The "Green Machine," St Augustine Senior Secondary have already clinched the East Zone and rolled into the Big Five semi-finals. Scarborough Secondary have captured Tobago for the third time in four years and will meet perennial Central Zone winners Presentation College Chaguanas in the lone quarter-final at Shaw Park on Saturday.
Today therefore, will provide both Naparima College and Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive with the opportunity to lay claim to the South and North titles respectively when the last scheduled round of matches are played in the BG T&T Secondary Schools Football League.
Since their 3-1 loss to Princes Town Senior Comprehensive over a week ago, defending South champs "Naps" have been under steady pressure to hold onto their slim one-point lead over PTown. In the three matches since, they have managed to do enough against Moruga Composite, Fyzabad Composite and Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive to stay ahead.
And this afternoon when they travel to Mahaica to play one-from-bottom, relegation threatened Vessigny Secondary, they will need to have steady nerves again. In the first round the teams drew 1-1. But "Naps" cannot afford anything else but full points in what has been the closest Championship Division race of the season.
Princes Town, having won five games on the trot and conceded just one goal in that time, will also need to get win number six at home against Fyzabad.
In the another South match today, Mayaro Composite, having lost five straight, will hope for at least a consolation win at home to bottom-placed Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive who have only a faint mathematical chance of evading the automatic relegation spot at Vessigny's expense. But that will require a Pleasantville win by a wide margin and a Vessigny loss.
In the other game, St Benedict's College host Moruga Composite.
Up North, Mucurapo can dash St Anthony's College's hopes of a fourth straight zonal crown and their hopes of a national League hat trick if they secure full points today when they play the hosts at St Mary's ground on Serpentine Road.
The job against mid-table CIC looks easy enough for "Compre" who beat the same opponents 6-2 in the first round. And should the Selris Figaro-coached outfit get win number 12 today, it will give them an unassailable four-point lead and make their rescheduled second round fixture against second-placed St Anthony's irrelevant.
The "Tigers"can only hope that St Mary's can draw or score an upset win, and that they succeed themselves at sixth placed Queen's Royal College so that they will again have their destiny at their own feet when they meet Mucurapo on Saturday in Westmoorings.
Down at the bottom, Tranquillity Secondary seem headed back to the Senior Division unless they can score a massive win over Morvant/ Laventille Secondary, comfortably ahead of them on goal difference. Even then, Morvant/Laventille still have a game in hand.
17