Bob Jones Envirobowl takes close second at state contest

Ben Johnston coaches the Envirobowl Team at Bob Jones High School. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – A judge at the 2015 Legacy Envirobowl Competition confided to coach Ben Johnston that he was rooting for the team from Bob Jones High School.

“Bob Jones kids are ‘so awesome,'” the judge told Johnston. Bob Jones finished a close second in the contest at the McWane Center in Birmingham on March 13.

Envirobowl Team members are Ashley Dong, Nathan Fox, Alan Philip George, Seth Johnston and Siddhu Srikakolapu. Johnston teaches biology, molecular biology and advanced placement environmental science and biology.

Eleven teams advanced from regional contests to compete at the state level, with more than 60 teams competing statewide. Bob Jones outpaced powerhouse schools, like Hoover and Oak Mountain high schools.

Johnston said the students share a love of science and a desire to excel.

“The Envirobowl tournament is set up similar to a scholars bowl, except questions are all related to science,” Johnston said. Two four-member teams compete head-to-head. “After two complete rounds of questions, teams move into the tossup.” The first person to buzz in gets the question.

For a correct answer, the team receives a bonus question. If the team answers incorrectly, the opponent can answer the question.

“You would think the questions would all be directly related to environmental science, but they’re not. They cover chemistry, physics, astronomy, biology, environmental science and Alabama-specific questions,” Johnston said.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these students. They were confident yet courteous, respectful and friendly,” Johnston said. Several teachers told Johnston that he should be proud of their conduct.

“We actually beat the winning team, but the tournament is double elimination. They came back and beat us twice in a row,” he said.

“We’ll get them next year,” Johnston said.