The intensity of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/Wata daCosta Cup football competition is expected to kick into a higher gear when the round of 16 gets going with eight games, all set to kick off at 3:00 this afternoon.

Last season’s four semi-finalists, led by two-time defending champions Clarendon College and ISSA Cup champions Glenmuir High, have progressed to this stage from where the quest for silverware will be defined.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarter-finals. Those teams will play the first round of the ISSA Cup, while the ones that are eliminated will play in the first round of the Ben Francis Cup.

Clarendon College will face a stern test when they travel to Llandilo Community Centre to face a confident Frome Technical team. Frome are yet to taste defeat after 13 games and have conceded just four goals all season. They have not conceded in their last eight games.

At the other end of the field, Stevaughn Spence has been on fire and will test the Clarendon College defence that gave up three goals in the round of 32.

Glenmuir High, one of two schools that had perfect win records in the round of 32, will host Dinthill Technical in a repeat of last season’s semi-finals. Glenmuir won that match 4-2.

The Andrew Peart-coached Glenmuir have been tagged as favourites in some quarters. While they have been dominant, they have not been infallible as they lost their last two games in the preliminary stage, albeit after already securing safe passage to the round of 32.

Dinthill Technical are coming off a big 8-0 hammering of Yallahs High in the round of 32 but had played out 0-0 stalemates in two games prior to that which had extended a four-game winless run. Their consistency is very much in question.

Garvey Maceo High, the other semi-finalists from last season, will be away to a St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) team that appears to have got over early season lethargy. They have been unbeaten in their last six games after a loss to Lacovia High in the first round.

Both had similar records of two wins and a draw in the previous round, but while STETHS won their group, Garvey Maceo were second on goal-difference behind McGrath High.

Former champions Munro College and Cornwall College, both of whom scored big wins in the final game of the round of 32 to secure their places, will renew the rivalry when they collide in St Elizabeth.

Cornwall College scored four times in the last 15 minutes of their must-win game against Spot Valley High to make progress to the round of 16 on Tuesday, while a day later, Munro College beat Maldon High 5-0. Munro’s victory was a timely rebound from their loss to Brown’s Town in their previous game.

Munro are into the round of 16 for the first time in years. They were knocked out in the second round by Manchester High last season, while Cornwall had made it as far as the quarter-finals.

Since then both teams have made changes in their coaching staff. Kemar Ricketts, who had success at BB Coke High, including winning the Ben Francis Cup in 2019, now leads Munro, while Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore is at the helm at Cornwall.

Denbigh High, who booked their final spot in the third round on Thursday, face a free-scoring McGrath High team at Dinthill Technical in Zone 4. Elsewhere, Central High and Manchester High will meet at Foga Road.

In Zone 1, Kemps Hill High are set to take on Alphansus Davis High and Happy Grove High will battle Ocho Rios High.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Kemps Hill vs Alphansus Davis High – Wembley Centre of Excellence

STETHS vs Garvey Maceo – STETHS

Frome Tech vs Clarendon College – Llandilo Community Centre

Munro College vs Cornwall College – Munro College

Happy Grove vs Ocho Rios High –

Glenmuir High vs Dinthill Technical – Glenmuir High

Central High vs Manchester High – Foga Road High

McGrath High vs Denbigh High – Dinthill Technical