Garrettsville – The James A. Garfield High School Quiz Masters Quiz Bowl team was crowned NAQT Small School State Champions this past Saturday. They faced Miami Valley School, a private school near Dayton, in the championship match. The Quiz Masters found themselves in a deficit of 180 at halftime, equivalent to four cycles of tossups and bonuses. They were down, but not out. They had to dig deep and mount a huge comeback, and the game went down to the last cycle of questions.
A miscommunication with the scorekeeper and reader added some drama to the day. While attempting the huge comeback, the reader told the Quiz Masters they were down by 45 points going into the final cycle of questions. This would mean they needed to get the tossup early for the five bonus points, also called “power,” as well as sweep the three bonus questions. Jack Rado got the tossup, but not for power, then the team swept the set of bonus questions. So, the Quiz Masters lost by five. Or so they thought. The reader told Miami Valley to hold off on celebrations while he reviewed the final score. In the end, the reader misread the score sheet. The Quiz Masters were actually down by 35 going into the final cycle, so they won, 315-310. What a turn of events, and misfortune for Miami Valley, as the Quiz Masters completed the huge comeback after being down 250-70 at the half. Think of this as the basketball equivalent of missing a buzzer beating game winner after being down by 30 at halftime, then redoing the shot because there was a foul. What a way to win the state title.
The Quiz Masters were ranked first across Ohio Small Schools going into the tournament, and did not disappoint. They avenged an early loss to Benjamin Logan to defeat second-ranked Miami Valley twice during the tournament. The Quiz Masters also took home their second straight Portage League title on March 3rd. They have started out 2023 on fire, and look to make it even better than their historic 2022.
The Quiz Masters improved on last year’s success at the state-level. They finished third at this event last year, and were named Very Small School State Champions, which they also got this year. The event is hosted by Upper Sandusky, a town west of Mansfield, and teams from all over the state make the trek to compete. Rootstown and Southeast were other teams from Portage County that competed.
As far as individuals go, senior Jack Rado led the way. He was named top scorer at the state championships, making him Ohio Small School MVP, and First Team All-Ohio. Yet another accolade for the four time Portage League player-of-the-year. On being asked how it feels to be a state champion, Rado said it feels, “sick.”
Next up for the Quiz Masters is the NAQT Small School National Championships in April, an event they finished third at last year and where they were named Very Small School National Champions. Updates after every match can be found on Twitter @jagquizbowl.
