Plymouth Regional Beats Bow In Granite State Challenge, Moves On To Semifinal

DURHAM, NH — Plymouth Regional High School came from behind to defeat Bow High School 360-230 in a Granite State Challenge quarterfinal match.

Bow held a 130-110 lead after the first round and kept control through rounds two and three. Bow answered eight out of 10 questions correctly in both the Three Strikes and You’re Out round and the 60 Second round. Plymouth had only three correct answers in round two, then rebounded with eight out of 10 in round three.

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As the final round began, Bow led 290-220.

Round 4 doubles point values and deducts points for wrong answers. During the first question of the round, Bow answered incorrectly and lost 20 points, and Plymouth then stole the answer. After two more questions, Plymouth moved into the lead and held on for the win.

The Plymouth Bobcats were captained by 11th-grader Abe Hankens. Team members were 11th-grader Yuriy Paul, 9th-grader Aurora Ricker and 11th-grader Ezra Amsden. Alternates were 10th-grader Leif Eisenbarth and 9th-graders Cam Cawley and Olivia Brayfield. The team was coached by drafting teacher Jay Fogarty and world languages teacher Troy Harris.

“I was proud of the composure in the last round, knowing that they weren't out of that match, even though they were down after very good rounds by Bow,” Harris said. “They really played great.”

Bow was led by Captain Matthew Kropp, a 12th-grader. The team also included 11th-grader Matthew Mampuzha and 9th-graders Ollie White and Max Lewis. Alternates were 9th-grader Anna Mampuzha and 11th-grader Jayden Kropiewnicki. The Falcons were coached by humanities teacher Michelle Hlavaz.

“It all came down to that last round,” Kropp said. “Those double points are just very crucial.”

Hankens said, “It was a little closer, a little tighter than our last match. We were a little behind at the end of the third round, so we kind of just locked in a little bit for the fourth round.”

Hlavaz said, “It was a great match. I knew Plymouth was going to be a hard team to beat. It's just nice to see the kids have so much fun.”

Plymouth will face the winner of the next quarterfinal game at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, on NHPBS, when Bishop Guertin High School takes on Nashua North. The game can also be streamed on the PBS App, the NHPBS YouTube channel, or at nhpbs.org/gsc.