Towards evening, the time the quizzers go out

The quizzing material was the shortest breakdown we will have all season. So it required having to know the material in great detail. On top of that, we had about 5 lists we needed to memorize. Some quizzers did, some quizzers didn't. After our 4 usual practice matches, break and dinner, we were off. The ride there was very interesting. First, we forgot the shirts for Tim to give to Cait for our team shirts, so we had to turn back and get those. Then we missed the exit for 222, so we had turn around for that. Then even when we got in Akron, we couldn't see the small road signs and find the rights roads. Mike and Tim drove ahead of us, and got there 20 minutes before the rest of the team did. We arrived exactly as 6:30 for the end of worship.

We had the third match, so we watched two matches before. The first match the team watched was Petra 4 vs. Forest Hills. I scorekept this match. Forest Hills seemed like the same one we seen for a couple of years. Petra 4 quizzers I didn't recognize, but their coaches I did: Deb Hensen from Petra 1 and Dave Jensen from Petra 2. Forest Hills started out with an early lead. In the middle, Petra 4 caught up. On the last question, Forest Hills errored, Petra 4 picked up the bonus, and Petra 4 won 75 to 65. It took us by suprise when we realized Forest Hills was 5th and Petra 4 was 14th. Continuing our scouting, we watched Ridgeview 3 quiz against Akron 2. They were right next to each other on the standings, so ya think it would be a close match, right? Wrong. Akron 2 took the lead, then took off. Living Rock 3 made quite a few critical mistakes. Akron 2's score skyrocketed into the triple digits.

Then it was time for Spring City's match against Forest Hills. It was the fellowship hall with quizmaster Jesse Johnson. Tim started off the match with a right buzz in. He got another one later on. I quizzed on question 8. Second to quiz out was...not Tim...but...Robert! Yeah! It was an exciting one. He got it on some crazy answers. For example, when Robert buzzed in on how much, Robert answered "enough...a beka..." They marked it wrong and then gave a bonus. After hearing Forest Hill's answer, they went into ruling. Tim looked ready to contest. After the ruling, the quizmaster decided that Robert's answer was right! He was looking for "enough water for the camels" but after realizing both "water" and "camels" in the question, he decided that "enough" was...well, enough! lol. Not only did Robert get in for team bonus, he got his second quizout of the year, third of his career. It was new and different to have him on the bench next to me. I told him, "Welcome to the bench!" with a grin. In review, Chelsea got a bonus question: "What did Abraham call the Lord will provide?" Chelsea, after thinking for a while said, "the hill that Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac." The quizmaster met with his judges to discuss. After discussion, the quizmaster said Chelsea was right. She got her third score for the year! Forest Hills tried to contest, and Tim naturally rebuddled, but the decision was made quickly. They had decided that it didn't matter whether it was a hill or a mountain, the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac was the important part, so she was right. So it came down to question 15. Tim could have gotten his third right for a quiz out. Mike could have gotten his first buzz in right for team bonus, but neither happened. The match ended Spring City 100, Forest Hills 30.

Waiting for our next match, we watched 2 matches. First was Zion 1 vs. Petra 4. Once again, I scorekept in the match. It seemed like the last Petra 4 match I watched. Zion 1 took an early lead. Hannah Gehman quizzed out. But then Zion 1 started piling up errors, which led them to lose again Petra 4. Petra 4 got their 2nd win of the night. Trying to scout ahead, the next match I watched was Blainsport vs. Petra 2, the 2nd place team in my league. Man, they showed they were a second place team. They owned that match. They won in the triple digits, with team bonus and quizouts.

Now it was time for our second match. Our opponent was Ridgeview 3. Let me tell you, we took off. Well, actually, in the beginning, only Tim and I took off. The first 6 buzz ins were correct by either Tim or I. If I recall correctly, the first 2 were Tim, then I got the next 2, Tim quizzed out on question 5, and I followed by quizzing out on question 6. When I sat down on question 6, Tim said to me, "Welcome to the bench." :D . He was glad after not being able to quiz out the previous match. Now it was up to the rest of the other 4. Mike, still frustrated over getting nothing the last match, quizzed out this match. Robert came through to cap off another team bonus, although he got 2 errors. Alyssa was exciting to watch. The first time she buzzed in on "How did the gold..." and answered "about a beka." She got it wrong because it WAS a beka, as in EXACTLY a beka. But that didn't stop her. She did get another buzz in right and got her 3rd score of the year, hitting a career high 30 points this season. We won that match 145 to 20.

So I watched one last match, and I had to watch Forest Hills' last match. They were the ones in 5th place, the highest we thought we could reach. In this match, Julie and Derick were able to quiz out, but with one of their quizzers erroring out with no points, team bonus was impossible. Forest Hills had to suffer their 3rd loss of the night, giving them 70 points. While this is the most they got all night, all night they scored under their average. Now their new average will be 90.

I don't mention to be mean. I mention this so you may be better informed what this does for Spring City. With the 2 triple-digit scores, Spring City moves ahead to a 98 point average. With Forest Hills falling below us, they means we should move up at least one, unless some team below us had a more fantastic day than we had. So I'm projecting we move up at least one place. For me personally, scoring the maximum for the day, I can't go down. I only come up, and that's dependant on how many perfect quizzers fell from their perfection. I know of at least one, so I'll at least be in 6th. Tim added 55 to his 340, moving him up to 395. I'm hoping that will keep him in the top 50. Mike added 35 to his 210, moving him to 245. Hopefully that will keep him in contention for top 100. As for our younger quizzers. Robert added 45 points to his already 105, which means he now has 150 points. This is a career high for Robert, and on top of that, he's doing better than I did my 2nd year. The Mullin sisters are in this tight, as they tied each other with 30 points. Alyssa is breaking her career high, while I keep praying Chelsea will at least tie her career high. Time will tell.

P.S.
These 2 quizmatches are dedicated to the 2005 Spring City quiz team, the first Spring City quiz team I quizzed with. The Lord used this team to rebuild a broken me. In this team I found friends. Our friendship, our teamwork, united under the grace and favor of Christ, strengthened by our weaknesses, led us to win the 2005 ACC Tournament. These guys will never be forgotten. Thank you for blessing my life with the blessing God has given you. I pray that I have blessed and may continue blessing you in return.

God bless Brandon Tedor, Aubrey Mullberry, Christine Dragan, Julie Whitmore and Josh Kowalski.