is the CEO of this tech company.

Pass.

Pass to Lennon.

Pass.

Pass to Josh.

Apple.

Apple is correct.

Riley, captain James Cook mapped the coasts of Australia and this nation once led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Pass.

Pass to Ben.

New Zealand.

New Zealand is correct.

Lennon.

This Oscar-winning trilogy was filmed at over 150 locations in New Zealand.

Lord of the Rings.

Correct.

Josh.

The ring-tailed lemur is only found in this country.

Australia.

Sorry.

It is Madagascar.

And that is three strikes.

And that ends your round.

[applause] All right.

Fall Mountain picked up some points there.

Nashua South, we turn our attention to you.

And Henry, we'll start with you.

This is your question.

This singer once wore a dress made of meat on the red carpet of the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

Lady Gaga.

Correct.

Eric.

The first artist to win Video of the Year twice is this artist who won in 2000 for The Real Slim Shady and in 2002 for Without Me.

Eminem.

Correct.

Thanasi.

First sold in 1941, M&M candies were promoted by saying they melt in your mouth and not [here].

It is in your hand.

Charlie.

The song Hand Jive was featured in the high school dance scene in this film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

It is Grease.

Up to you, Henry.

Greek mathematician Pythagoras is known for a famous theorem about right ones of these.

Triangles.

Correct.

Eric.

Martin Short played the triangle-playing character Ed Grimley on the Canadian comedy series Second City TV and, later on, this famous American late-night series.

Saturday Night Live.

That is correct.

Thanasi.

This Manchester West graduate was a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2014.

Pass.

Pass to Charlie.

Pass.

Pass to Henry.

Adam Sandler.

Sorry.

We were looking for Seth Meyers on that one.

And that is your third strike, and ends your round.

[applause] All right.

Things tightening up a bit after round two.

We're going to roll right into round three.

And I would like to invite the alternates to come on up and join their teams for the 60-second round.

In the 60-second round, we give each team 10 questions in a category.

We'll give you 10 points for each correct response and a bonus of 10 if you get them all correct.

And we'll start with the team trailing right now, which is Fall Mountain.

So, Ben, you can talk to your team and decide from these three categories.

We have Fiddle Dee Dee, Toe the Line, and Great Scott.

We'll take Toe the Line.

Toe the Line, okay.

In this category, the answers to all of the following will include the word line.

Okay?

So, 60 seconds on the clock.

Ben, I'll take your answer as the team answer.

Good luck.

Here we go.

A defensive position in football who plays behind the defensive linemen.

Offensive line.

Sorry.

It’s linebacker.

A 1956 song by Johnny Cash about resisting temptation and being faithful.

[whispering] I walk the line.

I walk the line.

Correct.

Where you might stand after you’ve committed a crime... Pass.

Is a police lineup.

This separates the north from the south.

[whispering] Equator line.

Equator line.

It is the Mason-Dixon Line.

This carries electricity to your home.

Power line.

Correct.

What the name of a reporter is called in a newspaper article.

Pass.

It is the byline.

Highlighting, makeup, pencil, or brush.

[whispering] Eyeliner.

Eyeliner.

Correct.

What Delta, Spirit, and American are.

[whispering] Airline.

Airline.

Yes.

A beachy idiom for the point you will not move beyond... Pass.

Is a line in the sand.

And what you call the title of a newspaper article.

Headline.

Headline is correct.

And so, we will add those all up.

And 5 out of 10 on your 60-second round.

[applause] Go ahead and stay there, alternates.

We’ll wait and move over to Nashua South now.

And Henry, you can talk to your team and you can choose from our remaining two categories, Fiddle Dee Dee, or Great Scott.

[whispering] Fiddle Dee Dee it will be.

All right.

Nashua South, the answers to all of the following will either include the word fiddle or be related to the word fiddle.

Okay?

So, Henry, again, I'll take your answer as the team answer.

You have 60 seconds.

Here we go.

He is said to have played his fiddle while Rome burned.

Nero.

Nero.

Correct.

She famously said fiddle dee dee in Gone with the Wind.

Scarlett O'Hara.

Correct.

Who played the fiddle in the nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle ?

The cat.

Yes.

Tevye sang about being a rich man in this musical.

Fiddler on the Roof.

Fiddler on the Roof.

Correct.

This could be a term for nonsense or a caramel or toffee-covered popcorn snack.

Pass.

It is Fiddle Faddle.

This is what the curled fronds of a young fern are called.

Fiddleheads.

Yes.

The males of this species have one claw that is much larger than the other.

Fiddler crabs.

Yes.

Charlie Daniels had a hit with this song about a fiddle contest with the devil.

The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

Correct.

What some not in a primary role could be called.

Pass.

Second fiddle.

And what you might call someone in great shape.

Fit as a fiddle.

Fit as a fiddle is correct.

And we'll add those all up.

And at the end of your round, 6 out of 10 on your 60-second round.

[applause] Excellent job, teams.

Alternates, thank you so much.

You can go ahead and take your seats as we move on to round 4.

Oh, you got 8 out of 10.

Sorry!

8 out of 10.

I misheard.

I apologize.

All right, alternates.

Go ahead and take your seats as we get ready for round 4.

In round 4, we're going to continue with our toss-up questions, but we're going to double the point value to 20 points.

We're also going to be deducting 20 points for incorrect responses.

So, still a tight match.

Fall Mountain, Nashua South, good luck and let's go.

Teams, what symbol is Hester Prynne forced to wear in The Scarlet Letter?

Henry of Nashua South?

A red A .

The letter A is correct.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney has said that one of his favorite albums is Pet Sounds by this band.

Eric of Nashua South?

Beach Boys.

The Beach Boys is right.

This traditional dance of Hawaii is often performed with grass skirts and captivating storytelling movements.

Charlie of Nashua South?

Hula.

Hula is right.

The first representative assembly in the American colonies was the House of Burgesses, established in 1619.

In 1776, it became the House of Delegates, which is currently the lower house of the General Assembly of this state.

Ben of Fall Mountain?

Virginia.

Right.

Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations had a sexagesimal number system, which are the foundation for the way we measure time and angles.

What base is a sexagesimal number system?

Thanasi of Nashua South?

Six.

Sorry, no.

Fall Mountain?

Raise it by a power of ten.

It's 60.

Six-zero.

All right, teams, this 1923 silent film starring Lon Chaney as a disfigured bell- ringer was based on an 1831 novel by Victor Hugo.

It's the Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

All right, teams, our next question is a video question from New Hampshire's newly-inaugurated Kid Governor coming to you on your monitors.

Take a look.

Hi.

I'm Liv Crete-Sayer, the New Hampshire Kid Governor, and here's my question for you.

In 1924, Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman elected to be the governor of a state.

What state did she become the governor of?

She was the governor of the great state of Wyoming.

All right, teams, what dinosaur's name translates to tyrant lizard king in English?

Ben of Fall Mountain?

That is right.

This organelle, which generates most of a cell's energy through cellular respiration is known as the powerhouse of the cell.

Henry of Nashua South?

The mitochondria.

Yes.

All right, teams, go ahead and take another look at your monitors.

This ambush predator with a triangular head and large, bulging eyes may look devout, but it's just waiting to snatch up its prey.

Charlie of Nashua South?

Praying mantis.

Correct.

Who wrote Leaves of Grass, a groundbreaking poetry collection celebrating democracy and the human spirit.

Eric of Nashua South?

Whitman.

Walt Whitman is right.

Some people think that this highly-classified United States Air Force facility in Nevada holds proof of aliens that have visited Earth.

Thanasi of Nashua South?

Area 51.

Correct.

And that sound ends the game!

And a strong late push by Nashua South seals the victory as they will move on to the next round!

[applause] Congratulations, Nashua South.

We'll see you in a few weeks when you take the winner of our next game between the Bedford High School Bulldogs and the Souhegan Sabers.

And Fall Mountain, congratulations on your wild card victory.

Tough loss today, but we had fun having you here.

We hope you had fun as well.

And we hope you had fun as well watching at home.

We do hope you join us next time to see that game between Bedford and Souhegan.

But that's going to do it for us this week.

And as I like to say, I learned something and I hope you did as well.

We'll see you next time.

[applause] Major funding for the production of Granite State Challenge is provided by Unitil.

Additional funding provided by Safety Insurance, NEA New Hampshire, and viewers like you.

Thank you!