Bridgeport's Adoah Nickle (left) celebrates with teammates Jamiel Hardware (centre) and captain Andre Steele after scoring against Wolmer's in the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel Manning Cup on Saturday. Bridgeport won the game 3-1. - Ricardo Makyn photos

Western Bureau

Weather permitting, the much-anticipated second round of the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup inter-zone schoolboy football matches, which should have been played on Saturday, will be played this afternoon at the same venues, all starting at 3:00.

Persistent rain across rural Jamaica on Saturday created havoc with the planned 12-game fixture, resulting in only four games being played. In the four games, the double-headers at Jarrett Park and St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), Ben Francis champions St James High, Rusea's, STETHS and Spaldings High all emerged victorious.

St James High blanked Godfrey Stewart 2-0 in Group One, Rusea's upstaged Marcus Garvey 5-1 in Group two, STETHS edge Christiana 4-3 in Group Four and Spaldings High edged Lacovia 1-0 in Group Three.

Having seen the results in the games that were played, the teams vying for honours in those groups are now in a position to assess their situation and will know what is needed to put themselves in advantageous positions.

Final round

In Group One, the Frome Technical team, which stung St James High 4-3 in their first-round game, will be eyeing a win or at least a draw against Cedric Titus at Drax Hall to keep themselves atop the Group One games going into the final round of matches. Cedric Titus, with a draw in their first game, need to win to keep their hopes alive.

With Rusea's winning big on Saturday, first-round winners Grange Hill and Cornwall College, who drew against Rusea's, are expected to throw down the gauntlet as they seek to peg back Rusea's. While a draw would probably not seriously hurt Grange Hill, a draw or a defeat could sent Cornwall College packing.

"We were a little disappointed with the first-round 0-0 draw against Rusea's, but we are aiming to make amends against Grange Hill," said Dr Dean Weatherley, the coach of 11-time champions Cornwall College. "We are now at a stage where we can't afford any slip-ups.

Crucial encounter

The Group Three game between Clarendon College (0) and Bellefield High (1) is quite a crucial encounter for both teams as, with Spaldings (4) and Lacovia (3) ahead in the standings, a negative result for either team should send them crashing out of contention.

With STETHS winning on Saturday to join them atop the Group Four standings on three points, the match-up between Lennon, who beat STETHS 2-1 in the lone inter-zone fixture, and Manchester High, who clipped Christiana 1-0, will be an interesting affair as, should there be a winner, that team will take over sole leadership of the group.

In another key match-up, Dinthill, who were rampant in their 4-0 win against Annotto Bay - which probably eased some of the disappointment of their 4-0 loss to St James in the Ben Francis KO final - will be gunning for more success in their game against a Paul Bogle team, which had a surprise first-round 2-1 win against Glenmuir.

Bridgeport's Jamiel Hardware tries to fend off a tackle from behind from Wolmer's Boys' Nicholai Holness in the ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel Manning Cup at the Constant Spring Complex on Saturday. Bridgeport won 3-1.

Today's games

Cedric Titus vs Frome at Drax Hall at 3 p.m.

Grange Hill vs Cornwall College at Jarrett Park at 3 p.m.

Bellefield vs Clarendon College at Manchester High at 1 p.m.

Manchester High vs Lennon at Manchester High at 3 p.m.

Bog Walk vs St Thomas at Dinthill at 1 p.m.

Dinthill vs Paul Bogle at Dinthill at 3 p.m.

Glenmuir vs Annotto Bay at Brancourt at 1 p.m.

Old Harbour vs St Mary Technical at Brancourt at 3 p.m.