Technology teacher Donald Higgins’s grandmother, who helped raise him and taught him how to play Scrabble, would be proud. This childhood game grew into an impressive skill set as he recently won the Literacy Council of Montgomery County’s 7th annual Scrabble tournament.

Higgins played alongside his cousin in their fifth competition. The tournament raised $45,000 for the Literacy Council.

“We had the highest score, outdistancing the second team by almost 100 points,” Higgins said. “We did not have any one particular word that won it for us, but we had five Bingos (7 letter word plays) that were key. Each Bingo is worth 50 bonus points.”

According to Higgins, his years of playing, experience in tournaments and memorization of two- and three-letter words are skills that allow him to excel in the game of Scrabble.