(intense lively music) (drum rolls) - We have one slot left in the semi-finals, which means only one of today's teams will move on for the chance for $1,000.

In today's match, we have the Warriors of Wells High School (drum beats) (music intensifies) taking on the Rams of Cony High School.

That's next on High School Quiz Show Maine.

(funky groove music) - [Narrator] Production support for High School Quiz Show Maine is provided by, energy is about more than just keeping the lights on, it's about living life as parents, friends, and teammates, Unitil is proud to support High School Quiz Show Maine, Unitil, more than a utility, part of your community.

- [Narrator] Safety Insurance is committed to environmental sustainability, and supports many local charities.

You can ask an independent agent about auto, home, and business coverage from Safety Insurance.

Safety Insurance will help you manage life's storms.

- [Narrator] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(Funky groove music) - Welcome to High School Quiz Show Maine, I'm Todd Gutner, there's just one spot left in the semi-finals as we move closer to the championship and the $1,000 prize.

We have two veteran teams who haven't made it to the championship yet, but hope that this is their year to wear the crown.

The Warriors of Wells High School made it here by defeating Noble of North Berwick, and they'll take on the Rams of Coney High School in Augusta, who won their match against Falmouth High School.

Let's get things going by meeting the team.

(funky groove music) For Wells, we have Grady, William Indie and Sam, with alternates John and Mason, and coached by Anne Bechon.

And for Coney we have Ted, Saber, Isaac, and Sam, with alternates Bea and Claire, and coached by Steven Scoville.

Now, the competition has three rounds, the tossup round, the category round, and that fun lightning round.

We'll start with the tossup round, all answers are worth 10 points, and this is the only round with no point deductions for wrong answers.

Players must wait for me to complete the question, and if one team answers incorrectly, the other team will be given a chance to answer.

All right teams, Coney, Wells, good luck to both of you, we're getting off and running here with the first question.

Portland is the seat of which county that is the most populous county in Maine?

(bell dings) Isaac, Coney.

- Cumberland County.

- Cumberland County is right.

By definition, an equestrian sport involves the participation of what four-legged animal?

(bell dings) Grady, Wells.

- Horse.

- Horse is also right.

To raise money for anti-censorship causes, in 2022, author Margaret Atwood auctioned an unburnable copy of what dystopian novel?

(bell dings) Sam, Wells.

- "The Handmaid's Tale."

- "The Handmaid's Tale" is right.

An Inuit word for man's boat, or boat made from skins, gives us the name of what watercraft that's usually propelled by one person using a double-bladed paddle?

(bell dings) Isaac, Coney.

- Canoe.

That's incorrect.

Wells?

(bell dings) Take a shot.

Go for it, Indie.

- Kayak.

- Kayak is the correct answer.

Next we have a picture question, please look at the monitor right there.

The question is, name this waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa that provides habitat to several unique species, and is one of the world's largest waterfalls, with a width of 5,604 feet.

(bell dings) William, Wells.

- Victoria.

- Victoria is correct, Victoria Falls, yep.

The word genotype refers to genetic traits passed to an organism from its parents, what similar word refers to the observable characteristics of that organism?

(bell dings) Indie, Wells.

- Phenotype.

- Phenotype is also right.

In 1519, what explorer began an expedition to sail around the world?

One of his ships eventually made the whole journey, but he died along the way.

(bell dings) William, Wells.

- Ferdinand Magellan.

- Magellan is correct.

In French it's jaune, in Spanish it's amarillo, what's the English name for this color?

(bell dings) Sam.

- Yellow.

- Yellow is right.

A 1939 alliance signed by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini is known as the pact of what?

(bell dings) Sam, Coney.

- Steel.

- Steel is right.

Up next, we have a video question, once again, the monitor's right there.

- Hi, my name's Don Jalbert, and I'm the librarian at the Raymond Geiger Elementary School in Lewiston.

In the children's books written and illustrated by Norman Bridwell, what is the name of the 25-foot-tall red dog featured as the main character of each story?

(bell dings) - Isaac Coney.

- Clifford.

- Clifford, of course, yeah.

Clifford the red dog.

In robotics, what two-word term refers to the boundary of space in which a robot is able to perform operations or tasks?

(buzzer sounds) Work envelope is the answer.

A 2011 sci-fi novel by Andy Weir tells the story of Mark Watney, an astronaut left behind on a fictional NASA mission to what planet?

(bell dings) Ted, Coney.

- Mars.

- Mars is right.

Next question, what mysterious British contemporary artist painted "Devolved Parliament," depicting the House of Commons populated by chimpanzees?

(bell dings) Ted, Coney.

- Banksy.

- Banksy is right.

Of these South American capital cities, which is farthest south, Brasilia, Brazil, Santiago, Chile, or Bogota, Columbia?

(bell dings) We'll go over to Wells, William.

- Santiago.

- Santiago is right.

All right, any non-zero number raised to the zero power always equals what?

(bell dings) Ted, Coney.

- One.

- One is correct.

In 2022, the Bach Long bridge in Vietnam set a Guinness World Record as the longest bridge with a surface made from what material?

(bell dings) Isaac, Coney.

- Bamboo.

- Bamboo's incorrect.

Wells, you have a chance.

(bell dings) (buzzer sounds) William got in.

- Steel.

- Also incorrect.

Glass is the right answer.

Located at 60.56 degrees north latitude, Mount Logan, in the St. Elias Mountains, is the highest peak in which country?

(bell dings) William, Wells.

- Canada.

- Yes, Canada's right.

What six-letter word from the Greek for "arrange together" refers to the manner in which words are placed in order to form a sentence?

(bell dings) William, Wells, again.

- Syntax.

- You got it right again.

The Long Walk, which took place mainly in 1864, was a campaign to force what Indigenous American people out of their homeland in Northern Arizona and New Mexico.

(bell dings) Indie, Wells.

- Apache.

Incorrect.

Coney.

(bell dings) Go ahead, Isaac.

- Navajo.

- That's correct.

Here's our next question, in the animated film "The Emperor's New Groove," Emperor Cusco is turned into what kind of South American mammal?

(bell dings) William, Wells.

- A llama.

- Llama is right.

Who is most likely to engage in collective bargaining, buyers at an art auction, investors in the stock market, or members of a labor union?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Ted.

- Members of a labor union.

- You got it right.

Here's our next question, Joy Harjo, Natasha Tretheway and Gwendolyn Brooks are among people who have been appointed by the Librarian of Congress to what position?

(buzzer sounds) Poet Laureate is the answer.

In the TV series Yellow Jackets, Shauna, Taissa, Nat and Jackie are high school athletes competing in what sport?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Grady.

- Softball.

Softball's incorrect.

Coney, you wanna take a shot?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Saber.

- Cheerleading.

- Incorrect, it's soccer, is the right answer.

Thomas Cole, Frederick Church and Asher Duran were 19th-century painters known for their landscapes of the area around what river in New York State?

(bell dings) Saber.

- Hudson.

- Hudson is right.

All right, we've got a math question, you got your pencils there, get 'em ready.

330 students graduated from Fictional High School in 2021, and 420 students graduated from the same school in 2022, rounded to the nearest whole number, what was the percentage increase in graduates from Fictional High School between 2021 and 2022?

(bell dings) William, Wells.

- 30.

- That is incorrect.

Go ahead Coney, if you want.

(buzzer sounds) 0.27, or 27%, is the answer.

All right, sounds like some of you were close.

Currently serving 46 states, the District of Columbia, and three Canadian provinces, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation is better known by what six-letter name?

(bell dings) Saber, Coney.

- Amtrak.

- Amtrak is right.

After 20 years in space, what space probe exhausted its fuel and made a planned dive into Saturn's atmosphere in September, 2017?

(buzzer sounds) Cassini, Cassini.

Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. are members of what Irish rock band?

(bell dings) Go ahead, William.

- U2.

- U2, you nailed it.

In Chinese folklore, what animal lives on the moon and grinds herbs for medicine?

(bell dings) (buzzer sounds) Someone got in.

Saber, go ahead.

- A fox.

- That's incorrect.

Wells?

(buzzer sounds) Rabbit is the answer, rabbit.

What general commanded the Union's Army of the Potomac that defeated Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

(bell dings) William, Wells.

- Ulysses Grant.

- Incorrect.

Go over to Coney.

(bell dings) Ted.

- Medford.

- George G. Meade, Meade is the answer.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in what Ohio City where the American Professional Football Association was founded in 1920?

(bell dings) Sam, Coney.

- Canton.

- Canton is correct.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "In Cold Blood" are works by what 20th-century American author?

(bell dings) - Ted, Coney.

- Truman Capote.

- Yes, you got it.

(alarm rings) Ooh, just in time too, it seems.

All right, oh, we got a great match here, we've got a tie, Wells, 120, Coney, 120.

Great start to our quarter final rounds, we'll be back to meet the players right after this.

(funky groove music) We're back and we've got a tied match, but before we head to the category round, we'd like to pause and get to know our players with a silly question.

What mashup of two movies would you like to see, and what would you call it?

We'll begin over here.

Wells, go ahead Grady.

- So my movie's called "Beetlejuice," and it's Michael Keaton on the yellow submarine.

(Todd laughs) - He did do a movie "Beetlejuice."

- Yep, fair enough, yeah.

- Yep, he did, and it's a classic, it's a great, great movie.

All right, William?

- I think I gotta go with a mashup of "Star Wars" and "Avengers," you know?

So you get like this huge universe now of just infinite options.

- It goes on forever, you know, for infinity and beyond.

- Yes.

- I like it, William, I like where you're going.

- Indie.

- All right, probably a mix of "Goonies" and "National Treasure," I'd call it "Treasure Hunters."

- Oh, So Goonies is probably in my top five, it's one of my all-time favorites, 'cause I kind of grew up with it.

Great choice, Indie.

Go ahead, Sam.

- I'm gonna do "Jurassic Park," and I know it's not a movie, but "Parks and Rec," I'm gonna do "Jurassic Parks and Rec."

- "Jurassic Parks and Rec."

"Parks and Rec," one of my faves, "Jurassic Park," great movie too.

All right, Coney.

Go ahead Ted, what do you got?

- I'm gonna have to do a mix of "Star Wars" and "Halloween," and it'll be called "Tatooine Light Saber Incident."

(Todd laughs) - Yeah, and it's gonna end with lots of blood and guts, you know Michael Myers is gonna win in the end, he's got to.

- Yep, yep.

Go ahead, Saber.

- I'm thinking "Diehard" and "A Christmas Carol," to solidify it as a Christmas movie.

- Thank you, Saber, 'cause it is a Christmas movie, "Diehard" is a Christmas movie, we gotta get that going.

Isaac, Cony.

- Gonna have to say "Rambo" and "Home Alone," and I'm gonna call it "Rambo: Last Christmas," (Todd chortles) - Sylvester Stallone would mess things up, wouldn't he?

- Especially with Macaulay Culkin in the scene.

- Yes, yes, this would be excellent, we gotta make that happen.

All right Sam, wrap this up for us.

- "Saving Private Ryan" and "Jaws."

- Ooh, what's it called?

- "Saving Private Jaws."

- Okay.

- There's a shark working in the US Army for some reason.

- Yeah, well that would be some sort of, you know, mass weapon of destruction, right?

(laughs) For sure.

All right, that was fun.

Thanks, Wells and Cony.

The category round is next, but let's see how well you do with our viewer question of the week.

(funky groove music) - Hi, I'm Alec Romero from Unitil, and this is your Maine question of the week.

Which American city is named for a Maine City as the result of a coin toss, (agitated music) Is it Presque, Wisconsin, Rumford, Rhode Island, or Portland, Oregon?

We'll have the answer later in the show.

- Welcome back, next up is the category round, with the following choices, Into the Woods, Once Upon a Mattress, Oklahoma, Rock of Ages, They're Playing Our Song, and Be More Chill.

Questions have increasing point values, and wrong answers will cost you.

Each team will alternate control of two categories.

With each question, they can choose to answer it, they can skip it, if they don't want to take a chance on a wrong answer, or once per category, they can toss it over to the other team and force them to answer.

Players will have five seconds to confer and decide what to do.

Now, they're tied, backstage they flipped a coin.

Coney won, they're going first, you select your first category - Into the Woods, please.

- Into the Woods for 10, these are questions about forests.

What forest in Nottinghamshire, where Robin Hood spent his time, used to cover 100,000 acres?

Now it's about a thousand acres.

- Sherrywood.

Sherrywood.

Sherrywood.

- One more time?

- Sherrywood.

- That's incorrect, it's Sherwood, Sherwood Forest.

Into the Woods for 15, The Sagano forest near Kyoto, Japan is a forest of what giant fast-growing plant that is the largest member of the grass family?

- Bamboo.

- Bamboo.

- Bamboo is right.

Into the woods for 20, flavored with chocolate and sour cherries, Black Forest gateau takes its name from the Black Forest region of what European country?

- Germany.

- Germany.

- Germany is also right.

Onto 25, Into the Woods.

Starting in the 1600s, the bark of Cinchona trees, in the rainforest of Peru, was harvested to make quinine for the treatment of what tropical disease?

- Toss it.

- Toss.

- You wanna toss over to Wells here, correct?

- Okay, Wells, I'll read it one more time, then I'll need your answer.

Starting in the 1600s, the bark of Cinchona trees, in the rainforest of Peru, was harvested to make quinine for the treatment of what tropical disease?

- Scurvy.

- Scurvy is incorrect, it's malaria.

Malaria is the right answer.

We're back to Cony, we're continuing the category, it's the last question, Into the Woods, the only population of Asiatic lions left in the wild lives in the Gir Forest in the state of Gujarat In what country?

- Iran?

- Iran?

- Pass it.

- India.

- Skip.

- You wanna skip this?

The answer is India, India is the answer.

Okay, we're over to Wells now, you select your first category, please.

- Let's go Rock of Ages, please.

- Rock of Ages it will be, these are questions about geology.

Geology.

The Rock of Gibraltar is a natural formation of what type of sedimentary rock, composed mainly of calcium carbonate minerals.

- Any idea?

(indistinct) - Skip?

- Let's skip that, please.

- Wanna skip?

It's limestone, limestone.

The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland is a natural formation of what type of volcanic rock that sometimes forms geometric columns when it cools?

- Basalt?

- Basalt.

- Basalt is the right answer.

Rock of ages for 20, the oldest known rocks on earth date back more than 4 billion years to what super-hot pre-Archaean eon that geologists named for the Greek God of the underworld?

- Hadrian.

- That's incorrect, Hadean is the right answer, Hadean.

Rock of Ages, 25.

Bryce Canyon National Park is known for having a large number of tall, spiky rock formations known by what rhyming name?

- Toss?

- Toss.

- Toss.

- We'll toss that.

You wanna toss it over to Cony?

Okay, I'll read it one more time for you guys.

Bryce Canyon National Park is known for having a large number of tall, spiky rock formations known by what rhyming name?

- Hoodoos.

- You nailed it, Hoodoos.

All right, Rock of Ages, 30, back to Wells, last question in this category, in geology, what term describes a rock that has been carried by a glacier and deposited hundreds of miles from its place of origin?

- We'll skip that.

- Wanna skip it?

It's erratic, erratic is the term.

Okay, we're back to Cony, for your second category, what will it be?

- [Contestant] Once Upon a Mattress.

- Once Upon a Mattress, please.

- Once Upon a Mattress, these are questions about fairy tales.

These are questions about fairy tales.

The Great Famine of 1315 to 1317 might have inspired the Brothers Grimm story about what brother and sister who were sent into the woods when their parents couldn't afford to feed them?

- Hansel and Gretel.

- That is right.

- Once upon a mattress for 15, in most versions of "Jack and the Beanstalk," what animal does Jack exchange for a handful of beans?

- Cow.

- Cow.

- Cow is also right.

Once upon a mattress for 20, the Broadway musical Once Upon a Mattress is based on a Hans Christian Andersen story about a princess who can't sleep because what tiny edible thing was placed underneath her mattress?

- A pea - A pea.

- A pea is also right.

Once Upon a mattress for 25, in Carlo Collodi's original Tale of Pinocchio, what kind of insect meets Pinocchio and tries to tell him how to behave?

- A cricket.

- A cricket.

- A cricket is also right.

And Once Upon a Mattress for 30, a poem by Robert Browning tells the story of what musician from a German folk tale who leads all the rats away from the town of Hamelin?

- Pied Piper.

- Pied Piper, I think you guys swept it, nice job.

All right Wells, your turn, second category.

- Let's go They're Playing Our Song.

- They're Playing our Song, these are questions about songs from Broadway musicals.

All right, here we go.

"The Schuyler Sisters" is a song from what Tony Award-winning musical in which the title character marries Eliza Schuyler?

- "Hamilton."

- "Hamilton" is right.

They're Playing Our Song for 15, act one of the Broadway musical "Wicked" ends with what song in which Elphaba resists the force of nature that attracts a body to the center of the earth and flies above the stage?

- "Defying Gravity."

- "Defying Gravity."

- You nailed it, "Defying Gravity."

They're Playing Our Song 20, the song "Seasons of Love" from the musical "Rent" specifies that there are how many minutes in a 365 day year?

- No, no, no no, 525,600.

- 525,600.

- You got it.

Well done, Sam.

Yes, you got 'em to stop.

Perfect.

They're playing our song 25, a well-known song from the musical "Evita" is a ballad sung by the title character Evita Peron, telling the people of what country, "Don't cry me," "Don't cry for me"?

- Argentina.

- Argentina is correct.

They're playing our song 30, last one, in the musical "Six" about the six wives of Henry VIII, a song called "Don't Lose Your Head" is a solo for which character who was Henry's second wife?

- Anne Boleyn.

- Anne Boleyn is correct.

Well done, mostly Sam.

(laughs) That ends the category round, and we are at Wells, 190, Cony, 270.

Everything can change in the lightning round, so sit tight, we'll be right back.

(funky groove music) (funky groove music) How did you do with this week's question?

It was, which American city is named for a Maine city as the result of a coin toss?

(agitated music) Is it Presque, Wisconsin, Rumford, Rhode Island, or Portland, Oregon?

The answer is Portland, Oregon.

In 1845, the two founders of the area each wanted to name the settlement after their respective hometowns.

Francis Pettygrove, of Portland, Maine was victorious over Asa Lovejoy of Boston, Massachusetts, winning two out of three flips.

The actual coin, now known as the Portland Penny, is on display at the Oregon Historical Society Museum.

- Welcome back, we're heading into the final 90 seconds of game play, the lightning round.

Players, you do not have to wait for me to finish the question, you can buzz in at any time, but do not answer until I call your name.

You get 20 points for each correct answer, incorrect answers will cost you 20 points, and the other team does not get a chance to answer.

The clock is set.

(whooshing) Here we go.

(agitated music) The street address of the White House is 1600 what avenue in Washington, D.C.?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Sam, Cony.

- Pennsylvania.

- Pennsylvania.

What religious leader became head of Tibet's government in exile?

(bell dings) Saber, Coney.

- The Dalai Lama?

- Yes.

- The cochlea is in what organ of the human- (bell dings) Isaac, Cony.

- Brain.

- That is incorrect.

Ear.

In baseball, the cleanup hitter bats in what position in the batting order?

(bell dings) Go ahead, William, Wells.

- Three.

- Incorrect, four.

The Outer Banks are barrier islands off the coast of which US state?

(bell dings) Sam, Wells.

- North Carolina.

- Yes.

Who was the wife of Odysseus in the Odyssey?

(bell dings) Ted, Cony.

- Penelope.

- Penelope, yes.

What US President won a Pulitzer Prize for the book "Profiles in Courage"?

(bell dings) Grady, Wells.

- Kennedy.

- Yes, Kennedy.

The equator passes through seven countries that are part of which continent?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Saber.

- South America.

- Incorrect, Africa.

What rock band starred in the 1964 movie "A Hard Day's Night"?

(bell dings) Go ahead, Grady, Wells.

- The Beatles.

- The Beatles.

In the US, ethanol is usually made from what food crop?

(bell dings) Saber, Cony.

- Corn.

- Yes.

"We Are The Champions" was a 19- (bell dings) William.

- Queen.

- Queen, yes.

Which president chose Gerald Ford to be his vice- (bell dings) Sam, Cony.

- Nixon.

- Nixon, yes.

An octopus has how many hearts?

(bell dings) Saber, Cony.

- Eight.

- Answer's three.

(alarm sounds) That's the end of the lightning round.

It was close, but Cony comes out at 310, they are the winner, they will move on to the semi-finals.

Our runner up, Wells, 250 points, you guys did great, gonna miss ya.

Be sure to tune in next time for the semi-finals, thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time on High School Quiz Show Maine.

(Audience applauds) (funky groove music) - [Narrator] Production support for High School Quiz Show Maine is provided by, energy is about more than just keeping the lights on, it's about living life as parents, friends, and teammates.

Unitil is proud to support High School Quiz Show Maine.

Unitil, more than a utility, part of your community.

- [Narrator] Safety Insurance is committed to environmental sustainability, and supports many local charities.

You can ask an independent agent about auto, home, and business coverage from Safety Insurance.

Safety Insurance will help you manage life's storms.

- [Narrator] And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(funky groove music)