Nashua High School North recently defeated two-time Granite State Challenge champions Oyster River High School by a score of 355 to 120. Courtesy photo

DURHAM – Nashua High School North recently defeated two-time Granite State Challenge champions Oyster River High School by a score of 355 to 120.

Captain Colin Scribner, a senior, led the Nashua Titans. His teammates were fellow seniors Ryan Mamos, Daniel Morcos and Ethan Hobbs. Team alternates were junior Marie Nalen and senior Benjamin Kelly.

The Titans were coached by Social Studies teacher Timothy Bosch.

The Oyster River Bobcats were captained by senior Benjamin Boodey. The team roster included junior Lydia Bens as well as seniors Griffin Oakes-Libow and Rayan Barakat. Alternates were freshman Peter Fenton as well as seniors Carson Imperio and Felix Scarlat. English teacher John Monahan coached the Oyster River team.

Nashua North dominated the game’s buzzer system and jumped out to an early lead, answering seven of the first 10 questions. By the end of the first round, Nashua North had a commanding 175 to 40 lead.

“They were very fast on the Nashua North side,” said Monahan. “We just didn’t have the chance to answer the questions.”

Bosch acknowledged that, in addition to their general knowledge base, his team worked hard to fine-tune their game strategy.

“We’ve done lots of watching past games,” he said. “The team has done that on their own over time, and they’re aware of some of the intricacies of how things have happened.”

The next two rounds of the game, where neither team had to buzz in to answer, supported Monahan’s sense that the teams were more evenly matched than the score suggested. Both teams struggled in the strategically difficult Three Strikes and You’re Out round but finished with similar results. Nashua North answered three of the 10 questions correctly, while Oyster River got two out of 10 correct.

In the rapid-fire 60-second round, Oyster River answered six of 10 questions correctly and Nashua North got five out of 10 correct.

Boodey was particularly proud of his team’s performance in the 60-second round.

“I felt like we didn’t leave anything on the table there,” he said.

While Oyster River stayed active throughout the fourth round , where incorrect answers resulted in a 20-point deduction, Nashua North remained steady and focused, avoiding enough wrong answers to keep the game’s point margin largely unchanged.

Scribner was extremely proud of his team’s performance.

“I’m very, very happy with our performance,” he said. “Last year we went on the show for the first time in our wild card round, and it didn’t turn out the way we liked.”

After last season, Scribner and his teammates made it a point to strengthen the team by recruiting friends they thought would complement their skills. Throughout the game, even when they were on the ropes during the three strikes and you’re out round, it was clear that Nashua North was a close-knit team having a great time.

“We’ve actually all been in school together since elementary school, growing up together– and we’re all seniors as well,” he said. “To be able to do this with them is just incredible.”