Defending champion Chase Academy battles four time winner Christianburg/Wismar while Annai Secondary tackles DC Caesar Fox today in the semi-finals of the Digicel Schools Football Championships at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.
In what will be a rematch of last year’s final, Chase Academy will engage fierce rival Christianburg/Wismar from 16:00hrs in the opening showdown.
The contest will be the third meeting of the teams in the competition’s history with both sides sharing a win.
Chase Academy secured the 2016 title due to a 1-0 result while the Linden giant clinched their fourth consecutive title in 2015 by a 2-1 margin.
In terms of their current respective campaigns, the two-time North Georgetown champs, secured wins over Region One titlist Hosororo [10-0], Morgan Learning Centre [4-2], North Georgetown [20-0], Queenstown [17-0] and a walk over against the Guyana Education Trust College.
Another dominant showing will be expected of their talented roster featuring Jeremy Garrett, Nicholas McArthur, Adrian Aaron, Reshawn Ritch, Stephon Reynolds, Sese Norville, Kevin Padmore, Cecil Jackman, Ryan Hackett and Shemar Smith.
On the other hand, the seven times Region 10 champion and six-time finalist, Christianburg/Wismar possess a battle tested resume to the final four section, tallying wins over Region 4 titlist Buxton Youth Developers [5-4 on penalty kicks after normal time ended 1-], Region 8 winner Mahdia [5-0], Kwakwani [5-1] and New Silver City [1-0].
Although they might not possess the quality of previous years, the Linden unit should not be underestimated. They will be led by the quintet of Omar Brewley, Jehu Regis, Kevin Dare, Jernel Williams and Randy Pickering.
Meanwhile, the feature engagement at 18:00hrs will be a rematch of the 2015 third place encounter which finished 4-3 on penalty kicks in favour of Annai, after normal time ended 3-3.
The two-time Region 9 champion, Annai Secondary, will be aiming to continue their dominance over DC Caesar Fox, as they target an inaugural final’s berth.
To date, Annai has secured wins over Region 6 winners Vryman’s Erven [5-0], St. Ignatius [2-1] and Aishalton [8-0]. For DC Caesar Fox, a win would clinch their fourth berth to the championship game, a national title that has eluded their grasp due to the dominance of Christianburg/Wismar.
Their campaign is decorated by triumphs over South Georgetown titlist Sir Leon Lessons [5-2], Bartica [6-0] and Parima [6-0]. The event will conclude on Sunday July 30th.
The winning team will receive $1,000,000 towards a school project and a trophy. The second, third and fourth place finishers will collect $700,000, $400,000 and $350,000 towards a school initiative and the respective accolade.
