The question was asked. A spartan was the first to buzz in. However, it was not lead scorer Jak McCullen, but senior Josh Talarico scoring both the first points of his entire scholar quiz bowl career and the winning points for the team’s second victory of the day.

Just a hop, skip and a jump from Francis Howell Central, the scholar quiz bowl team came away with two varsity wins and one junior varsity win out of four total matches at its second competition of the season.

Coach Sharon King was extremely proud of the work the team accomplished. Top scorers included junior McCullen for the varsity team and sophomore Ethan Hammer for the junior varsity team. After Tuesday’s double wins for varsity, its record stands at 3-1, which is among the top ranks in the St. Charles league.

The first win for the varsity team was a breeze, with the team coming away with a 290-120 victory, but the second win demanded more of an effort from the team. In what seemed to be a surefire loss, McCullen was able to rally team to a 210-210 tie by the end of the fourth quarter, enacting the end-all tiebreaker question.

“The first game wasn’t near as competitive or thrilling as the second. After we got [the second game] tied up , everyone was on edge. It was the most amazing thing to see Josh buzz in and win it all for us,” said senior captain Nic Deckard.

As a result, things are shaping up nicely for the scholar quiz bowl teams this year. The teams will have a brush up practice next Monday, Dec. 5 and another competition the following Tuesday at an undetermined location.