By DAVID COLBURN

News editor

Two future backpackers are hiking along the edge of a steep rocky slope when one trips and tumbles down the jagged, rocky slope.

As the other hiker reaches his injured friend, he reaches for his smart phone to bring up DEB, an app developed by Hillsboro High School students with lifesaving first aid information.

It’s an idea that took a step closer to reality this past week, as six HHS students who developed the concept for the app learned that they won “Best in State” in the Verizon Innovative App Challenge.

“These guys are pretty much self-driven,” HHS teacher and Technology Student Association adviser Creigh Bell said. “I provided the facility and some feedback, but they brought it all.

“That’s the point of TSA — you have something you desire to do, and you have the opportunity to pursue it. They have many competitions for students to get involved with.”

Bell said team members John Hinerman, Jared Dyck, Travis King, Reece Berens, Nathan Simhiser, and Carson Herbel conducted a poll for app ideas, then narrowed down to one to work on.

“They started at the beginning of the school year and had to have it in by November,” Bell said.

DEB stands for “Digital Esmarch Bandage,” combining modern technology with the name of a battlefield first-aid bandage developed in Germany during the Franco-German war.

Hillsboro’s team was among 90 national “Best of State” winners from among more than 1,000 contest submissions.

If the team is declared Friday as one of 24 regional winners, HHS will receive $5,000 to develop or support a program in science, math, technology, or engineering. Schools of eight national winners will each receive $15,000, and Verison and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab will help the students develop their apps.