Tennessee-Wisconsin-North Carolina The quiz began with Mr. Wood keeping score and not hitting the enter key, so North Carolina's name did not show up. North Carolina felt this gave them a disadvantage, so Mr. Douglas insisted that it be corrected. While the effect on the actual quiz is suspect at best, it is now taken care of. We can now see the postal abbreviation of all three states in bold on the scoresheet. Life is good. Mr. Douglas began with a confusing set of questions. Hannah (WI) missed it, then Ariana (TN) missed it, then Ariana (TN) challenged. Finally, a free question was asked and not wanting to feel left out, NC decided to miss that also. So, we began at question 1 again with fresh faces and a pseudo-fresh start. After realizing that other people can make errors, Cullen (TN) decided it was OK to get up quickly. He went on a mini-run and got 5 questions of the first 6. The only thing that stopped it from being a complete domination was that Valy (NC chair 5) got question 3 and WI got a free question. Not wanting to be left out, Ariana got question 7. Mercifully, Pastor Fuller (WI) stole a break by asking which question number we were on, and then the North Carolina coach just eliminated all doubt by calling a full time out. After 7 questions, the score is TN 120 - WI 10 - NC 20. The break was needed by all and the coaches imparted a serious amount of wisdom. The wisdom was not extended to the quizmaster, however, and he misread the first question out of the break. However, after he read a legitimate question, TN and WI both missed it and NC got a free-be. Evan (NC chair 1) got it, and Cullen (TN) figured a re-impartation of advice was necessary. So, he called another timeout. Entering Question 8 yet again, the score is TN 120 - WI 10 - NC 30. Lest you get too excited for North Carolina, they teamed up with Wisconsin to give Phillip (TN) a freebie of his own. After Cullen quizzes out, we now enter the portion of the quiz where everyone took turns. North Carolina gets two questions back to back. Matthew (NC chair 4) and Evan (NC) got them. Then Olivia (WI), Hannah (WI), and Johnathan (WI) got three in a row. Enter question 14, the score is TN 150 - WI 60 - NC 60. Apparently the other teams making a move made Ariana (TN) think she should be given a chance to shine also. Two in a row for her also, but she flew too close to the sun and missed the third one. Apparently, it wasn't all her fault though, because Johnathan (WI) missed it too, so North Carolina basked in the glory of avoiding a "Knapp trap." But wait, Johnathan (WI) was smarter than we thought and his answer is now accepted. So, as we get into the final few questions, the score after 16 questions is TN 180 - WI 70 - NC 60. A timeout was the only thing capable of cutting this tension, so it was called, awarded, and the murmur in the crowd became noisy. So, noisy that we could barely hear Mr. Douglas call time in. But we enter the final four questions with the middle win completely up-for-grabs, and that is always a fun thing (especially, if you have the most points, like Tennessee)! Question 17, take one--Valy (NC) misses it and the tossup lay unanswered for ten seconds. Question 17, take two--Ariana (TN) gets it correct. Question 18--It's a finish this verse question, and Olivia (WI) dominates the jump. Two questions to go, and the score is TN 200 - WI 90 - NC 50. Timeout to discuss strategy. The first question is whether Tennessee wants to help play a role in the outcome or they want to sit passively. I'm guessing North Carolina will try to jump faster and Wisconsin will jump slower. I may agree with the NC strategy, but I always feel like coaches who tell their kids to "slow down and make sure you don't get an error, give their team bad advice." Invariably, the team never gets up first and they allow a team against whom they built a lead to have a relatively easy jumping path to getting those question. OK, maybe I was prophetic, as Valy (NC) and Matthew (NC) get back-to-back questions and the score is tied (90-90) and a tiebreaker is coming. NC calls a timeout before the tiebreaker as the people standing by the door fight to get let in. Tiebreaker Question "What work in I Peter 1..." That is the question Matthew (NC) will remember the rest of his life. He stood and missed it, and Wisconsin got the tossup. NC is eliminated, we are down to one room, and I believe I have witnessed the birth of a new powerhouse. NC is here to stay. They will be heard from in the future. TN and WI are being heard from in the present, and they will both be big challengers for a Thursday showing!