#NSMQ2017: Mfantsipim eliminate St. Peter's and Kwahu Ridge with last ditch knock-out 'punch'

Mfantsipim School on Saturday eliminated St. Peter’s School, their longtime rival, and Kwahu Ridge SHTS in an exciting one-eighth stage contest of the 2017 National Science & Maths Quiz. The contest was decided by a tie-breaker question after an impressive comeback by contestants of St. Peter’s School in the final round of the competition.

Before the start of the contest, the R.S Amegashie Auditorium was charged with supporters of the competing schools cheering their respective contestants on to victory. Mfantsipim School was looking for revenge against St. Peter’s School, having lost to them on two previous occasions in 2000 and 2007.

St. Peter’s School, on the other hand, was yearning for a win to crown their 60th anniversary celebration whilst underdogs, Kwahu Ridge SHTS was looking forward to making NSMQ history, as first-timers in the National Science & Maths Quiz. The first round ended with Mfantsipim School and St. Peter’s SHS scoring 12 points each whilst Kwahu Ridge SHTS managed to pull two points. Mfantsipim School’s contestants, Isaac Kwaku Asare and Darryl Thompson, were more composed in the second round doubling their score to 24 whilst St. Peter’s School ended the round with nine points, with Kwahu Ridge SHTS scoring seven points.

The two former champions had no difficulty with the “Problem of Day” as they both had a perfect score of ten points, with Kwahu Ridge making six points.Round Three ended with Mfantsipim School leading with 34 points, while St. Peter’s School and Kwahu Ridge SHTS scored 19 and 13 respectively. In the fourth round, St. Peter’s School correctly answered all their questions, bridging the gap with leaders, Mfantsipim, from fifteen to twelve points. In the final round of the contest, the contestants of St. Peter’s School, Richard Owusu and John-Edwin Gadasu, gave their all in a remarkable fashion to equalise with Mfantsipim. Gadasu picked and correctly answered all the four riddles in the final round to gain twelve points. Thus, at the end of the fifth round, St. Peter’s School and Mfantsipim School were tied at 47 points while Kwahu Ridge SHTS had 20 points. It was all joy for Mfantsipim School as they beat their closest contender in the tie-breaker to keep alive their hope of winning their third trophy.
They will face Aggrey Memorial SHS and Anlo SHS at the quarter finals on Friday, June 23, 2017.