Former winners Cornwall, Clarendon College advance in Ben Francis Cup
Former winners Cornwall College and Clarendon College led the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association Ben Francis Cup first-round winners with contrasting victories over Happy Grove High and Kemps Hill High, respectively, on Thursday.
Cornwall College, guided by Coach Theodore Whitmore, got by Happy Grove High 5-4 on penalties after the teams ended 1-1 in normal time at Drax Hall in St Ann.
Lenworth Hyde-coached Clarendon College beat Kemps Hill High 3-1 in an all-Clarendon match-up at Foga Road in the parish.
Manchester High also won 5-4 on penalties over Dinthill Technical after playing out a 2-2 draw at Wembley Centre of Excellence while Denbigh High were 2-0 winners over Alphansus Davis High at Brooks Park.
The winners have progressed to the Ben Francis Cup quarter-finals at which point they will meet the four teams that fail to advance from the daCosta Cup quarter-finals stage. The Ben Francis Cup quarter-final games are set to be played on November 21.
Frome Technical, who lost their first two games in the quarter-finals of the daCosta Cup, are already confirmed for the Ben Francis Cup last eight.
The other three schools are to be confirmed on Saturday with the completion of the daCosta Cup quarter-final round.
In muddy conditions caused by heavy rain at Drax Hall before the start of Thursday’s game, Cornwall College’s goalkeeper Carlyle Tingling saved Happy Grove High’s fifth penalty in the shoot-out to secure the win for his team.
It was the second time Tingling had saved his team in a penalty shoot-out. Two years ago, as a 14-year-old in his first season, he pulled off a save against Vere Technical in a daCosta Cup quarter-final game in Montego Bay.
Earlier, Oshane Chambers gave Happy Grove High the lead in the 58th minute, but Cornwall’s Carlando Morris responded four minutes later to force the penalty shoot-out.
Devor Wynter and Lashawn Barnaby were the scorers for Denbigh High in their win over Alphansus Davis High.
Alphansus Davis were losing their fourth-straight game to end the season. They had previously lost all their games in the daCosta Cup round of 16.
