GAYLE, St Mary — Tacky High School will hope to qualify for the second round of the ISSA/Digicel daCosta Cup for the first time in 16 years.

They last achieved the feat in the 2006 season when they topped Zone K.

Tacky High are one of at least four schools that can advance after today’s round of matches, joining the 19 schools that had earned a second-round berth up to Tuesday’s round of matches.

Former champions Cornwall College, Brown’s Town High and Seaforth are among those who could all make progress.

Tacky High lead Zone J with 16 points and will face fourth-placed Horace Clarke High (formerly Islington High) for first time this season and a win would see them safely through.

It could be a battle to the end, however, as at least four schools are still in contention for one of the two automatic spots. Those two slots will be filled after second-placed St Mary High face long shots Annotto Bay High, while St Mary Technical take on out-of-contention Wycliffe Martin High.

Tacky High, who were last in their zones the last two times they competed in 2018 and 2019, have come close on two previous occasions, finishing third in 2008 with 28 points but were edged out by Annotto Bay High on goal difference, and in 2012 when they again finished third with 17 points.

A point will be good enough for Brown’s Town against Ocho Rios High, who will only be honouring their fixtures as they have been eliminated.

Brown’s Town are joint second with Oracabessa High on 11 points, both well behind leaders York Castle High and even a loss of no more than a two-goal margin would still see them through.

Oracabessa High have completed their schedule with a minus-one goal difference, while Brown’s Town have a two-goal difference.

Seaforth High are in second place in Zone L on 18 points, behind Paul Bogle High who have already secured their place in the second round and need a win against St Thomas Technical today to ensure their progress.

Any slip up would open the door for third-placed Yallahs High, who are on 17 points and face Paul Bogle who need only a point to top the points tables.

Paul Bogle High have won just one of their last three games after winning their first six.

Cornwall College carved out a slim 1-0 win over St James High on Tuesday to increase the gap between second and third but will need another win today, their fourth in a row since losing back-to-back games to stay in contention.

Even a win will not secure the 12-time champions’ spot in the next round as they would need Maldon High to drop points against Green Pond High for the second time in three days.

Maldon, who are on nine points but with two more games to go, are still in contention, just as Green Pond, who are third on 11 points with a game still to be played on Saturday.

Today’s Games

Zone A

Maldon vs Green Pond @ Maldon

St James vs Cornwall @ Jarrett Park

Zone D

Petersfield vs Black River @ Petersfield

Zone I

Marcus Garvey vs York Castle @ Drax Hall

Brown’s Town vs Ocho Rios @ Addison Park

Zone J

Tacky vs Horace Clarke @ Tacky High

St Mary Tech vs Wycliffe Martin @ Richmond

Annotto Bay vs St Mary High @ Westmoreland Oval

Zone L

Yallahs vs Paul Bogle @ Yallahs

Morant Bay vs Robert Lightbourne @ Morant Bay

St Thomas Tech vs Seaforth @ Eastern Bananas

Zone M

Central High vs Glenmuir @ Effortville

Zone N

Kemps Hill vs Foga Road @ Kemps Hill

— Paul Reid