Jamaica College's Kaemmar Daley. - Winston Sill

The 2006 schoolboy football season is only in its first month but the action is already heating up.

In terms of quality there is not a lot to write home about, but as usual the students are coming out to cheer on their schools.

In the urban area Jamaica College made a very big statement last weekend by handing defending Manning Cup champions Calabar their first defeat in two years, while out in the rural area 2005 daCosta Cup winners Godfrey Stewart have been struggling in their group following a defeat and one drawn match.

The teams to watch in the rural area appear to be St. Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) and Munro College. Both are former champions who are bidding to return to their glory days. Last Saturday STETHS blanked Munro 2-0 in a group game being hailed as the best of the season so far.

In Kingston the big game at the weekend was Jamaica College versus Calabar. The latter had strengthened their team for this season and there were wild celebrations on Old Hope Road last Friday after JC clipped the David Hunt-coached Calabar 1-0 on their home ground.

The Manning Cup has already thrown up a few good players. JC's Keammar Daley is all the rage following his destructive dribble against Calabar which set up the winning goal. There are others like midfielder Kenardo Forbes of Bridgeport, Calabar's defender Robert Palmer, exciting midfielder Andrew Phang of Charlie Smith and Eltham High's forward Tremaine Stewart who have been playing quite well.

Stewart, a wily forward, is reportedly registered with National Premier League team August Town and will turn out for the club at the completion of the Manning Cup.

In the daCosta Cup St. Elizabeth's Renario Downswell is the outstanding player. Downswell is the son of former national technical director Wendell Downswell who was a top player for the Santa Cruz-based school in the 1970s.

Among the other outstanding players in the daCosta Cup are national under-17 player Edward Campbell of Cornwall, Rusea's Andre Gilling and Drion McNain of Manning's.

It's a pity that there is no competition which can put together the four top schools from both the rural and urban competitions. The current format where the Manning Cup champions face the daCosta Cup winners in the Olivier Shield was decided on many, many years ago when there were very few high schools. Now there are more than one hundred high schools in both competitions. More talent needs to be exposed.

There is a time constraint, but the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) should consider a knockout competition for the eight top schools and give more boys the chance to showcase their talent on a national stage.

Send your comments or suggestions to elton.tucker@gleanerjm.com