ROUND 1
Players of the Round:
Mr. Murray (298 votes), Mrs. Scheuering (286 votes)
Upset of the Round:
(12) Mr. O’Brien over (5) Ms. Britton
Postgame Reactions:
In (8) Watkins vs. (9) Ferguson, the battle of security guards, experience proved to be the key to victory as Watkins won in commanding fashion (258-86). Ferguson pleaded for another chance and suggested that next year's games be determined by Oklahoma drills instead.
Mr. Hoffer claimed his near 200-vote loss to Mr. Nolte resulted from voter fraud and urged The Backword to “count the votes.” He rebuked both the loss and Mr. Nolte’s “woke” AP African American Studies curriculum.
ROUND 2
Players of the Round:
Mrs. Scheuering (318 votes), Mr. Scheuering (260 votes)
Upset of the Round:
(8) Security Guard Watkins 177 - 168 Mr. Lee (1)
Postgame Reactions:
After consecutive deep runs, including a runner-up finish in 2023, Mr. Lee shockingly failed to make the Sweet 16. On his narrow defeat to Watkins, Lee said, “I want to blame the refs, or injury, or the salary cap, or Taylor Swift, but the truth is Watkins was just the better man and beat me fair and square. I'll use the offseason to train even harder or find better performance-enhancing drugs.”
Mr. Parker, the sponsor of The Backword, was disappointed that the games were not rigged in his favor. After his loss to Señor Taylor, he said, “I feel a little like Coach Capel, not gonna lie. Started well, lots of experience and figured it would be an uphill climb but had a little bit of hope. But then the wheels…they didn’t fall off..they shredded into about a million pieces. Absolute carnage. Yeah.”
Mr. Rhad failed to confirm or deny The Backword’s interview request; his bloodshot gaze was glued to his computer screen. It is unclear whether he was crying after the loss or had rekindled old habits.
SWEET 16
Players of the Round:
Señor Taylor (278 votes), Mr. Murray (257 votes)
Upset of the Round:
(3) Dr. Ghogomu over (2) Mr. Slosky
Postgame Reactions:
Fan favorite two seeds Mr. Milcic and Mr. Slosky both declined interviews after losing to substitute teachers. However, they were soon after seen on the golf course getting an early start to their offseasons.
ELITE 8
Players of the Round:
Mrs. Scheuering (259 votes), Señor Taylor (251 votes)
Game of the Round:
(6) Mr. Ricketts 186 - 184 Mr. Bogolin (5)
FINAL 4
Player of the Round:
Security Guard Watkins (316 votes)
Game of the Round:
(1) Mrs. Scheuering 252 - 195 Señor Tailor (1)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Preview:
(8) Mr. Watkins; Security Guard; 1182 Total Votes Earned
(1) Mrs. Scheuering; Health/Phys. Ed Teacher; 1,354 Total Votes Earned
Final:
(1) Mrs. Scheuering 337
(8) Watkins 339
Watkins capped off his Teacher March Madness Cinderella run with a narrow championship victory over the back-to-back reigning champion, Mrs. Scheuering.
Watkins, an eight seed in his first tournament appearance, miraculously blew by his competition en route to his historic victory. First, he defeated his coworker (9) Ferguson in a landslide, then snuck by perennial contender (1) Mr. Lee in Round 2. In the Sweet 16, he defeated Mrs. Scheuering’s husband, (4) Mr. Scheuering, proving that no household was safe from his dominance. He followed up with commanding victories in the Elite 8 and Final 4 over (3) Mr. Murray and (6) Mr. Ricketts, respectively. Finally, he prevented Mrs. Scheuering from threepeating in a back-and-forth battle that proved to be the closest of the whole tournament.
To better understand how Watkins defied the odds, The Backword spoke to voters in the event. “I voted for him because he didn’t confiscate my Elf Bar during bag check,” one student admitted. “He let me keep my DoorDash,” and “he joined my rotation in the bathroom,” others said.
After back-to-back championships and a streak of 17 consecutive game victories, Mrs. Scheuering vows that she will be back next year to avenge herself and her husband.
Congratulations to Watkins on his victory! Allderdice Teacher March Madness will return with The Backword 2026.
