Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer
LEFT: Bridgeport celebrate winning their second Manning Cup crown last year. They defeated Excelsior 3-1 in the final.
File
RIGHT: Jamaica College celebrate beating Kingston College for the Manning Cup title in 1974. It was the fabulous school's last triumph in the competition.

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

HAUNTED BY recent failures but driven by a history rich with success, Jamaica College (JC) dream today of once again being crowned the undisputed kings of urban schoolboy football after 33 years in the wilderness.

However, standing firmly in the way of the Dark Blues and their quest for redemption are non-traditional foes Bridgeport and they are determined to secure their legacy as rulers of the new generation.

With 19 titles to their credit, JC are the most successful team to play in the Manning Cup. However, none of those have come since legendary coach Dennis Ziadie brought the title to Old Hope Road in 1974.

"I would never have imagined that the school would go this long without winning another title," said Herbie Nelson, a striker for the now legendary '74 team. Nelson, now 52, is an educator.

Easy win

"I mean, when I left school in 1976 we had a lot of players from the team, and I thought it would have been easy for them to win another title, but they just never did," said Nelson, who netted a classic goal against St. Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) to give JC the schoolboy double.

However, after their success in '74, which saw then topple Kingston College (KC), courtesy of a header from Heraldo Mitchell, Nelson, along with fabled JC left link Luke 'Shenk' Whitney - a lanky player known for his silky smooth ability to elude challenges, and the versatile Martin Woodstook went on to lose the next year to arch-rivals KC, despite being heavy favourites in the final.

"I knew that we were going to win and do so handily. But we didn't. We lost by a single goal. I wept. I wept in public. I wept on the bus home. I wept as a public act of mourning. I did not weep alone, not in my bedroom, but I did in public," said Kwame Dawes, a JC student who went to the game that year as an expectant second former.

"We really should have won in '75 when you think about it. We were a much better team and we still lost. Aometimes it just comes down to focus," said Whitney. "The fact of the matter is that any team can have a bad day," he said.

Well, it's been all bad days for the Old Hope Road team since then. In 1984, going into the final undefeated and heavy favourites, JC struck first but eventually went down 2-1 to rivals St. George's.

In 1999, a capable JC team went into the final against a Tivoli team which possessed the likes of Christopher Nicholas and Orane Simpson and were clipped 3-2.

Tear-filled end

Heading into today's encounter as favourites, JC hope it will not be another tear-filled end to a dream now over three decades in the making.

"I've seen them this season there is no reason I can think of why they shouldn't win. I just get the feeling that these guys will be the team to do it,' Whitney, who now works at the Department of Forestry, said.

'"The just need to focus on the task at hand. From what I have seen there're capable of playing very good football," he said.

However, the bad news for JC is that if there is a team willing to ruin the big occasion it is defending champions Bridgeport. One season ago they came from two goals down to end the hopes of a double crown for then champions Calabar, before going on to leave Excelsior's dreams of celebrating their 75th anniversary by winning the Manning Cup in tatters.

Last week, Waterford looked poised for an appearance in their first final but a late goal by national Under-17 representative Andre Steele put an end to that.