In a dramatic evening of high school football, the last two Manning Cup champions suffered shocking eliminations during Wednesday’s quarterfinal matches at Stadium East. Both Kingston College (KC), the 2024 titleholders, and 2023 champions Mona High saw their campaigns end after playing to identical 2-2 draws against Calabar High and Jamaica College respectively.
The evening’s opening match witnessed Mona High facing a formidable Jamaica College (JC) side that established early dominance. Keshaun-Lee Chin opened the scoring in the 19th minute after connecting with Jabari Howell’s precision pass, marking his 11th season goal. Jamone Lyle doubled JC’s advantage just before halftime with a clinical finish from inside the penalty area.
Mona mounted a spectacular second-half resurgence with Sean Leighton, the competition’s leading scorer, reducing the deficit in the 52nd minute. Savi-K Morton completed the comeback just four minutes later with an emphatic equalizer. Despite intense pressure seeking a decisive third goal, Mona ultimately fell short of advancement.
In the simultaneous fixture, KC seized an early advantage through Shareef Ricketts’ 7th-minute strike, his 18th goal of the season coming from a Deshawn Byfield assist. Calabar responded with a rapid brace from Franchesco Reid within a three-minute span. Byfield himself leveled the score before halftime with his 19th seasonal goal, but neither side could find a winner in the second period.
The results finalized Group 4 standings with Eltham High claiming top position with seven points after defeating St Jago 3-2. Jamaica College secured second place with five points, while Mona finished third on four points, and St Jago remained at the bottom.
JC coach Raymond Watson acknowledged his team’s fluctuating performance: ‘The first half we were brilliant… we totally went to sleep in the second half.’ Mona’s head coach Donovan Duckie attributed his team’s slow start to psychological factors: ‘It was more mental for us. We had to win, they wanted a draw.’
Calabar’s resilience earned them their first quarterfinal berth in many years, emerging as group winners to join Zone B alongside Eltham, STATHS and Vauxhall High. The competing Zone A comprises Hydel, Excelsior, JC and Charlie Smith.