Eltham High are the first team to book a spot in the semi-finals of the ISSA Manning Cup with a 2-0 win over Vauxhall High at Stadium East, while Jamaica College (JC) put a foot in with a thumping 4-0 win over Charlie Smith High.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Calabar High crashed out after losing 1-4 to St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS).

Eltham High, who are the surprise package in this season’s schoolboy football, jumped to six points in Zone B with a vital win at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

Santana Headley scored both goals in the 14th and 85th minutes, taking his tally for the season to 15. He is sixth in the Golden Boot race, led by Sean Leighton of Mona High with 23 goals.

Vauxhall High, playing in their first Manning Cup quarter-finals, were joined on three points by STATHS. With both Vauxhall and STATHS set to meet on Friday, they both cannot surpass Eltham, who are safely through to the semi-finals for the second time in their history.

The last time Eltham reached this far was in 2006, when they lost to Excelsior High in the semi-finals, the same year they won the Walker Cup.

In the curtain-raiser at Stadium East, STATHS rebounded from a loss in their previous outing with a thumping 4-1 win over Calabar High. The victory rekindled their chance of making the semi-final.

Calabar struck first, courtesy of O’Bryan Marks in the fifth minute, but that lead was short-lived as two minutes later Justin Johnson pulled STATHS level.

Kennardo Gordon gave STATHS the lead by the half-time break, netting in the 40th minute. Marvin Henry took over thereafter, scoring in the 50th and 86th minutes to take his season’s tally to 14 goals.

Winning Coach Philip Williams said the job is half done after losing their first encounter 1-4 to Eltham, now rebounding, beating Calabar 4-1 and back in contention for a semi-final spot.

“We need to put in a similar shift come Friday, like what we did today to complete the repair job,” said Williams.

“[It] was not our prettiest game but our most effective to date in terms of what we wanted to do. [I am] really proud of the boys. The job now is to keep them grounded and focus on the next game,” said Williams.

While STATHS moved to three points, it’s the end of the road for Calabar with back-to-back losses after previously falling to Vauxhall High.

In the feature game, JC turned on the thrills, dismissing Charlie Smith 4-0 with double strikes from Jamone Lyle (fifth and 48th minutes) and Jabarie Howell (40th and 56th). They move to six points in Zone B.

Howell’s first strike was a beautiful solo effort, a contender for goal of the season. It came on the counter-attack when he waltzed past three Charlie Smith opponents, including the goalkeeper, to tap into an empty net.

Charlie Smith remain on three points and are still in contention with a game against Excelsior on Saturday.

Excelsior, without a point, are to play Hydel High (three points) on Wednesday.