Digicel Schools’ Football Championships: Carmel, Waramuri, St Ignatius, Waramadong make semi-final cut

Eight were reduced to four on Sunday evening when the quarter-final round of the Digicel Schools’ Football Championships was contested, with a display of skill and upsets galore in store.
When the dust settled at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground, Carifesta Avenue, St Ignatius Secondary (Region Nine); Carmel Secondary (Georgetown); DC Caesar Fox (Waramadong, Region Seven) and Waramuri Primary Top (Region One) were the teams still in the hunt for this year’s coveted Digicel Championships.
This year’s tournament will see brand-new champions, with neither of the aforementioned schools lifting the trophy in the past seven editions.
The first team to secure their spot in the semi-finals were St Ignatius Secondary, after defeating Tucville Secondary 5-1.

St Ignatius’ Romel Ernest registered a treble in the 49th, 70th and 74 minutes while Morgan Taruma and Akon Albert netted one each in the 60th and 62nd.
Tucville had opened the scoring in the ninth minute by way of an Akil Barrow goal.
Next, an intensely-contested game between virtual neighbours Carmel and Dolphin Secondary resulted in a 3-1 win for the former, upending the 2023 Georgetown District Champions.
Jequan Cole netted the first goal of the game for Dolphin in the 10th minute, however, a solid comeback from Carmel saw Ian Daniels, Marcus Layne and Amar Husbands scoring in the 22nd, 29th and 48th minutes to seal the win.
With Cole and another teammate getting their marching orders from the referee, the Georgetown champions, who were already missing their usual goalkeeper, were unable to come back from the deficit.
It was a walk in the park for DC Caesar Fox (Waramadong), who whipped Charlestown Secondary 5-0 in the following fixture. Braces off the boots of Carrington Isaacs in the 43rd and 49th minutes and Bevon Jones in the 71st and 77th, accompanied by a single strike in the 39th from Anthonio Isaacs accounted for Waramadong’s 5.
The final game of the evening was arguably the upset of the tournament, as Waramuri Primary Top ousted Regional Champions Santa Rosa in an all-Region One clash.
Waramuri got ahead first with goals from Bruce Vincent in the 27th minute and a stunner from Zundel Adams in the 50th, which caused spectators at the venue to erupt in cheers. Meanwhile, Santa Rosa tried to play catch-up. Captain Roy Vansluytman continued his fine display of excellent freekick execution, converting for a goal in the 60th, however, it was not quite enough as the 2-1 game went in Waramuri’s favour.
The semi-finals will be staged on Wednesday, August 9 at the same venue. There, St Ignatius Secondary will take on Waramuri Primary Top, while Carmel Secondary and DC Caesar Fox (Waramadong) Secondary face off in the other semi-final game.
The Digicel Schools’ Championships final is set for Sunday, August 13.