Members of the Bob Jones Envirobowl Team are Siddhu Srikakolapu, from left, Alan Philip George, team captain Daniel Lang, David Gunther, Nathan Fox and faculty sponsor Ben Johnston. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Bob Jones High School students ranked second place at the twentieth annual State EnviroBowl competition at the McWane Center in Birmingham.

“We beat the first-place team, but, since it was double elimination, we had to immediately turn around and play them again … where it came down to the last question,” faculty sponsor Ben Johnston said.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management originated EnviroBowl in 1993. EnviroBowl allows high school students across Alabama to strengthen their aptitude for the environment.

The Bob Jones EnviroBowl team members are Nathan Fox, Alan Philip George, David Gunther, team captain Daniel Lang and Siddhu Srikakolapu.

“I have been so impressed and proud of both of these teams. The public often hears negative things about our youth these days, but I teach some of the most respectful, intelligent, good-humored kids you could ever be around,” Johnston said.

Legacy of Alabama sponsors the EnviroBowl. Teams first compete in five regional competitions, and the top three teams advance to state.

“We also finished second in our region when we competed at the University of North Alabama in Florence,” Johnston said. “We finished second by one question.”

“EnviroBowl is basically a scholar’s bowl competition, except the questions are all science-related. Two teams of four each compete head-to-head during each match,” Johnston said.

Topics covered in the competition include air, chemistry, ecology, forestry, geology, physics, pollution, water and wildlife.

During the match’s first segment, the moderator reads questions to pairs on each team. A toss-up round follows.

“Whoever buzzes in first gets the chance to answer,” Johnston said. “If they answer wrong, the other team has a chance to answer.” The team that answers correctly earns a chance for a bonus question, on which the team can collaborate to answer.

“The Bob Jones EnviroBowl Team was composed of extremely bright kids who also happened to be very laid back, which is a unique combination,” Johnston said. “I enjoyed being around them. They made my job so easy.”