Scholastic scrimmage team schools the competition

This year’s Scholastic Scrimmage team went all the way to the Regional Championships, and has a chance to go even further after the next competition on Nov. 30.

Scholastic Scrimmage is a state-wide quiz bowl, almost like a team-based Jeopardy, said Social Studies Teacher Mr. Nick Vega. Four people answer the questions along with two to three substitutes per team. Each team competes against one another to answer a series of questions on a variety of subjects, he added.

This year’s team includes Senior Ian Keefer, who was the captain, Junior Nicholas Fleck, Senior Ashley Shamblen, Senior Morgan Dreisbach, Senior Sam Hepler and Freshman Levi Shamblen.

Mr. Vega said he began advising the program when he was hired to replace the late Mr. William Hanlon, who began the program at Milton.

Due to COVID-19, this year’s competition was a little bit different than previous years. Usually, Scholastic Scrimmage is held in the WVIA studio located in Pittston, Pa. The past two years, schools around the area have been competing virtually from their own schools, said Mr. Vega.

“I’m very confident that post-pandemic, we will transition back to the normal competition format,” he added.

The virtual competitions worked, but had some downfalls, according to Mr. Vega. Crooked camera angles, audio cutting in and out and connection issues have caused problems, he added.

The team is usually selected through teacher recommendation, said Mr. Vega. Participants have to be in good academic standing and be able to maintain steady good grades, he added.

According to Mr. Vega, local schools involved in the competition include Lewisburg, Mifflinburg, Selinsgrove, Benton and Berwick.

Each round is three minutes and 30 seconds long. One team is offered a “toss-up” question worth ten points and a bonus question worth five points, said Mr. Vega. If the team gets it incorrect, then the other team gets a chance to answer and score the points, he added.

“I’m always excited by the questions that have to do with U.S. history since that’s what I teach. Last year, one of our winning questions had to do with muckraking journalists, so that was pretty exciting,” said Mr. Vega.

The last round is the lightning round, each question is worth ten points in this round. “The lightning round is usually where the winner pulls ahead, and the loser falls behind,” added Mr. Vega.

This year’s team won more games than last year. “Last year, we won one game this year we won three and the regional championship,” said Mr. Vega.

There is a cash prize to the winning team of the entire competition, but since they only won regional championships they did not completely win yet, he explained.

“I truly could not put into words how incredibly proud I am to not only be on a team with these absolute legends, but to have the honor to lead them,” said Ian. “I know all of us are so pumped for States later this year.”

According to Ian, Morgan is amazing at math, and she knows so much about a variety of topics. Nicholas is amazing at history. “If you pick any time period, he knows everything about it,” he added. Ashley is a wizard when it comes to science, he said. “I am enamored by literature, and I love theatre, film, and pop culture,” Ian added.

“The goal for this year’s team is to make it as far as possible,” said Mr. Vega. Regional Championships is just one step closer to winning the entire competition, he said. “The Scholastic Scrimmage is broadcast to 22 counties in Northeast Pa. and the Central Susquehanna Valley. That is the extent of the tournament,” he added.