CATHERINE HALL, St James — Fresh from their daCosta Cup triumph over St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) last week, 12-time champions Cornwall College will seek to end the decade-long drought of a rural area team winning the Olivier Shield when they take on title holders and Manning Cup champions Jamaica College at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Saturday, starting at 6:00pm.

Jamaica College, who beat Wolmer’s Boys’ in the Manning Cup final, before losing the Walker Cup final to Kingston College, are going after a fourth-straight and 21st hold on the traditional symbol of all-island schoolboy football supremacy.

The last daCosta Cup team to win the Olivier Shield was Glenmuir High in 2004, and since 2008 Jamaica College and St George’s College have been the only winners.

Cornwall College won the last of their 11 titles in 2001.

Earlier this week, Cornwall College coach Dr Dean Weatherly told the Jamaica Observer West that winning the daCosta Cup was only the first step towards their goal of all-island championships.

“Jamaica College has proven they are a quality team and have a quality programme, and no team left in the competition at this time of the year are going to be easy to beat,” Weatherly argued.

“We however are confident in what we can do; we have quality players in our team and our players are as aware of what it will take and they have the desire.”

He added that last Saturday’s win over STETHS will help his players to get ready for the game on the weekend.

“Yes, we took on a good STETHS team, one that has shown a lot of fight all season and one who we knew would give us a good fight. Our players have shown, however, they have what it takes to make that next step,” said Weatherly.

Last Saturday Jourdaine Fletcher snapped a three-game scoring drought, after scoring in all his previous 15 matches, by notching his 33rd goal of the season in all competitions to give Cornwall College the lead in the 73rd minute.

Shavon McDonald came up with the goal of his life in time added on to secure the title, both goals set up by the brilliant work from Peter-Lee Vassell who took over the game in the final 20 minutes.

Weatherly thinks that if his players can build on Saturday’s performance, they will give the expected large turnout a lot to cheer for.

“All that we worked on since July in training paid off, and that was one of our better- executed games of late,” he said. Weatherly was however, coy about any changes he would make for Saturday’s Olivier Shield match.

“We have a full squad and based on what we expect, we will adjust accordingly,” Weatherly said.

Cornwall’s Howard Dent, who played most of the season as a wing-back, has moved up into the midfield, where he helps Giovanni Reid to anchor the team. On Saturday, he made a number of runs into the STETHS area, opening up space for the attacking players to exploit.

Michael Heaven, Pagiel Brown, Clifton Russell and Emmanuel Campbell will start in front of goalkeeper Jamario Hines, and one of two youngsters in Garnett Hudson or Aiden Jokomba could start up front with Fletcher and Vassell.