(whistle blows) (upbeat music) ♪ Go ♪ - Welcome to the 18th season of "WVIA 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 one, three, or $5,000.

Tonight's match features Old Forge versus North Pocono.

Representing Old Forge are Davin Hine, Thomas Hedgeland, James Kupetz, and Emma Price.

Their alternates are Connie Lin and Anthony Lin, and their advisor is Maryanne Matushak.

Representing North Pocono are Stephanie Arias, Minerva Coria, Grace Beckish, and Noah Beckish.

Reyna Nemitz and Elizabeth Donovan are their alternates, and their advisor is Christopher Wilbur.

"Scholastic Scrimmage" is a game of rapid recall of factual information, so let's take a minute 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.

What person who was the subject of the elegies "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "O Captain!

My Captain!"

was assassinated in 18- (buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- Abraham Lincoln.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus now, in US elections, what is the term for a system in which locals gather to discuss and vote on candidates, as exemplified by Iowa's nomination process?

(buzzer sounding) - Caucus.

- Is correct for your bonus points, North Pocono.

Now we're going to move on to another toss-up.

What battle, which included clashes at Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights in upstate New York in 1777, motivated France to enter the Revolutionary War?

(buzzer sounding) James, Old Forge?

- The Battle of Saratoga.

- Is correct, (win sound) and here's your bonus question.

In 2022, Barry Sharpless won his second Nobel Prize in what field whose first Nobel winner was Jacobus van 't Hoff?

(beeper sounding) Okay, we were looking for chemistry.

Let's move on to another toss-up, and get those pencils and papers ready.

What is the difference that results from evaluating the expression one half minus two ninths?

(buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- Five eighteenths.

- Is correct, (win sound) and here comes your bonus question now.

A riot occurred at a performance of what author's play, "The Plough and the Stars," which is part of his Dublin trilogy along with "Juno and the Paycock?"

(buzzer sounding) - William Shakespeare.

- No, we were looking for Sean O'Casey.

Let's go to another toss-up question.

What African American director known for being a regular at New York Knicks games depicted a hot day in Bedford-Stuyvesant in "Do the Right Thing?"

(beeper sounding) That is Spike Lee.

Let's go to another toss-up.

What man who conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 1989 at the Berlin Wall is played by Bradley Cooper in the film "Maestro," and wrote "West Side Story?"

(buzzer sounding) Emma, Old Forge?

- Steven Spielberg.

- Is incorrect, rebound to North Pocono?

(beeper sounding) That was Leonard Bernstein.

Let's go to another toss-up.

What process which the Meselson Stahl showed as semi-conservative involves unwinding and copying of a double helix shaped molecule?

(buzzer sounding) Grace, North Pocono?

- Replication?

- Judges?

Be more specific.

Take a guess.

- I'm not sure.

- [Paul] Okay, rebound Old Forge?

(buzzer sounding) Emma?

- DNA replication.

- Is correct for your rebound points, Old Forge.

(win sound) And let's move on now to another toss-up.

What Senator was the only Republican to vote to convict Donald- (beeper sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- Mitt Romney.

- Is correct, (win sound) and here comes your bonus.

What island in Lake Huron, which has almost entirely banned cars, shares its name with a strait between Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas?

(beeper sounding) Okay, that's Mackinaw Island.

(beeper sounding) And that sound that you heard signals the end of the first quarter, and it's now time for the lightning round.

(electrical whoosh) In this segment, each team will have an opportunity to answer as many of the 10 rapid-fire questions as they can in one minute.

Old Forge has won the coin toss and will pick first.

Your categories are polynomials or historical Black Americans.

(buzzer sounding) - Polynomials.

- Polynomials it is, and your time begins after I finish reading the first question.

Answer the following about polynomials.

Output of a polynomial at a root?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Zero.

Maximum number of roots of a quartic?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] That's four.

Quantity equal to B squared minus four AC for quadratics?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Discriminant.

French namesake of a rule of signs for roots?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Rene Decartes.

Function made by dividing one polynomial by another?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- That's rational function.

Term for the largest exponent of the variable in a polynomial?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] That's degree.

Repeated root of X squared plus four X plus four?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Negative two.

Only real root of X to the fifth minus 243?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- That's three.

(beeper sounding) All right, we're not going to get to the rest of those questions.

Old Forge, that's going to do it for your portion of the lightning round.

North Pocono, we're coming over to you, and your remaining category will be historical Black Americans, and again, your time begins after I finish reading the first question.

Name these Black Americans.

Gave the "I Have a Dream" speech?

(buzzer sounding) Noah?

- Martin Luther King.

- [Paul] Be more specific.

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - [Paul] Yes.

Refused to move seats on a Montgomery bus?

(buzzer sounding) - Rosa Parks?

- [Paul] Yes.

Gave the "Ballot or the Bullet" speech, and had a one letter surname?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Malcolm X. NAACP co-founder who wrote "The Souls of Black Folk?"

(buzzer sounding) - W. E. B.

Du Bois.

- [Paul] Yes.

Gave the "Ain't I a Woman" speech?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- Sojourner Truth.

National Rainbow Coalition founder who ran for president in 1988?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] That's Jesse Jackson.

NAACP field secretary murdered in Mississippi in 1963?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- Medgar Evers.

Educator who co-names an HBCU with Alfred Cookman?

(beeper sounding) Okay, that was Mary McLeod Bethune.

And that's going to do it for the lightning round, and after that, we currently have North Pocono in the lead over Old Forge 50 to 20, and we're now going to go ahead and move into the second quarter with this toss-up question.

What leader who, along with Andrew De Moray who won the Battle of Stirling Bridge, was executed in 1305 after leading the Scottish against England?

(beeper sounding) Okay, that was William Wallace.

Here's your next toss-up.

What phenomenon exhibited by ozone and benzene in which delocalized electrons stabilize a molecule is represented by multiple loops?

(buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- Resonance.

- Is correct, (win sound) and here comes your bonus.

What king who was the first monarch of the Tudor Dynasty united the rival Houses of York and Lancaster by marrying Elizabeth of York?

(buzzer sounding) - Henry VII.

- Is correct for your bonus points, North Pocono, great job.

Here's your next toss-up.

What country in which Alberto Nunez Feijoo leads the Opposition People's Party has been governed since 2018 by the PSOE under premier, Pedro Sanchez?

(beeper sounding) That is Spain.

Here's your next toss-up.

What Asian nation has been led by the People's Action Party since it is- (buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- Singapore.

- Is correct, (win sound) and here comes your bonus.

What adjective, which names a branch of math that studies logic and graph theory, also denotes variables that are not continuous?

(buzzer sounding) - Discrete.

- Is correct for your bonus points, North Pocono.

Let's go to another toss-up.

What objects which interact at transform, convergent, and divergent boundaries are massive slabs of rock that make up the Earth's lithosphere?

(buzzer sounding) Grace, North Pocono?

- Continental plates.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus question, what composer's only comic opera was a four hour long work about German troubadours, "The Master Singers of Nuremberg?"

(buzzer sounding) - Mozart.

- Okay, good guess, but we were looking for Richard Wagner.

Here's your next toss-up question.

What novel in which writer F. Alexander plays classical music to punish Alex for an act of ultra violence is a dystopian book by Anthony Burgess?

(buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- "A Clockwork Orange."

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus question, what term taken from the first part of the German word for lightning war refers to the German bombing campaign against England during World War II?

(buzzer sounding) - Blitz.

- Is correct for your bonus points.

Great job, North Pocono.

Here's your next toss-up.

What politician who, upon his 2022 election, endorsed "The Uluru Statement from the Heart" is the current Labor Party prime minister of Australia?

(beeper sounding) That politician is Anthony Albanese.

Here's your next toss-up.

What ocean, whose only US Naval facility lies on the island of Diego Garcia includes the Arabian Sea and the island nation of Sri Lanka?

(buzzer sounding) Grace, North Pocono?

- The Indian Ocean.

- Is correct, (win sound) and here comes your bonus question.

What musician from Minnesota who briefly changed his stage name to an unpronounceable love symbol sang the songs "Raspberry Beret" and "Purple Rain?"

(beeper sounding) Okay, that's Prince.

Let's go onto another toss-up.

What type of biome, whose name comes from the Finnish for a treeless plain is characterized by permafrost and- (buzzer sounding) Grace, North Pocono?

- Tundra.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus question, what law named for a French chemist states that at constant volume, the pressure of a gas is directly proportional to its temperature?

(buzzer sounding) - The law of multiple proportions.

- Is incorrect.

We were looking for Gay-Lussac's law, Gay-Lussac's.

Well, that sound that you heard signals the end of the first half, and we're now going to give our contestants a 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 Old Forge, and Davin, I'll come to you first.

What do you like to do for fun when you're not in class?

- I like making things when I can.

- [Paul] What kind of things?

- Well, not that long ago, I made a desk.

- Oh, okay, cool, real cool, thank you, Davin, Thomas?

- I like to code.

Specifically, I would like to code what he builds, so yeah.

- [Paul] Awesome, James?

- I like playing golf, and I'm also in drama club at school.

- Okay, excellent, thank you, Emma?

- I like to read and draw.

- Okay, thank you very much, Old Forge, and good luck the rest of the way.

North Pocono, coming over to you.

Stephanie, if you wouldn't mind telling us what you'd like to do for fun?

- I like to go swimming and walking my dog.

- [Paul] Okay, thank you, Minerva?

- I like to doodle on various instruments.

- Okay, very cool, Grace?

- I read and write poetry.

- [Paul] Okay, and Noah?

- I like to play Texas Hold'em with my family.

- All right, excellent, very good, and good luck to everybody the rest of the way here.

It was nice to meet all of you.

We'll now go ahead and begin the third quarter with this toss-up question.

What author of the pastoral poem "L'Allegro" sought to justify the ways of God to man by portraying Adam's expulsion from Eden in the epic "Paradise Lost?"

(beeper sounding) That author was John Milton.

Here's your next toss-up.

What man shown in the "Lansdowne portrait" that was saved by slave Paul Jennings during the War of 1812 is also seen in a portrait used on the $1 bill?

(buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- George Washington.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus question, what geometric diagram is often used to show the order of key signatures as sharps and flats, and are added to C major, and is named after an interval?

(buzzer sounding) - Circle of fifths.

- Is correct for your bonus points, North Pocono.

Let's move on to another toss-up, and get your pencils and papers out.

How many hours are needed to fill a three foot by four foot by five foot- (buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- 20.

- Is correct, (win sound) and here's your bonus question.

What US territory formed by a namesake 1787 ordinance prohibited slavery and was eventually converted into states like Ohio and Wisconsin?

(buzzer sounding) - Northwest Territory?

- Is correct for your bonus points, North Pocono, and we'll go on to another toss-up.

What state which contains the eastern portion of Treasure Valley is home to the city of Coeur d'Alene and its panhandle, and is governed from Boise?

(buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- Idaho.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus now, a book of sketches by Leo Tolstoy is named for what Black Sea port that was besieged for 11 months during the Crimean War?

(buzzer sounding) - No answer.

- Okay, we were looking for Sebastopol.

Let's move on to another toss-up.

Holders of what national executive post included a man killed during the Years of Lead by the Red Brigades, Aldo Moro, as well as Silvio Berlusconi?

(beeper sounding) We were looking for prime ministers.

Here's your next toss-up.

What singer, who claims "gravity's holdin' me back" and "in this world, it's just us" in the 2022 song "As It Was," also recorded "Watermelon Sugar?"

(buzzer sounding) Minerva, North Pocono?

- Harry Styles.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus, what monarch oversaw a loss for his country in the Livonian War after 25 years of fighting, and was the first to use the title Czar of all Russia?

(buzzer sounding) - Alexander I.

- Nope, we're looking for Ivan the Terrible, great nickname.

Here comes your next toss-up.

What systems, whose rotation curves gave early evidence of dark matter, may have a central bar of stars, and include Andromeda and the Milky Way?

(buzzer sounding) Grace, North Pocono?

- Spiral galaxies.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus question, the only heart valve with two leaflets is what valve that resembles a bishop's hat?

(buzzer sounding) - Bicuspid valve.

- Is correct for your bonus points, great job.

Our next toss-up question, what character owns a Yankees cap that turns her invisible?

(buzzer sounding) Emma, Old Forge?

- Annabeth Chase.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus question now, the silver cyprinid, known in Swahili as dagaa, and the invasive Nile perch make up the majority of the fish caught in what largest lake in Africa?

(beeper sounding) (buzzer sounding) - Lake Victoria.

- Is correct for your bonus points, Old Forge, and that sound that you heard signals the end of the third quarter and another lightning round.

(electrical whoosh) This time, North Pocono will pick first.

Your categories are NBA playoffs or Adams.

(buzzer sounding) - Adams.

- Adams it is, and your time begins after I finish reading the first question.

Give the first names of these people with the surname Adams, spelled with either one or two Ds.

Second President?

(buzzer sounding) - John Adams.

- [Paul] Yes.

Photographer of Monolith, the Face of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park?

(buzzer sounding) - Mark.

- [Paul] Ansel Adams.

Mayor of New York City elected in 2022?

(buzzer sounding) - Eric.

- [Paul] Yes.

Author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?"

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Douglas.

Daughter of Gomez and Morticia, played on Netflix- (buzzer sounding) - Wednesday.

- [Paul] Yes.

Activist and co-founder of Hull-House?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- Jane.

Actress who starred an "Enchanted" and "Arrival?"

(buzzer sounding) - Jane.

- [Paul] Amy.

Creator of the comic strip, "Dilbert?"

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- That's Scott.

Wife of David Beckham who was in the Spice Girls?

(beeper sounding) That was Victoria.

All right, North Pocono, that's going to do it for your portion of the lightning round.

Old Forge, we're coming over to you, and your remaining category will be NBA playoffs, and once again, your time begins after I finish reading the first question.

Answer the following about the 2023 NBA playoffs.

Mile High City whose Nuggets won?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Denver.

Nuggets center nicknamed the Joker who was finals MVP?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Jokic.

Florida team that lost in the finals?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Miami.

Category in which Anthony Davis led the playoffs with 3.1 per game?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- That's blocks.

Warriors point guard who scored 50 points in a game seven?

(buzzer sounding) - Steph Curry.

- [Paul] Yes.

Celtics Forward who scored 51 points in a game seven?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- That's Jason Tatum.

Greek Freak, injured in very first game?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Antetokounmpo.

Phoenix Guard who led playoffs in points per game?

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

- [Paul] Devin Booker.

Team with LeBron James that lost in the conference finals?

(buzzer sounding) - Lakers.

- [Paul] Yes.

Team with Mikal Bridges, swept by the 76ers in the first round.

(buzzer sounding) - Pass.

(beeper sounding) - That was the Brooklyn Nets, and that's going to do it for the lightning round, and after that, we currently have a score of North Pocono over Old Forge 205 to 45, and we'll now go ahead and begin the last quarter of the game with this toss-up question.

What genus is known to have contained the species bodoensis, rhodesiensis, luzonensis, heidelbergensis, Denisova, habilis, erectus, and sapiens?

(buzzer sounding) Minerva, North Pocono?

- Oh no, homo?

- Is correct, (win sound) and here's your bonus question.

In 2023, what Asian country began to abolish an unusual age counting system in which a two day old baby can conceivably be- (buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- South Korea.

- Is correct for your bonus points, and let's move on now to another toss-up.

What materials in which holes can be created via doping with impurities include silicon, and have conductivities between insulators and- (buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- Semiconductors.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus question, Vincent van Gogh used a chrome pigment in a series of paintings of vases containing what plants intended as decoration for the Yellow House?

(buzzer sounding) - Sunflowers.

- Is correct for your bonus points, North Pocono, and here's your next toss-up.

What sculpture discovered in 1820 near an island in the Aegean Sea is believed to depict a goddess of love, and is missing both of its arms?

(buzzer sounding) Grace, North Pocono?

- Aphrodite.

- [Paul] Be more specific.

- No answer.

- All right, rebound to Old Forge?

(beeper sounding) Okay, that was the "Venus de Milo" we were looking for.

Here's our next toss-up.

What Auckland native joined an expedition led by John Hunt on which he and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the top of Mount Everest?

(buzzer sounding) Grace, North Pocono?

- No answer.

- Okay, rebound to Old Forge?

(beeper sounding) Okay, that was Sir Edmund Hillary.

Let's move on to another toss-up.

What river, whose islands include Grande Jatte, empties into the English Channel near Le Havre, and is spanned by the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris?

(buzzer sounding) Noah, North Pocono?

- Rhine River.

Is incorrect, rebound to Old Forge?

(beeper sounding) That river is the Seine River.

Let's go to another toss-up.

What author wrote about a coal miner strike in "Germinal," an 1885 French novel, and defended soldier Alfred Dreyfus in the open letter, "J'accuse?"

(beeper sounding) That was Emile Zola.

Our next toss-up, what term can refer to an organism such as a mosquito that spreads disease, or to a quantity such as velocity with both magnitude and- (buzzer sounding) Grace, North Pocono?

- Vector.

- Is correct, (win sound) and your bonus question, what Trojan prince was abducted by Zeus from Mount Ida and taken to Olympus to serve as the cup bearer to the gods?

(buzzer sounding) - Ganymede.

- Is correct for your bonus points, North Pocono, and we have another toss-up question.

What agreement which begins with the phrase, "in the name of God, amen" was signed on a ship in 1620 before settlers landed at Plymouth colony?

(buzzer sounding) Davin, Old Forge?

- Is that the Mayflower Compact?

- It is indeed, (win sound) and here comes your bonus question.

Cities on what island, (beeper sounding) which is the world's most populous, includes Serang and Jakarta?

(buzzer sounding) - Java.

- Is correct for your bonus points, Old Forge.

And that's the end of the game, and our winner tonight is North Pocono over Old Forge, 250 to 60.

Congratulations to North Pocono.

You are 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 thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) (music continues)