Trying to predict winners in the ISSA/ Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup will not be an easy task for those who would be brave enough to put their money where their mouth is.

Despite what anyone will tell you, predicting that St James High would have won the Ben Francis Knockout on Saturday would have been purely speculative.

Near the end of the first round, Old Harbour High who had knocked out last season’s double champions Garvey Maceo and won Zone I ahead of the 2006 winners Glenmuir, looked to be on their way to their first daCosta Cup winners.

A big 3-0 loss to Dinthill in the semi-finals of the Ben Francis Knock out swung the pendulum decidedly towards the St Catherine school but that lasted just two days before they ran into a buzz saw at Jarrett Park and was completely outplayed in every department.

St James High is now wearing the bull’s eye on their backs and will be the target for every school that is still in the competition as they seek to become the seventh school overall and fourth western school to take the daCosta Cup/Ben Francis double.

Cornwall College has won the double four times – in 1983, 1995, 2000 and 2001; Rusea’s High three times – 1985, 1987 and 1992; Herbert Morrison twice – 1986 and 1988 while three Clarendon schools – Clarendon College in 1998, Glenmuir in 2004 and Garvey Maceo last year have won it once.

That means that in the 26 years since the start of the Ben Francis Knockout, less than half the schools that win one title go on to win the other.

Veteran schoolboy coaches will tell you that trying to predict what teenaged boys are likely to do in any 12-hour time span is like trying to shoot fish in a barrel and that girls at that age group are far more likely to see out a full season than their male counterparts.

This column was completed yesterday morning, hours before St James took on Frome Technical in their first daCosta Cup Inter-zone game at Frome and four days after their historic win.

Which St James High team will show up is anyone’s guess. If it was the team that trounced Dinthill, they should win going away but it could also be the team that played against Lacovia and struggled for long periods while waiting for an individual burst of brilliance.

It is still a long way between now and December 6th with six more games to be played after yesterday and each one more important than the one before it.

Depending on the results we may see more schools being labelled as favourites before we even get to December 6.