Rampant Rusea's maul Maldon 10-0

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Eight time champions Rusea's High became the first qualifiers for the inter-zone round of the 2010 ISSA/Pepsi/Digicel daCosta Cup rural area senior schoolboy football competition yesterday afternoon when the mauled Maldon High 10-0 in their Zone B game at the Colin Miller Complex in Lucea.

Rusea's, which now sport a perfect win record from their six games, have moved up to 18 points and cannot be overtaken by more than one team for one of the group's two inter-zone places.

Jermaine Woozencraft (three goals), Bryan Brown (three), Junni McDonald (two), and Ramon Foster and Nicodea McDonald, scored the goals for the 'Russians'.

"This has given us some breathing space, so we can now concentrate on winning the zone and qualifying for the Ben Francis Knockout," said Anthony 'Follies' Williams, who shares coaching duties for the team with Emerson 'Diggy' Henry.

"It was quite an emphatic performance," he added.

Serious blow

While Rusea's were on fire in Zone B, the competition's most successful team, Cornwall College, suffered a serious blow in their championship bid when they went down 2-0 to William Knibb in their Zone A showdown in Martha Brae, Trelawny.

Oshane Miller and Shaunavan McKenzie netted the goals for the Cassman Williams-coached William Knibb.

The defeat left Cornwall College on 12 points, while William Knibb, who were winning their first game, moved up to six points.

The group's leader, St James High, also suffered a setback as they ended 0-0 with Muschett High.

St James High are now on 14 points, while Muschett joined Cornwall College on 12.

Tense battle

In Zone F, where there is a tense battle for supremacy between champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and group leaders Munro College, both teams emerged with good wins.

Munro defeated Mile Gully 3-1 to move up to 19 points, while STETHS upstaged DeCarteret College 2-0 to stay second on 17 points.

"The conditions were extremely challenging as there was a lot of mud on the pitch," said Munro College's coach, Neil Harrison. "Thankfully, we got 100 per cent commitment from the boys."

In Zone I, former champions and group leaders, Glenmuir High, extended their unbeaten run to seven games, clipping Denbigh 1-0 in their top-of-the-table clash to move to 19 points.

Garvey Maceo had a 2-0 win against Kemps Hill, which moved them to 12 points and joint second place with Denbigh.

Yesterday's results

Zone A:- William Knibb 2 Cornwall College 0, St James High 0 Muschett 0

Zone B:- Herbert Morrison 3 Hopewell High 0, Rusea's 10 Maldon 0

Zone C:- Brown's Town 2 Albert Town 1, Marcus Garvey 8 York Castle 0, Cedric Titus 1 Ocho Rios 0

Zone D:- St Mary High 4 Brimmer Vale 1, Islington 1 Iona 0

Zone E:- Grange Hill 4 Little London 0

Zone F:- Maggotty 1 Lacovia 0, Munro 3 Mile Gully 1, STETHS 2 DeCarteret 0

Zone I:- Garvey Maceo 2 Kemps Hill 0, Glenmuir 1 Denbigh 0

Zone L:- Morant Bay 1 Yallahs 0, St Thomas Technical 3 Robert Lighbourne 0