MONTEGO BAY, St James — It’s never an easy decision to leave the known for the unknown and when Howard Dent left Green Pond High and transferred to Cornwall College, it was maybe the biggest decision of his life.

On Saturday, Dent played a solid role in the Cornwall College midfield as they beat St Elizabeth Technical High School 2-1 in the ISSA/FLOW daCosta Cup final at the Montego Bay Sports Complex to complete a perfect 18-win season and lifted their 12th title, and their first in 15 years.

“It has been an excellent experience for me,” he told the Jamaica Observer yesterday as the team celebrated at the Orange Street campus.

“I always played against Cornwall and always watched them, but to be a part of this is unforgettable. It has been a long and hard season for all of us and it is unfortunate that we lost in the FLOW Cup (Super) and the Ben Francis, but right now we are celebrating.”

The losses, back-to-back, to Wolmer’s Boys’ School in the FLOW Super Cup and to Lennon High in the semi-finals of the Ben Francis knockout was the catalyst for their push to the daCosta Cup title, Dent said.

“Obviously yes, those losses would have pushed us, the players and the coaching staff, as we knew that not taking home a title this season would have been a disaster,” explained Dent, who is one of two players who transferred to Cornwall this season and played mostly at right back before being shifted into the midfield late in the season.

Dent, who attended Green Pond for six years, from first form to sixth form, said it was not an easy decision leaving the team which he said was like a family. “It was a hard decision to leave, but right now I am happy.”

— Paul Reid