Medley Mixers brought the house down at Jose Marti Technical High School on Sunday as they clobbered defending champions Rising Stars 11-3 to lift the St Catherine crown in the LIME National Street Futsal Competition.

The Central Village-based team netted 40 of the record-breaking 103 goals scored on the day in what was the most spectacular exhibition of Futsal seen thus far. The high-quality organisation and excellent ball movement skills of the team were spearheaded by Atapharoy Bygrave, a former player of Premier League outfit Cavalier SC.

But not to be left out is the day’s top scorer Rohan Williams (10 goals) and Kurt Richards (seven goals) who were both menacing to their opponents’ defence. Both played an instrumental role in leading the Jeffrey Kerr-coached team to the top prize of $150,000 and one step closer to the grand prize of $1.5 million.

Kerr, who is a prominent figure in the community, was delighted as he told the Jamaica Observer that the aim is to unite the people.

“It was a very good day; we only formed the team this morning and we decided that we wanted to win it for the youth in the community, because the community is very volatile at this time.

“So we are trying to see if we can bring the people together, and we had a lot of support today (Sunday), so it is a good look and we want to thank LIME for this,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Nelson Wilson, coach of Rising Stars, was grateful that his team came away with a share of the spoils.

“The players did not follow the instructions given, but to be honest we played a better team, so congrats to them. It is a bitter sweet moment because we are glad we made it to the final, but we wanted to go all the way; but you win some and you lose some,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

The event got under way in bright sunny conditions with the prowling Medley Mixers outfit asserting their prowess early on with a 9-1 thrashing of Villa United. Hustla also made a positive start with a 7-2 beating of Time Out; Risings Stars were 4-1 winners over Young Stars, while Rum Bar United stopped Vista United 3-1.

In other first round contests, TPZ clipped ONE QUE 3-2; Tru Playaz were 2-1 winners over Church Lane United; Gurlz Rush Ent clipped Dempshire Pen Strikers 1-0, while Way To Life Strikers defeated Young Shellaz Strikers 2-1 on penalty after playing out a 2-2 score line.

Medley Mixers upped the tempo as they opened the second round with a 10-1 mauling of TPZ, to set up a semi-final clash with Hustla, who clipped Tru Playaz 4-3. Gurlz Rush Ent then outscored Rum Bar United 3-1, while Rising Stars were 2-1 winners over Way To Life Strikers.

The ‘Mixers’ continued their dominance in the semis where a hat-trick by Rohan Williams led them to another comfortable 10-3 win over Hustla. Williams netted in the 25th, 29th and 30th minutes, with Wilbourne Williams securing a brace in the 21st and 24th minutes.

Damion Ferguson (9th), Bygrave (17th), Rajeil Parchment (20th) and Richards (29th) got the other goals, along with an own-goal by Fabian Thompson in the 16th minute. Jason Peart (6th and 28th) and Demarly Dawkins (11th) were the scorers for Hustla.

The Ensom City-based Rising Stars then declared their championship status in the second encounter with an 8-2 win over Gurlz Rush Ent. Kevaughn Russell (7th and 11th), Kino-Paul Sailsman (27th and 28th), Mickhail Vassel (20th and 24th), Olanzo Brown (26th) and Stephan Morant (17th) shared the goals, while Richard Green (16th and 22nd) got both goals for the losers.

With the early exchanges setting the tone for the final, Medley Mixers were favoured to lift the title after netting 29 goals in three games. They dictated the pace early with a high press game, and opened the scoring in the 7th minute when Richards finished off a good build up.

Richards notched a second in the 12th minute when he fired in a pass from Rohan Williams. Bygrave then made it 3-0 in the 17th minute when he skipped past a defender and slotted home, before Romaine Linton pulled one back for Rising Stars in the 19th minute to make it 3-1 at the break.

Medley Mixers wasted no time on the resumption and Bygrave made it 4-1 in the 21st minute when he dismissed a charging Andre Thomas in goal for Rising Stars and fired in. He then turned provider in the 23rd minute as he displayed nippy footwork to get by a defender before passing to Parchment who converted.

Stephen Morant grabbed Rising Stars’ second in the 27th minute, but the ‘Mixers’ all out attacking movement and chemistry opened up the floodgates. They made a mockery of their opponents’ defence and found the net six times in the last 13 minutes.

Richards sealed his four-timer in the 31st and 35th minutes, while Bygrave completed his in the 39th and 40th minutes, after Williams (32nd) and Kevin Roman (36th) also got their name on the score sheet. Mark Douglas (39th) notched a late goal for Rising Stars, who were left baffled.

The competition continues on Saturday and Sunday with the final stop in Kingston and St Andrew.

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Kurt Richards (yellow top) of Medley Mixers and Andre Thomas in goal for Rising Stars collide as they vie for possession of the ball during the final.

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A section of the crowd cheering on their respective team.

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LIME Dancers entertain the crowd during the half-time break.

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Kim Lee (second right), head of channel marketing, sponsorship and promotions at LIME, and LIME dancers Kara Lee (left) and Tamara Graham (right) celebrate with the victorious Medley Mixers team after they were crowned champions of St Catherine in the LIME National Street Futsal Competition at Jose Marti Technical High School on Sunday. (PHOTOS: CHRIS COLYARD)

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Kevaughn Russell (purple top) of Rising Stars tries to get by a Gurlz Rush Ent defender during their semi-final encounter.

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Kim Lee (right), head of channel marketing, sponsorship and promotions at LIME, hands over the symbolic runner-up cheque to the Rising Star team.

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Mark Douglas (purple top) of Rising Stars brings the ball under control while being challenged by a Way To Life player in quarter-final action.

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Rising Stars goalkeeper Andre Thomas (black top) and a defender watch in despair as Kurt Richards (left) of Medley Mixers finds the net.