SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Very few schoolboy football battles evoke more passion than the St Elizabeth derby between St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) and Munro College.

And today’s game at the STETHS Sports Complex in Santa Cruz could be for more than pride, but their very survival in the competition.

A single point and two places separate the protagonists in Zone E with Munro College in the now unfamiliar position of leaders with 13 points with STETHS in third on 12 points, both after seven games.

This season has been the most unpredictable in Zone E in decades as so-called minnows BB Coke, Lacovia High and Maggotty have staged an uprising and have shocked fans who follow schoolboy football in St Elizabeth.

That the two should even be playing for the lead was almost unthinkable two weeks ago.

A 1-0 win by STETHS over Munro in round three flattered to deceive as the four-time champions were beaten the next game by BB Coke, a result of historic proportions.

But the season, so far, has been historic if nothing else as STETHS have twice failed to beat Maggotty, a team they had barely given up a goal against in the past and who also beat Munro College as well.

Both giants have over the past few rounds managed to bring some semblance of respectability to their statistics — Munro winning their last four, while conceding just a goal and STETHS, excepting for their 2-2 draw against Maggotty on Wednesday, won back-to-back games with a 10-0 aggregate.

Munro last beat STETHS in 2009, but then lost in the Ben Francis KO final as STETHS had the last laugh, going on to win the daCosta Cup.

Lacovia had beaten BB Coke 1-0 in their first-round meeting and another win today would put them in the driver’s seat for an automatic place in the next round.

— Paul Reid