THE 2002 SCHOOLBOY football season gets under way this afternoon with an opening ceremony and double-header at Jarrett Park featuring the champions from last season's Pepsi/Sports Plus daCosta Cup and Manning Cup competitions.
Triple champions Cornwall College will start their hunt for a 'three-peat' in the daCosta Cup when they take on long-time rivals Herbert Morrison Technical in the second game set to start at 4:00 p.m. after Manning and Walker Cup champions Bridgeport open their account against Campion College in a2:00 p.m. encounter.
The games will be preceded by an opening ceremony that is set to start at 1:00 p.m.
One hundred and three schools, 65 in the rural area daCosta Cup and 38 in the Corporate Area Manning Cup will be seeking to cover themselves in glory this season.
Five trophies will be at stake as in addition to the daCosta and Manning Cups there are also the two knockout trophies, the Ben Francis for the rural area teams and the Walker Cup for teams in the Corporate Area.
The Olivier Shield is the symbol of all-island supremacy and is competed for between the winners of the daCosta and Manning Cups.
Today's daCosta Cup game is expected to be keenly contested, as both teams will be confident of getting the season off to a winning start.
After winning five titles over the past two seasons, Cornwall College are in a rebuilding mode, returning just two members of the starting team that won everything last year.
This season, Dr. Dean Weatherly will have to build around midfielders Dane Richards, who just returned from England with the national senior team, and the burly Kirkland Smith.
Former national Under-17 striker Sean Bucknor, who missed all of last season, will return to lead the attack along with newcomers Omroy Wilson and Lushane Brent-Harris.
The defence, which will see goalkeeper Tedroy Watson who got spot starts over the past two seasons as the most experienced player, will have its hands full in trying to contain a Herbert Morrison attack that could be a potent one if it lives up to expectations.
Midfielder and skipper Navrado Fisher should play a big part in a team that has retained about 50 per cent of the players from last year including Kemoy Hinds and Jermaine 'Bubby' Bucknor.
More than three points will be at stake as with the absence of St. James High this season, this match up will be the feature of the zone and bragging rights will also be on the table.
In the Manning Cup season opener, the Anthony Patrick-coached Bridgeport Comprehensive have retained eight members from last year's champion team which bears testimony to a recent statement from Patrick that they have the ammunition to retain the crown.
However, he mentioned that they needed to stay disciplined. Anyone familiar with the stories which followed last season's huge return-leg loss in the Olivier Shield would know the significance of character to this team.
They had won the first leg game away in Montego Bay, but after a shocking rout at home in the return game, Patrick said his team threw the game because demands for new boots were not satisfied.
Despite playing in the competition for decades before Bridgeport, Campion College have never been serious contenders. For the most part they have been branded the Cinderellas of the Manning Cup but in recent time, they have improved their stature somewhat with more competitive results.
They never fared badly last season and with a fairly youthful squad, their coach, Micky Mowatt, is not promising much. He says though they are building for the future, which would not make it not at all surprising if they lose to Bridgeport.
