WHEN Hurricane Melissa hurtled through St Elizabeth on October 28, the parish was devastated by what was recorded as the most powerful storm to have hit Jamaica. Forty-five people lost their lives — 18 of whom were from St Elizabeth alone — and over 600 schools destroyed.

There were widespread calls to cancel the ISSA schoolboy football season. But the group of principals that leads the association decided not to, believing the competition will, in fact, be a morale booster for the schools.

St Elizabeth had the most deaths on record. And the St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) players were even camping at the school when Hurricane Melissa hit. They saw first-hand the destruction of their school.

So, it was fitting that these players showed such resilience amidst adversities to lift the rural daCosta Cup football title, after going down to 10 players for over 30 minutes in the final against Glenmuir High.

Omar Wedderburn, the very outspoken coach of STETHS, said they knew of the suffering in the parish and yearned so deeply to lift everyone’s spirits.

“We always have them at heart, because the majority of the fans going home to no [electrical] current, no water, so we used that as a motivation to say, ‘This we can give them for Christmas,’ ” said Wedderburn.

STETHS lost Jade Lynch to a straight red card in the 57th minute and then all seemed to have gone awry. But they showed why they are the only unbeaten team in schoolboy football this season. They dug deep with a sterling defensive effort and emerged victorious in the penalty shoot-out.

At one point Glenmuir had the kick to win the daCosta Cup but an overconfident James Wellington, who was basically celebrating before his kick — the seventh in the shoot-out which had reached sudden death — fired wide, allowing STETHS back into the contest.

“When we went down to 10 men we have a thing that we say, ‘The power of we’, and that’s when the power chipped in. And right now, you know, words even cannot explain how I feel right now,” said the STETHS coach who is the son of iconic former national goalkeeper Clive “Spiderman” Wedderburn.

STETHS goalkeeper Johnoi Steadman was crucial in the shoot-out, saving twice and even scoring his spot kick to cap off an outstanding season in which he had 20 clean sheets.

“As I say, ‘If you want to win a tournament, everybody has to play their part,’ and this evening was his time, and he really came and executed what he can do the right way,” said Wedderburn.

Kaieem Lewis of Trinidad and Tobago was STETHS’s top scorer with 26 goals and was voted Most Valuable Player of the daCosta Cup.

He was unable to score in the final but STETHS had other heroes such as defender Malachi McMaster. Despite missing his penalty kick, McMaster was crucial in taming the lethal Orane Watson of Glenmuir High. He was given the job to keep him calm, and he did that splendidly.

But it was an all-round outstanding display from the likes of Prince Perry, Amari Lewis, R-Jay Newman, Jade Lynch, Deandre Barnett, Kenoy Banton, Dantay Hewitt, Raheim Whyte and Jahvor Lawrence.

St Elizabeth Technical football players celebrate with fans after the team’s penalty shoot-out victory over Glenmuir High in the daCosta Cup final at the National Stadium on December 20, 2025. (Photos: Naphtali Junior)

Glenmuir High goalkeeper Justin Murray (right) attempts to catch the ball over St Elizabeth Technical player Shemmar Stewart during the ISSA daCosta Cup final at the National Stadium on December 20, 2025. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

WEDDERBURN… the majority of the fans going home to no [electrical] current, no water, so we used that as a motivation (Photo: Observer file)