Two flavors win top billing at BHS’s fudge flavor contest.

“Sweet” was just about all Bremerton High School (BHS) senior Matt Montgomery could say as his fudge, Requiem, tied for first place in the third annual Dare Not To Swear fudge flavor contest Thursday afternoon.

“Good fudge is good fudge no matter what flavors they are,” Montgomery said as his mix of milk chocolate, white chocolate and peanut butter received the same number of votes as BHS sophomore Kayla Calhoon-Renzo’s Poppin’ Swirl combination, which added Ring Pops with white chocolate.

“It feels really awesome,” Calhoon-Renzo said after the final results were announced. “I’m definitely going to enter (the contest) next year.”

Calhoon-Renzo said the inspiration for her flavor came from her favorite candy, Ring Pops, and white chocolate provided the perfect background for the varied Ring Pop flavors.

“I thought the rings were going to have different flavors,” she said, after tasting her flavor, which was made by The Candy Shoppe in Port Orchard, which has partnered with the Dare Not To Swear program in the contest for the past three years.

Montgomery, who plays the piano and trumpet, said the name for his fudge came from his background in music.

“The three of them together made a requiem,” he said, noting the term also is used for musical combinations of three as well. “I’m just glad we get to take the rest of the fudge home.”

Calhoon-Renzo and Montgomery stood apart from the other five semi-finalists in the contest, which included Dare Not To Swear organizer Madonna Hanna, whose submission was combined with one from BHS seniors Sabrina Battard and Melissa Glazier.

Battard’s and Glazier’s original combination was vanilla nougat fantasy fudge — vanilla cream, nougat and chocolate chips — before The Candy Shoppe employee Greg Stojack substituted Hanna’s cranberry idea for the chocolate chips.

“I tasted it with cranberries and it was delicious,” Battard said.

Battard said she and Glazier have been friends for a long time and this year they decided entering the fudge flavor contest would be something fun to do together.

“It turned out very well, and it’s great that people got to taste our creation,” Battard said.

Glazier said she was surprised not to see chocolate chips, but quickly added that the cranberries made it taste better.

“I got to use my imagination, and I think ours is one of the best,” she said.

The seven semifinalists came from a total of 31 entries that were submitted by BHS students and staff, Hanna said, noting this year was the first time the BHS DECA club had been involved with the event, because the Dare Not To Swear program is being entered into a DECA competition.

“We had a nice crowd and everyone was serious about it,” Hanna said.

That level of seriousness is one thing that struck Stojack as he watched students and staff filling out their ballots to decide the winner.

“They’re all very serious and that’s something I’ve never seen in people when it comes to fudge,” he said.