JEFFERSON TWP — A team of four Knoch High School students won the final round of KDKA’s Hometown High Q quiz show, beating out 80 other teams in the region.

The team included just-graduated senior Nathaniel Pettit, and boys who will be seniors this fall: Will Morgus, Nick Ripper and Jacob Love.

The final round of the show aired Saturday.

According to Pettit, the South Butler County School District’s team only was the sixth public school to win out of 17 seasons. But for him, the fact that the team won is “proof that public education does work,” he said.

Pettit also said the experience was incredible and taught him the ability to focus under the pressure of bright lights and being on camera, he said.

While the top nine schools received prize money, the grand prize for Knoch was $6,000, which the team earmarked for three specific programs at the school.

Ripper said $1,000 will be donated to the student newspaper. Another $1,000 will be given to the microphone fund to help with the district’s dramatic productions and events, Love said.

And $4,000 will go to high school history teacher Brad Pflugh, who teaches AP European History, according to Morgus.

He said Pflugh’s books are about 15 years old and are not meeting the needs of the AP class. The $4,000 is the cost to replace the textbooks and buy enough online subscriptions for the books for two years.