CALABAR High School and St Jago High School will showdown for the final of the 2022 Schools’ Challenge Quiz today. Both team captains — Matthew Aiken of Calabar and Leroy Cassanova of St Jago — are ecstatic their teams have advanced to the finals and look forward to victory.

Both schools have won the competition five times since its inception in 1969.

Calabar won in 1989, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2012. St Jago won in 1988, 1990, 2008, 2010, and 2019.

Aiken, 17, told the Jamaica Observer that the experience has been “interesting”.

“This team is identical to last year’s team, so we were already familiar with each other, and having boarded together for roughly a year accumulatively, we are something of a family; even if a mismatched and turbulent one. The main thing that I think we’re all forced to come to terms with is that each of us is accountable to the other and to the unit as a whole. One person’s actions affect everyone,” he said last week.

“I’ve been asked this before and I continue to say that we’re pleased, but not surprised, and certainly not satisfied. It was always our plan to make it this far, and we’re continuing the hard work in hopes to go all the way. Our coaches are definitely quite elated, along with our family members, seeing that they know first-hand of the sacrifices. Our friends are happy for us as well, and excited for what it means for our school,” Aiken continued.

The most challenging match this season, Aiken added, was facing Campion College in the third round.

“We were playing a tough opponent, and while we were solid enough initially, we were a bit unhinged in the buzzer and I think we had to show a lot of composure to come through victorious in the end,” he recalled.

Also speaking to the Observer on Thursday, his opponent, 18-year-old Cassanova added, “Simply put, these are the high points of my life to date. The preparation is tough, but work conquers all. We have always had great support from family, friends, school, coach, the community, and the parish. They are pleased that our hard work has gotten us to this point, and they continue to pray for our success.”

Cassanova, who hails from Ewarton in St Catherine, has been at the quiz final for three consecutive years — 2018, 2019, and 2020.

“This will be my fourth finals. At this point I have experienced the agony and the ecstasy of it all. So I am doing my best to use the lessons learnt from my previous experiences in the finals for my preparation for this one,” he said, noting that having to play against the Queen’s School was most challenging because both schools had trained together during the season.