THE sombreness of administration now gives way to sporadic smiles that dance around the corners of his mouth. However, the concentrated look of the visionary will never disappear — certainly, not at this juncture.

It has been a long time — 65 years, to be precise — and so making the second round of the daCosta Cup is the light at the end of the tunnel, as well as a new beginning, for the Rev Dr Gordon Cowan and the thousands who have traversed those distinguished corridors over the years.

Following years of toil — and a few near misses — Knox College has finally stolen a march on its long list of Group G rivals, including close neighbours Spalding High, Holmwood Technical and Christiana.

“It took many years but we felt as if changing the perception of Knox as a beating stick in sports was our calling,” the soft-spoken reverend exulted in apt fashion when the Sunday Observer visited on Thursday.

Though of a composed disposition, the new day unconsciously brightens his eyes and the gaze becomes more direct, impelled by a combination of success and zeal that suggests there is more to come.

“It was a long journey, but with not enough support from the past students,” Cowan reflected on the first phase of a momentous season, his eyes symbolically drifting to a nearby plaque that proclaims, Niti, Servire, Neque Cedere (To strive, to serve, and not to yield).

For generations, while cultivating an enviable reputation for academic excellence, Knox had never been a genuine contender in football, despite having exceptional individual players from time to time.

Contentiously, these talents often found alternatives that facilitated a prolonged playing career — not one that is unceremoniously aborted at fifth form.

To compound matters, for an extensive period the school contested Zone B that included St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) and Munro College — heavyweights who held a monopoly on the top two places in the group.

But all that has changed.

“This achievement is the coming together of forces that have brought us to the point of euphoria,” Cowan explained while lauding the involvement of the coach, Alexander Morgan, the PE education led by Shanette Clarke, and the teachers “who gave their full support and helped with the time management of the students”.

It was little wonder the sprawling campus resembled a convalescing carnival village last Thursday. Justifiably, the digestion period is gradual after the ecstasy of a long and significant weekend.

According to Cowan, the shift came through modifications in the structure of the school, which he refers to as “the game-changer”. For, after forming the nucleus of the Knox Community College for over 30 years, the high school had, for the past four years, recovered its Sixth Form department to resounding success.

For the first time, both netball teams have also progressed to the second round of their respective competitions.

“For many years we would have some of our students leaving fifth form at age 16, but the re-establishment of the Sixth Form has had a tremendous impact on the overall attitude, ambition and quality of leadership in sports,” the principal confirmed.

Without skipping a beat, he however reiterated the substantive mission of the school.

“At Knox it’s the student first and sporting prowess next. Knox has never ‘bought’ a sportsman; every achiever here is a true Knoxite, either from the seventh grade, or through legitimate transfer.

“They are all home-grown talent,” he emphasised.

One such talent is sturdy sixth-former Odane Marston who studies Literature, Sociology and History. A four-year veteran of the school’s Under-19 set-up, young Marston attributes their first-round success to team unity.

“We always play together as a unit. The majority of us have been playing together for at least three years,” he noted.

A central defender, Marston and the core of the majority Sixth-Form squad made it to the semi-finals of the rural area Under-16 competition in 2009, where they lost to Green Pond.

However, the articulate skipper is under no illusion as to the demands of the imminent Inter-Zone round. After all, they are pitted against former champions STETHS and Clarendon College, as well as Petersfield High.

“We aim to take it one game at a time and not be complacent,” he said. “We’re not too overjoyed right now… we intend to use the same formula of playing the entire 90 minutes to capitalise on this momentum,” he added.

Another talent is imposing defender Delvon Smith who lauded the resolve of the team in light of their inauspicious start to the season when they lost 0-2 to nemesis Spalding. Their subsequent qualification was enhanced by twice holding runaway leaders Manchester High to 0-0 draws.

As vice-captain, the upper Sixth Form student is also au fait with the demands of leadership and acknowledged the dexterity of Marston in this regard.

“The captain motivates the players and even when they make mistakes, he doesn’t speak down to them,” he noted, adding that having advanced to the second round, “Knox is not intimidated by any team.”

In a tough second-round group, goalkeeper Javan Stone and attacking utility player Craig McLean — who were both invited to the National Under-20 training squad last year — will help to ensure that indeed, they are not browbeaten.

In fact, coach Morgan has already identified Stone as one of the best custodians in the competition this year.

Despite being at the helm for only three years, Morgan, a 45-year-old veteran, has executed an unprecedented coup that would make namesake Alexander the Great a proud general.

Morgan even expects to “pull off a few surprises in the Inter-Zone round” as well. However, amid the celebrations, he has managed to keep his feet anchored.

“I feel very good at this achievement. It’s the school’s 65th Anniversary and we wanted to do well. I have a wonderful bunch of players who play to instruction; they wanted to make the change at the school,” Morgan said.

The former assistant coach at Edwin Allen High will have plenty of experience on which to draw, having been thrown in at the deep end at Spalding High in 2009 when regular coach Courtney Jackson was suspended after the preliminary round by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA).

Morgan led the team from the second round onward, guiding the relative newcomers to a celebrated berth in the final.

“Because of Knox’s style of play we have attracted a lot of fans this season,” he noted. “I believe in attacking football, but depending on the teams we play, we might have to make a few adjustments,” added the well-travelled former player at Humble Lion, Avengers and Berlin in faraway St Thomas.

“We have a strong team overall, but our main area of strength is our defence. Our midfield is also strong, but we have to work on our finishing and hope that that area falls into place going forward,” he observed.

“We’ve received a lot of support from the administration, kitchen staff and just about everybody associated with the team,” he beamed.

“We’re coming to the Inter-Zone to compete. We’re using this recent achievement as a springboard going forward and hope to spring a few surprises along the way,” he reiterated.

With the majority of his squad set to depart at the end of the school year, Morgan is unperturbed as he has identified budding talent among the current eighth- and ninth-graders.

In Clarke, who has been at Knox since 2006 and unequivocally believes in the team, Morgan will never be short on support from within the school.

“This is a team that is hungry and motivated,” Clarke told the Sunday Observer. “They came so close on more than one occasion and even last year they missed out by just a few goals. The boys were very disappointed but knew that their day would come.”

According to the unassuming HOD, the wider community has bought into the new vision and has thrown its support behind the team.

In corroborating, assistant coach Lennox Christie said the team’s long-standing tag as underdogs has worked to their advantage.

“We used these as motivational factors. We always knew that we were as good, or even better, than these schools, and we knew that we were going to spoil the party,” he declared.

In a week’s time, these protagonists will face their sternest test yet in the second phase of the daCosta Cup. Regardless of the outcome, history has however knocked on Knox’s door.

Destiny will determine its response.