Bow High Tops Hopkinton by 15 Points in Last-Second Granite State Challenge Win

DURHAM, NH — Bow High School pulled out a 350-335 win over Hopkinton High School in the latest episode of Granite State Challenge, a New Hampshire PBS academic quiz show taped in Durham and announced March 20.

The Merrimack County matchup stayed close throughout, with Hopkinton leading after the opening round before Bow took the advantage in the final seconds.

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

Hopkinton was captained by 11th-grader Lucy Beardmore, with Tad Stokes, William Shepard, and Fin Murphy on the team, and Rebecca LeWine and Julia Martel serving as alternates. The Hawks were coached by Social Studies teacher Liam Callahan.

Hopkinton opened fast and took the first three questions, then carried a 115-90 lead into the end of Round One. Bow responded in the middle rounds, answering seven of 10 questions correctly in the Three Strikes and You're Out round. According to the announcement, Bow also became the first team this season to go a perfect 10 for 10 in the 60-second round.

That edge did not last long. Hopkinton answered seven of 10 correctly in its Three Strikes round and became only the second team this season to post a perfect 10-for-10 score in the 60-second round. In the fourth and final round, where wrong answers cost 20 points, Hopkinton held a narrow lead until the last two questions, when two mistakes gave Bow the win as time expired.

“It was an insane game, especially with both of us getting all 10 questions right on the 60-second round,” Kropp said. “It was super close. Really, if there were two more questions, it could have gone either way.”

Callahan added, “I don’t think there was anything we could have done differently. It just broke the way it did. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing and hope luck’s on our side next time.”

Beardmore said, “I was happy about our 10 out of 10 in the 60-second round. I knew we had to do that to keep up with Bow after they did the same.”

Hlavaz said, “Hopkinton played a great match. They played till the end. It was excellent.”

Looking ahead to Bow's quarterfinal against Plymouth Regional High School, she said, “I think we missed a few questions because we weren't fast enough on the buzzer, so we're going to work on that. Plymouth is a hard team to go up against. We've played them before, so we're looking forward to our next round.”

The next Granite State Challenge game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, on NHPBS.