Big four in Walker Cup semi-finals showdown

The 2026 Walker Cup semi-finals will have a distinctly familiar feel as four former champions battle at Stadium East today in a double-header for places in this year’s final.

Kingston College (KC) will take on reigning Manning Cup champions Excelsior High at 3 p.m., while Jamaica College (JC) and Mona High will meet in the feature clash at 5:30 p.m.

The four schools have won the Walker Cup a combined 21 times, with Mona High being the most recent champions after claiming the title in 2024.

JC lifted the trophy in 2023, KC were champions in 2016, while Excelsior’s last triumph came in 2008.

STRONG CREDENTIALS

The opening semi-final pits two teams with strong credentials, with KC looking to add another Walker Cup title to their collection and Excelsior hoping to build on last year’s success.

KC cruised past St Mary’s College and Calabar High by identical 3-0 margins in their opening two games, before needing penalties to overcome St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) in the quarter-finals.

Excelsior have also been impressive, hammering Kingston Technical High School 7-0 before advancing to the quarter-finals without kicking a ball, after Waterford High conceded their second-round fixture.

They then defeated Wolmer’s Boys’ 2-0, meaning they have yet to concede a goal in the competition.

INTRIGUING

The second semi-final could prove just as intriguing, with JC and Mona renewing a rivalry that has grown in intensity with Mona’s emergence as a force in schoolboy football.

Separated by less than two kilometres, the two schools have developed a competitive edge that should add further spice to today’s encounter.

JC will enter the contest with plenty of attacking firepower, including recent Reggae Boyz debutant Jamone Lyle.

Lyle returned to schoolboy football earlier this week and marked the occasion by scoring the winning goal in JC’s dramatic comeback victory over St Catherine High in Manning Cup action.

JC received a bye into the second round following Meadowbrook High’s withdrawal from the competition, before edging St George’s College (STGC) and Eltham High by an identical 2-1 margin on their way to the semi-finals.

Mona, meanwhile, have been among the competition’s most convincing teams in attack. They opened with a 5-0 demolition of Bridgeport High before dispatching Edith Dalton James High 3-0.

Their quarter-final against Vauxhall High proved considerably tighter, but Mona held their nerve to secure a 2-1 victory and a place in the last four.

The final is scheduled for Friday, October 16.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com