Jamaica College’s title-winning exploits continued as they captured the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) All-Island Under-14 title, while St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) claimed Under-16 supremacy in the Santa Cruz double-header on Thursday.

Rwanie Rampasaul (39th) and the diminutive but nippy Jamone Lyle (69th) saw Jamaica College to a 2-0 win over STETHS in the 70-minute Under-14 encounter, much to the delight of Head Coach Wayne Palmer.

Though Jamaica College’s senior team failed in their bid at the Olivier Shield title, the badge of all-island supremacy at that level, Palmer believes having the Manning Cup, Champions Cup, and now the urban area and All-Island Under-14 titles, speaks volumes of the Old Hope Road-based school’s programmes.

“I am proud of the boys, this is a hard-working bunch of youngsters and I know the entire school family will enjoy this to go with the others,” he said in a post-game interview at St Elizabeth Technical’s Sports Complex.

“It’s always good to win titles, and as you know Jamaica College is the football mecca so players will always want to attend and represent the school. This Under-14 programme is the road map to their development and I’m really proud of the way the players applied themselves,” Palmer added.

His counterpart Roger Robinson expressed satisfaction at the mere fact that his team was able to contest the showpiece despite coming out on the losing end.

“We are not sad, our intention was to play on the last day of the season and that’s what we did. We put up a very good fight, but kudos to JC, they came and they played a good came,” Robinson noted.

But STETHS would later have something to celebrate as the Under-16 outfit outclassed Campion College 4-1 in their 80-minute final.

Justin McPherson led the way with a hat-trick in the (30th, 41st, 65th), after Deandre Barnett got the show going with a sixth-minute strike. Matthew Rhule (52nd) got Campion College’s consolation.

STETHS Coach Brandon Gayle praised his team for a job well done while expressing optimism that it will be more of the same if they get to the next level.

“It’s a very wonderful feeling winning here at home and I am really proud of the boys. It is always a pleasure to coach a bunch of players like this who really have a spirit for the game, so hopefully they can matriculate to the senior team and give us some good performances going forward,” Gayle said.

“So, for now, the future is looking good, but it’s only the work that we put in we will get out, so hopefully, with continued hard work, they can get the job done at the other level,” he added.

For Campion College’s Odane Walters there was some disappointment with not being able to add to the school’s urban area triumph, which was the their first schoolboy football title in many moons.

“This was our first time facing STETHS, so we weren’t really sure what to expect, and I guess the long journey played a factor because the players are not used to that,” Walters said.

— Sherdon Cowan