This competition for citywide bragging rights boiled down to a battle of wits.

Previously confined to the world of sports, the growing rivalry between Nashua High School North and South found a new forum this fall. Billed as “The Battle of Nashua” by New Hampshire Public Television, the two high schools faced off in the first round of this year’s Granite State Challenge, which entered its 26th season this fall.

Each year, 32 high schools are invited to take part in the tournament. The match marked the first time the two schools faced each other on the game show since the city’s one public high school split in 2004.

Quizzed on everything from New Hampshire history to complicated math problems, South was ahead at the end of the first round, but North came back to tie it at the end of the second round. In a tightly fought contest, South prevailed by a final score of 275-245. North had a chance for victory, leading with a minute and a half left, but South rattled off the last 40 points to take the game, moving on to the next round of the tournament.

Members of the South team said they joined because of their passion for trivia. Having the opportunity to beat their crosstown rivals was like icing on the cake.

South junior Erin Barry said she watches “Jeopardy” every night with her father. Senior Mitchell Gustin has always liked Trivial Pursuit, a game both teams play to practice.

“I’ve always seemed to have a bunch of useless knowledge,” said senior Alden LeClair, the team leader. “I finally found a use for it.”

Even with all of the practice, LeClair said it was nothing like actually being on the stage and competing.

“Once you get used to being in the studio and under the lights, you get more comfortable” LeClair said.

South English teacher Catherine Poulin coaches the team with social studies teacher Neil Claffey. They had to look on during the match and watch as the two teams went back and forth.

“It was funny that we had to go to Durham to play a team that is less than two miles from our school,” Poulin said.

North senior Kevin McAleese, the school’s team leader, recalled the close contest this week, saying it all came down to the wire.

“Those last three questions, we just lost it,” he said

Although it aired two weeks ago, the contest was filmed in September. Poulin said the hardest part was keeping the team’s victory a secret. Schools aren’t supposed to reveal the outcome of the game until it airs.

Coaches from both teams said when they got their first-round assignments earlier this year and saw they would be playing their crosstown rivals, it provided some added incentive.

“We tried to prepare the same, but playing South definitely added a little bit more to it,” said North coach Tim Bosch, a teacher in the school’s social studies department.

The competitions are filmed at the New Hampshire Public Television Studio near the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham. More than 100 high schools across the state apply each year to take part in the game show, but only 32 are selected for the tournament.

“In the first round, we try and match schools by size, so that it’s more fair,” said Adam Frost, producer for the show. Frost said the North-South match was one of the closest and most exciting of the first round this year.

McAleese kicked off the game by getting the first question right, correctly answering that K is the letter of the alphabet used to signify a strikeout in baseball. McAleese, the senior class vice president, said he joined the team in part because of his brother’s experience being a member two years ago.

As part of their preparation, the students on the South team faced off against teachers from the school. The students lost, but the students and coaches said answering questions quickly and using the buzzer system is the best way to practice for the show.

“A lot of it has to do with timing,” Poulin said.

Tryouts for the South team were in the beginning of September. Poulin said the goal was to have students who specialized in different subjects come together and bring that knowledge to the competition.

“You’re trying to get a well-rounded team,” she said.

South’s victory over North put them into the next round, where they faced the team from Gorham. That match will air Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. and Feb. 19 at 8:30 a.m. Although the season is over and a champion has already been decided, members of the South team weren’t giving anything away.

“All I’ll say is, it was a good season,” Poulin said, smiling in a way that hinted South may have fared well.

The Learning Curve appears Thursday in The Telegraph. Michael Brindley can be reached at 594-6426 or mbrindley@nashuatelegraph.com.

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