CATHERINE HALL, St James — Former champions Cornwall College hammered Irwin High 8-1 in their opening ISSA Flow daCosta cup Zone A game at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Saturday evening, the third game of the official opening of the 2015 schoolboys’ football season.

Jourdaine Fletcher picked up where he left off last year as he scored a hat-trick in the first 25 minutes for Cornwall College to lead 5-1 at the half-time break as Irwin finished the game with 10 players after goalkeeper Rusean Waite was red-carded in the 39th minute.

The win extended Cornwall College’s streak in Zone A play to nine games and was their biggest opening game in more than a decade.

In the earlier games, Calabar High came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw against defending Manning Cup champions Jamaica College, while daCosta Cup champions Clarendon College beat Edwin Allen 6-1 in a Zone H game.

Joel Sterling scored a hat-trick for Clarendon College, while Seigel Knight got two more.

Two games will be played this afternoon as the competition continues. Champions in 2008, St James High, will play Anchovy High at Jarrett Park, while Islington and Annotto Bay will meet in a Zone J game that was postponed form Saturday due to a shortage of referees.

St James High will be seeking to get off to a fast start as they seek to battle Cornwall College and Green Pond for the two spots to the Inter-zone round from Zone A.

Meanwhile, at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Saturday, Cornwall extended their winning run over Irwin High to three-straight games after beating the Oscar Irving-coached team 11-0 and 2-0 last year.

Fletcher, who scored 12 goals in the first round last season, got Cornwall off to a fast start when he scored in the sixth and ninth minutes.

He just missed wide by inches in the 19th minute, but lashed home a pass from the right in the 25th minute.

Irwin managed to pull a goal back in the 33rd minutes when Andrew Gaynor powered home a penalty kick after an Irwin player was tripped in the Cornwall penalty area.

Less than 10 minutes later, Cornwall were awarded a penalty after Fletcher sped into the area, but was taken down by a crunching tackle form Waite, who was ejected. Peter Lee Vassell scored the spot kick in the 42nd minute.

He then added a second a minute later when he beat substitute goalkeeper Ranil Oilworth.

Despite adjustments in the second half, Irwin only threatened twice when free kicks from Trevaughn Walker just missed the target, but Cornwall added three more goals with two coming from substitutes Pierce Nweke and 14-year-old Denhue Ricketts who got their first daCosta Cup goals.

Shakquile Reid made the scores 6-1 in the 48th minute when he finished off a move that ripped open the Irwin defence allowing him to score from close range.

Nweke benefited from a rebound and tapped into an empty goal a minute after he replaced Fletcher in the 63rd minute, while Ricketts announced himself with a curling free kick from mid-way the corner flag and the 18-yard box that curled into the top far corner of the goal in the 80th minute.

Also on Saturday, Manchester high beat Cross Keys High 4-0, Mile Gully High were 6-0 winners over Winston Jones and Thompson Town beat Kellits High 5-0.

Today’s games

Zone A

St James vs Anchovy

Zone J

Islington vs Annotto Bay

Saturday’s results

Zone A

Irwin-1 Cornwall College-8

Zone B

Cambridge-0 Frome Tech-3

Marlene Ottey-0 Green Island-4

Zone D

Little London-1 Maud McLeod-2

Godfrey Stewart-2 Manning’s-0

Zone E

Munro-0 BB Coke-0

Newell-0 Lacovia-3

STETHS-1 Maggotty-1

Zone F

Cross Keys-0 Manchester-4

Belair-0 DeCarteret-1

Mile Gully-6. Winston Jones-0

Zone G

Alston-0 Spalding-0

Christiana-1 Knox-1

Bellefield-1 Holmwood-0

Zone H

Clarendon College-6 Edwin Allen-1

Thompson Town-5 Kellits-0

Zone I

Ocho Rios-0 Marcus Garvey-1

Browns Town vs.Cedric Titus- not played

York Castle-2 Steer Town-1

Zone J

Brimmervale- 1 St. Mary Tech-2

Tacky-2 St Mary High-0

Zone K

Charlemont-0 Bog Walk-2

Ewarton-0 McGrath-1

Dinthill-2 Tacius Golding-1

Zone L

Titchfield-1 Happy Grove-2

Fair Prospect-0. Port Antonio-1

Zone N

Foga Road-0 Vere Tech-3

Central-1 Kemps Hill-1

Zone O

Paul Bogle-2 Robert Lightbourne-0

Morant Bay-1 Seaforth-1