JUST as it was at the end of the Super Cup last year, the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) All-island Champions Cup knockout football competition will kick off today with champions Kingston College and St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) locking horns at Sabina Park.

The game, scheduled for 7:00 pm, is a repeat of last year’s Super Cup final where Kingston College whipped STETHS 3-0 in a lopsided affair, and as such, organisers, sponsors and fans could not have asked for a more fitting match-up as one of the curtains-raisers for the rebranded competition.

Before the feature contest of the double-header, 2015 champions St George’s College will square off against the unseeded Garvey Maceo in what should also be a mouth-watering encounter at 5:00 pm.

The highly anticipated all-island knockout competition, which pits the top-eight Manning Cup teams against their top-eight daCosta Cup counterparts in exciting urban versus rural area ties, is now in its fifth edition with the rural area teams still yet to taste victory.

Along with Kingston College and St George’s College, Jamaica College and Wolmer’s Boys’ were the other title holders, and by all indications, the urban area dominance could very well continue this year.

However, STETHS and Garvey Maceo will be the first rural area teams to have their say about that as victory over the defending and former champions would be a major boost to their chances of taking top honours this year.

For STETHS, it will be a case of turning the tables in more ways than one, as they not only look to dish out some revenge on KC for last year’s defeat, but also to make amends for their failed daCosta Cup campaign.

And influential Captain Tajay Green is already rallying his troops.

“Playing KC this year is a renewed rivalry and I think this match-up is going to be an exciting one for us and we are looking forward to it. Our confidence level is a bit low right now because we fell short in the daCosta Cup, but we are looking forward to reviving our energy and transfer our disappointment into joy with victory against KC,” Green told reporters following the draw at Digicel headquarters in downtown Kingston on Wednesday.

Green, along with Ronaldo Webster and Jahlami Green among others, will be charged with getting it right if they are to send the champions packing.

But it is no secret that Kingston College have one of, if not the most talented team in the urban area and getting by them is by no means an easy task.

The North Street-based team is bubbling with confidence after recently securing a semi-final berth in the Manning Cup and Head Coach Ludlow Bernard is once again looking at the depth of his squad to get the job done.

With Captain Casseam Priestly away on National Under-20 duties, the likes of Aryamanya Rodgers, Dwayne Atkinson, Oneeko Allen and Trayvone Reid are expected to lead from the front.

“I am up for the match-up, I think it is going to be a very good game as St Elizabeth Technical was on the receiving end in the final last year and I am sure will be looking to avenge that defeat. I am, however, optimistic about our chances and looking to play some good football and serving up a delicious treat for the fans come on the day,” he told journalists.

“I am going to be heavily dependent on the depth of my squad… this season we have used as much as 28 players and all have indeed provided good service whenever called upon. You would have realised the game against Camperdown the other day, we made at least five changes, so we are hoping to utilise our squad as efficiently as possible to enable us to get the best results,” Bernard added.

Meanwhile, KC’s North Street neighbours St George’s College have been steady in their progression to the Manning Cup semi-final.

Though being kept fairly quiet throughout the second round, the Neville Bell-conditioned team to be led by the prolific Chantamoi Taylor and Damani Harris know exactly how to hit the net when it matters most, which should make for an intriguing clash against what seems to be a stout-hearted Garvey Maceo unit out of Clarendon.

Bell is not taking them lightly.

“The fact that they are in the Champions Cup would certainly suggest that they are one of the better teams in the country at the schoolboy level and the fact that they have only lost one out of 14. They were leading that one 2-1 before losing to Cornwall College, which also suggest that they are a high quality team,” said the St George’s coach.

Three other double-headers will take place tomorrow at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall, St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex and Stadium East.

At the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall, Frome Technical oppose Camperdown High at 4:00 pm and at 6:00 pm Cornwall College take on Wolmer’s Boys’ School in a repeat of the 2016 final.

First time participant Manchester High and St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) will do battle at St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex at 4:00 pm, while Clarendon College will face Charlie Smith High in the 6:00 pm feature.

Meanwhile, at Stadium East, Dinthill Technical will oppose Holy Trinity at 4:00 pm and former champions Jamaica College face Mile Gully at 6:00 pm.

The quarter-final double-headers will be played on Saturday, November 10 at Stadium East and Catherine Hall at 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm, with the semi-finals being contested on November 16 at Sabina Park at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm.

The final is scheduled for November 24 at 6:00 pm at a venue to be decided on by ISSA with the support of sponsors Digicel, Wata, KFC, SportsMax and Locker Room Sports.

Sabina Park and the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall, have been named as potential venues to host the showpiece event.

Tickets will cost $500 and can be purchased at participating schools and on match days at the venue.