The Group Two clash between former champions Garvey Maceo High and Cornwall College at Juici Field highlights today’s start of the quarter-finals of the ISSA/WATA daCosta Cup football competition.

Six games are set to be contested today and two more tomorrow as the race intensifies for places in the semi-finals. Qualification for spots in the ISSA Champions Cup competition is also on the line.

The 16 winners from the second round that ended on Saturday, were placed in four preordained groups of four. Each group winner will qualify for the semi-finals.

The top two from each of the groups will qualify for the Champions Cup, while the second- and third-placed teams will play in the Ben Francis Cup knockout.

With no team making a clear-cut case to be named favourites, the race for titles is wide open, but Group Two — which also includes Manchester High and Maggotty High, who are to meet at St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex in Santa Cruz — is the most competitive on paper.

Also today, St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) are set to face BB Coke at Manchester High; Dinthill Technical are at home to Port Antonio High; while Anchovy High and Cedric Titus are slated for a western derby at Jarrett Park.

It is the second season in a row that Garvey Maceo and Cornwall College will be meeting at this stage of the competition. Last year, Cornwall College came out better in a 3-2 scoreline, ending Garvey Maceo’s 13-game winning run to effectively conclude their season.

Once again, Garvey Maceo will come into the game unbeaten — though not with the sparkling record they had last year — winning six games and drawing two.

Cornwall, on the other hand, have won eight of their 12 games. They have drawn three and lost once, to St James High in the first round. They are coming off a 4-1 aggregate win over Munro College, their oldest rivals in schoolboy football.

Garvey Maceo have lost a number of their top players from last year, but were able to replenish from the team which won the ISSA Under-16 rural area title last year.

STETHS will seek to extend their good run when they take on a familiar foe in BB Coke, a team they have played in the first round in previous years.

STETHS have been on a goal scoring spree with 53 scored so far. That figure includes 12 over their two second-round games against Brimmervale High.

BB Coke earned their spot in the quarter-finals, notching at least one big win under their belt this season, coming from two goals down to beat Manchester High.

The Manchester team shrugged off that loss to BB Coke, reeling off four wins while scoring 24 goals in the process. They face a Maggotty High team that won seven of 12 first-round games.

Dinthill Technical will relish the chance of getting back to the semi-finals and are expected to put Port Antonio to the sword today.

Anchovy High are coming off a big 4-0 win over Alston on Saturday, but face a Cedric Titus team that seems to have come into their own despite a loss to Seaforth High on Saturday.

McGrath High, set to play Happy Grove on familiar grounds at Dinthill Technical, will be full of confidence after previously seeing off former champions Rusea’s High.