LUCEA, Hanover — ZONE B of the ISSA/LIME daCosta Cup schoolboys’ football competition is set for a potentially explosive end on Saturday with Rusea’s High — one of the competition’s most successful schools — facing the possibility of not making it past the first round.

Green Island High revived their flagging hopes of advancing for a second straight year after they ambushed Rusea’s High 3-0 in the rescheduled return-round game played in Green Island on Tuesday.

Rusea’s must get a point when they host early qualifiers Frome Technical at the Collin Miller Sports Complex in Lucea on Saturday, while Green Island travel to Pond Side to face winless and pointless Merlene Ottey High.

Rusea’s are on nine points, three more than Green Island. Both are trailing Frome Technical, winners of the zone on 15 points.

On Tuesday, Ackeem Williams, Shane Sterling and Oshane Walker were the scorers for Green Island in a rescheduled game. Aaron Lawrence, who had a successful career at the Lucea, Hanover school as a player, took over the reins at Rusea’s this year, replacing Anthony ‘Follies’ Williams, but he has not had things his way in his first season in charge.

Rusea’s High, who are 10-time winners of the daCosta Cup, last failed to get past the first round 23 years ago, in 1991, when they played in Zone A, losing to Montego Bay-based teams Cornwall College and Herbert Morrison Technical.

Since then, they have never failed to advance from Zone B.

The game on Tuesday was Rusea’s second loss in the first round in over 60 games, after their 2-1 loss to Frome Technical earlier.

Green Island’s first win over their Hanover neighbours since 1996 left the team separated by three points with one game to play on Saturday.

Rusea’s High’s only hopes of advancing will be to at least get a point from Frome Technical who have nothing to play for except to maintain their 100 per cent win record.

A win for Frome, however, would throw the door wide open for Green Island, who are expected to get the better of Merlene Ottey High, who have conceded 17 goals in their five losses, scoring just two.

Green Island had qualified for the Inter-zone round last season after another late surge, including a 1-0 upset win over Frome Technical which took them to second place in the zone behind Rusea’s High.

Frome Technical also advanced as one of the two best third placed teams.

They topped their Inter-zone group and advanced to the quarter-finals where they just missed out on a place in the semi-finals, finishing third in their group on four points behind St Elizabeth Technical, who would go on to win the title, and Frome Technical.

Meanwhile, up to Tuesday evening, six western-based schools had secured their places in the Inter-zone round.