ASK anybody and, without so much of a second’s pause, they will tell you that Clarendon College and Glenmuir High, not necessarily in that order, are the two best high schools in Clarendon.

Put the same question to students from either institution, the response will be the same. But you are almost certain to hear those from Chapelton Hill saying they are the best, likewise those from Glenmuir Road in May Pen — whether the debate is about academics, sports, their respective choir, uniforms or just the overall best.

That is how thick this rivalry is.

In 2005, when both schools lost to Godfrey Stewart High in the daCosta Cup at Jarrett Park — Clarendon College on penalties in the semi-finals and Glenmuir, as the defending champions, a 3-0 hiding in the final — the post-mortem was not centred on the fact that the then Westmoreland minnows had denied the parish a trophy. It was about the final that wasn’t: Had it been an all-Clarendon showdown, which school would have won?

Being a CC-Glenmuir debate, loyalties were unsurprisingly split. The argument from the old parish capital was that CC would have won. “We were unlucky to lose to Godfrey,” they posited. But the rebuttal from the current capital was swift: “We were closer to the trophy; we were in the final.” To the power-brokers on both sides of the divide — the past students — there was a stalemate and there was only one way to break the deadlock.

A mock daCosta Cup final was hastily arranged; Glenmuir High vs Clarendon College. Venue: Brancourt. Date: the Saturday following the actual final in Montego Bay. The prize: bragging rights. The result: Glenmuir 3-1 Clarendon College. Yet the debate raged. Not who would have won the possible all-Clarendon daCosta Cup final. Who is the better school?

When it comes to history, the CC faithful brag about being the oldest high school in the parish, founded in 1942 by the Reverend Lester Davy. They will also talk about having a more distinguished list of alumni, a more productive sports culture, having won competitions in football, track and field, cricket and so on. Yet Glenmuir, 16 years their junior — given their roots by the Rt Reverend Percival William Gibson in 1958 — will contend that they run things now. Academically, socially and otherwise.

To be honest, this debate is a bottomless pit. No result — on the field, in the classroom, on the stage — will change this. But it is still a fascinating banter to experience, first-hand or otherwise, and the latest edition unfolds this evening, at 2:30 pm, inside Juici Park, when the schools lock horns in the semi-finals of the ISSA/LIME daCosta Cup.

Defending St Elizabeth Technical and Dinthill will meet in the other semi-finals scheduled for Jarrett Park tomorrow at 3:00 pm.

For the Clarendon neutrals, the parish is the winner. Whatever happens, Clarendon will be represented in the November 29 final at the Montego Bay Sports Complex for a second season running. However, for the parties directly involved, this game is about pride. Not who is the best schoolboy team in the parish; who is the best high school.

Yes, the honour of getting a chance to challenge for the symbol of rural area schoolboy football supremacy is high on the list. Ultimately, though, school honour trumps all — especially since the prospect of Jackie Walters, back at CC, facing the Glenmuir unit he turned into a powerhouse (winning eight trophies in 10 years) serves up an intriguing sidebar.

Based on pre-season predictions, Clarendon College are expected to start as favourites. They are blessed with quality all over the park, which has helped them to produce some eye-catching performances this season. However, with toothless performances against Holy Trinity High and STETHS in their previous two must-win games, many believe the balance has been restored ahead of this big Clarendon derby — even more so because this Glenmuir unit, considered overachievers by many, appears to be finding form at the right time.

Few expected them to reach the quarter-finals, much less challenging for two trophies at the tailend of the campaign. For the most part, they have been tactically reactive, with a counter-attacking approach that has yielded some big results. But even if, deep down, they, like the majority of the spectators who will converge in Clarendon Park, believe that they are the underdogs, they will not let anyone on the outside know that they are thinking it.

Like the proud institution they are, they will hold their heads high, square their shoulders and protrude their chests and say: “Of course, we can beat them,” and the pitch of their voices will be so certain and uniform that you might even mistakenly think you are talking to the pompous Floyd Mayweather Jr before a routine bout with a no-name slugger.

The Clarendon College supporters seem equally self-assured. Just take a look at the Facebook page ‘Clarendon College D/Cup’ and see for yourself. Not even those penalty shoot-out defeats have cooled expectations. In fact, it would appear that the only thing that will shake their confidence is an actual defeat to Glenmuir.

And should a result of this nature befall them, there is certain to be a few faithful who will leave south-west Clarendon in disbelief — perhaps thinking they are dreaming.

Dream, nightmare or not, a lot of questions will be answered this evening. (1) Which school will represent Clarendon in the daCosta Cup final? (2) Will veteran coach Jackie Walters outsmart his former assistant of 10 years or will Warren Simpson, the current Glenmuir coach, finally escape his mentor’s monumental shadow? (3) Will the ‘flair’ of Clarendon College prove too much for their fierce rivals or will the counter-attacking ploy of the buoyant Glenmuir reign supreme? But the one question that is sure to survive the post-match discussion is the age-old one: Which is the better high school? Clarendon College or Glenmuir High? The answers will be partisan in nature, predictable, too, but largely inconclusive.