KC, STGC meet in lacrosse final today
REIGNING champions Kingston College (KC) and former champions St George’s College (STGC) will meet in the final of the lacrosse high school competition as they battle for the Taino Cup, starting at 4:00 pm, today at Kingston College.
Preceding the boys’ final will be the girls’ final, the Maroon Cup, which will be contested by reigning champions St Hugh’s High and Wolmer’s Girls at 3:00 pm.
The girls’ third place play-off between Immaculate Conception High school and Campion College will start at 1:00 pm while the boys’ third place play-off between Wolmer’s Boys’ and Calabar High will begin at 2:00 pm.
Last week Saturday in the girls’ semi-final, Wolmer’s Girls beat Immaculate Conception 7-5 in semi-final one while St Hugh’s High destroyed Campion College 13-1 in semi-final two. In the boys’ semi-finals KC beat Wolmer’s Boys’ 5-2, while STGC came from 0-2 down to beat Calabar High 4-2.
The Blockbuster boys’ final is expected to attract a large crowd from both schools as the traditional North Street rivalry continues.
KC Head Coach Kenneth Subratie has expressed respect for STGC, their opponents in the final.
“This final was expected, but we respect all our opponents. We are treating it as just another game, but with an increased understanding of executing the things we have done in training.”
STGC Head Coach Damion Mckenzie was just as respectful as his KC counterpart.
“We have the most respect for KC, because they have been the most consistent team throughout the season and if you are going to win the title you want to win against the best.”
Both coaches indicated that they have fairly new squads this year.
“Our squad of 21 players have only five returning players from last season, so these 16 first-timers have done well for their first season. It is still a work in progress, but we are grateful for where we are,” said Subratie.
“My boys are young, some of them just started playing since January of this year,” Mckenzie revealed.
Despite the inexperience within his team, Mckenzie was excited about the prospects of the final.
“What better way to test how good our lacrosse is, if we can’t put it up against one of the better teams? During the season we got beaten by them, so it’s going to be a very interesting game and we are really looking forward to it.
“It’s the best thing ever. The ‘Battle of North Street’, you can’t get a better title than that,” he said.
Subratie is happy with the psychological advantage gained by the 8-3 win over STGC in the first round but will not allow his boys to get carried away.
“That’s the good thing about preliminary games, the result tends to provide relevant psychological impact. However, we know knockout games provide different mindsets.
“We are very happy with where we are. For the finals we probably have a two-position deficiency, but that is normal considering what the pandemic has done.”
Subratie who has led KC to two victories in the competition, was also delighted to announce that his team captain had already secured a lacrosse scholarship to a university overseas.
“We have also received our highest scholarship to date. Darin Briscoe (captain) has received a US$30,000 ($4.6 million) from Lourde’s University in Ohio,” he noted.