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One of the first questions in Laurel's 2009 high-school trivia competition asked students about their predecessors: What did students in the first class of Laurel High School, the Class of 1900, have in common?

"They were all white?" asked Laurel High School after huddling together to discuss the question in "It's Academic Laurel."

Incorrect.

The question then went to the St. Vincent Pallotti team, which failed to come up with a serious guess.

The correct answer? "They were all women," said moderator and Parks and Recreation director Mike Lhotsky, as sighs erupted from both the audience and competitors.

Pallotti took the trophy in the Nov. 18 trivia contest, marking the second consecutive year the private, Catholic school has beat Laurel High School in a competition that tests Laurel's two secondary schools on their knowledge of the city. Pallotti now leads Laurel High, which won the first trivia contest, two games to one in the ongoing rivalry.

Even though there was only one Laurel resident on the Pallotti team, the school remained in the lead for most of the six-round contest and went on to win 75-60. Each student was treated to a pizza lunch and gift bag with a Laurel mug, notebook and pin.

Before the competition, Pallotti junior Peter Vassiliou, 16, of Silver Spring said his team did not think its lack of Laurel residents would be a disadvantage.

"These three are wicked-smart," he said, gesturing to his teammates. "We know our special facts."

The competition, which is held annually in the Laurel City Council chambers in commemoration of Municipal Government Works Month, featured five students from each school who worked together to answer five-point questions about Laurel history, government and municipal services. The questions all were based on information found on the city's Web site, www.laurel.md.us.

City officials decided to begin the trivia game as a way for students to learn more about their local government and municipal services, said Kimberly Rau, clerk to the Laurel City Council. Laurel's committee for the Municipal Government Works Month came up with the questions and committee member Pat Haag kept score at the competition.

Laurel High and Pallotti were invited to participate because they are the only two high schools in the city, Rau said.

Pallotti senior Paolo Perez-Howard, 17, of Laurel, said his team's strategy was to use he information the opposing team offered when it unsuccessfully answered a question.

"If they got part of the answer right, we at least wanted to have that in our answer," Paolo said.

The strategy also seemed to work for Laurel High, which stole a question from Pallotti that asked for two officials who have the authority to make an emergency proclamation in the city. After Pallotti incorrectly guessed the mayor and City Council, Laurel tied the game with its correct answer: the mayor and the governor.

Pallotti pulled ahead with correct answers about how the city administrator is chosen (appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council) and the name of the current chief of police (David Crawford).

Despite a tough loss, Laurel High School junior Kristen Young, 16, said the contest was fun.

"We did better than last year," said Kristen, a Laurel resident. "I'm proud of us."

Laurel High School Principal Dwayne Jones said the competition is a good way to bring students and staff from the two high schools together and show that, public or private, they have a lot in common.

"Kids are kids," Jones said. "They're still a pain in the neck; you still love them to death."