SCQ: Ardenne beats Calabar in quarter-final showdown

After a heated battle for a spot in the semi-finals, Ardenne High School managed to cop the victory over Calabar High School with a score of 35 to 31 in TVJ's Schools' Challenge Quiz competition yesterday.

It was a nail-biting finish in the final showdown of the quarter-finals, as the match came to a 35-35 tie on the final bell. However, after much deliberation, Calabar lost four points.

Ardenne's coach, Dan Lee Wadsworth, said he expected the close finish between the two teams.

"An Ardenne and Calabar match is always a match that goes down to the last second. So, it's no surprise," Wadsworth told THE STAR in a post-match interview.

However, he said when Ardenne takes on Titchfield in the semi-finals, his team will have to ensure that it fine-tunes its buzzer section skills.

"We will have to eliminate all the wrong presses in the buzzer section," he explained.

Before the game kicked off, Wadsworth predicted a victory for his team, banking on its high level of preparation for the game.

"We are prepared and ready to execute. Preparing for quiz involves many long hours, sleepless nights, playing matches, reviewing banks, correcting errors. We have to put in extra work at this time," he said.

Ardenne was represented by Themba Mkhize (captain), Dominique Stewart, Dahlia Thomas and Addison Biggs.

Calabar was represented by Kimani Douglas (captain), Remekie Rose, Tobeyan Dreckett and Chris Campbell.

Having won the toss, Ardenne High decided to go first. Both teams started out firing, with Ardenne in the lead on seven points and Calabar on five points after the first round.

Ardenne shot ahead in the second round on 31 points, leaving the Red Hills Road-based Calabar on 25 points.

But things evened up in a tense buzzer section, with both teams locked at 35-35. The game would have gone into sudden death to decide the winner, but after much deliberation between coaches and judges, as well as re-watching of footage, Calabar lost four points.

Calabar's coach, Kemoy Lindsey, was visibly disappointed in the loss, but he said he was satisfied with the judges' call.

He added, "I think Ardenne is a very good team and my team fought to the bitter end, and that's how we'd want to go down, with a fight."