The Greatest Game Ever Played
The championship contest between Edgemont (NY) and Holton-Arms (MD) was declared the Greatest Game Ever Played. Perennial participant Edgemont, part of the powerful Westchester County bloc, entered the playoffs ranked No. 9 and then defeated Boyer Valley (IA) with the highest playoff score, 510-185, Jenks (OK) 330-225, Woodland (CT) 355-165, and Little Rock Central (AR) 395-355. Meanwhile, first-timer Holton-Arms (MD) entered the playoffs ranked 15th at 4-2, but beat John Adams B (IN) 400-140, New Orleans Jesuit 300-255, Loyola Blakefield (MD) 400-140, and defending champs Byram Hills 380-315. It should be added that the rookies from Maryland lost their first two games in the preliminary rounds, then found themselves in a must-win situation in each of their next nine contests!
The game
Holton-Arms led after the “Warm Up Round” 70-40. The Maryland team scored only 20 bonus points in the second period, while Edgemont scored 70, sweeping the MIDDLE EAST and ANTHROPOLOGY bonuses, taking a 135-120 lead after the “Bonus Round.” Holton-Arms chose HUMAN BODY in the “Seventy Seconds Round,” advancing 50-20. Edgemont had better results with THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES, adding 80 points to their opponent’s 10. The score at the start of the final period was 235-180 in favor of the New York team.
“Stump the Experts” started with Holton-Arms recognizing the sound of a black hole “singing.” Edgemont answered back by identifying the weird musical instrument, theremin, from an audio clue. Holton-Arms then impressed us by stealing Edgemont’s Art question: “This photo, Le Violon d’Ingres, sold in May 2022 for $12.4 million, making it the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction. Name the artist.”
They followed by adding 20 points on their own Art question, after which they trailed Edgemont by only 15: “The Zagwe dynasty ruled large areas of which present-day landlocked African country from the 12th century, a prominent emperor being Lalibela, the traditional builder of the monolithic, rock-hewn churches that bear his name?”
Edgemont then identified “transcendental numbers” from a definition and “Annapolis Convention” from a description. Holton-Arms identified James Madison as the unofficial secretary of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, then added 20 on Social Security tax. Edgemont added 20 on 401(k) but missed this one: “The following words describe which 18th century novel? ‘The hero of this piece unites in himself the three greatest characters upon earth: he is a priest, an husbandman, and the father of a family.’ They refer to the Reverend Charles Primrose and were written by the novel’s author Oliver Goldsmith.” Holton-Arms stole the 20 points by answering The Vicar of Wakefield. They followed up by identifying A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson and gravitational waves from a description. That sweep of BRITISH LITERATURE gave the Maryland team a 320-315 lead. Edgemont then gave a correct answer on a question about the unity of two fundamental forces, weak nuclear force and electromagnetism. The final couplet was FINISH THE QUOTATION. Edgemont re-took the lead on this one: “What three words complete this saying from the Sermon on the Mount? ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the …’” Ans. Kingdom of heaven. We were certain we’d stump everyone on the last question: Complete this saying by Benjamin Franklin: “He that falls in love with himself will have no …” But Holton-Arms answered “rivals,” to win the game on the final question, 360-355.
Maryland Champs
We’ve come full circle. The winner of our first tournament, in 1983, was from Bethesda, Maryland – Walt Whitman High School. The winner of our 40th tournament, in 2022, is from Bethesda, Maryland – Holton-Arms.
Rookie of the Year
This is the first time the Rookie of the Year team has also won the championship since Houston Memorial (TX) did it in 1996. In addition to Holton-Arms, first-timers Cartersville (GA) and Loyola Blakefield (MD) advanced to the Quarterfinals.