MONTEGO BAY, St James — Cornwall College will be seeking a second title of the season this weekend, a 13th hold on the ISSA/Wata daCosta Cup when they take on Clarendon College after Saturday’s victory in the ISSA Champions Cup, and the team will be relying heavily on their so far rock solid defence to lead them.

While the offence, led by Aiden Jokomba and Shavon McDonald, and to some extent Solano Birch, has made a lot of noise, it’s the defence led by the quiet Calvin Gardner that has powered the team late in the season.

The 18-year-old is the only defender left over from the 2016 team that won the daCosta Cup and played in the then Super Cup final, and he is relishing the chance to add another trophy to the Montego Bay school’s impressive tally.

“It will be important for us to win the daCosta Cup,” Gardner told the Jamaica Observer on Monday. “This was our target at the start of the season and is the trophy everyone wants.”

The 12th-grade student is a study in contrast as off the field he is often seen alone, and even in warm-ups he is often by himself, but once the gets on the field and the whistle goes he takes over, shouting instructions and directing his defence.

Gardner put on a masterclass defensive performance on Saturday against Jamaica College in the ISSA Champions Cup final at Montego Bay Sports Complex, and was the player of the game for many.

It was his second time playing in the final of the cash- rich competition that sees the winners pocketing $1 million, as in 2016 as a 15-year-old he was pressed into service in the final against Wolmer’s Boys’ at Sabina Park, after regular starter Michael Heaven was suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

“It was a tremendous feeling for me to play on the first Cornwall College team that won the Champions Cup, knowing we lost in 2016 but got the chance to redeem ourselves this year,” Gardner said.

In 2016 Gardner was thrown right into the cauldron from the began of the competition and started all 10 games in the first round, all won by Cornwall College, but when the team advanced deep into the season, the then 15 year-old went to the bench as the coaching staff relied heavily on the more experienced and physically bigger Heaven and Pagiel Brown, but was always ready to come into action as he proved in the Super Cup final.

Last year, with Heaven and Brown returning, he was shifted to wing back and did well there but, as he tells it, the middle of the defence is where he is most comfortable.

“That’s where I like playing (centre of defence), as I feel more comfortable there and I am able to see more of the game,” he said.

“The experience I have also allows me to play with more confidence and to be able to take charge more,” Gardner added.

He was able to play alongside his older brother Kenrick, a transfer from Rusea’s High for two years, but says the player he looks up to on this team is captain McDonald, his neighbour and teammate from when they both attended Corinaldi Avenue Primary.

Gardner says he feels his performances are getting better with each game, promising greater things down the road.

“I just focus on playing my best every game and I think I am improving with every game we play, so the best is still to come,” he noted

His confidence was tested in a major way this season, as his attempt in the penalty shoot-out in the first round of the Champions Cup against Wolmer’s Boys was saved. but he did not back down when the opportunity presented itself in the semi-finals of the daCosta Cup against Frome Technical last week.

“I wanted the chance to take another penalty. I told myself I had to make good… I did not change anything; I stayed with my original spot and scored this time,” Gardner ended.