“Sweet like honey.”

That is how Clarendon College’s Head Coach Lenworth Hyde described their double success in bringing down the curtains on the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) football Under-19 competitions.

Clarendon College, who recently won their eighth daCosta Cup crown, returned a week later to register their fourth hold on the Olivier Shield courtesy of a 1-0 scoreline against Kingston College inside National Stadium on Saturday.

Substitute Andre Nicholson, who came on in the 65th minute, found the all-important strike in the 87th to ensure that Clarendon College became the first rural area team to win the Olivier Shield outright since 2004 when Glenmuir defeated Excelsior High.

The Chapelton-based team’s all-island triumph also broke a lengthy urban area hold on the Shield as they are the first rural area team to cop the title since 2006 when Glenmuir High shared the title with Bridgeport High.

Hyde, who was part of a formidable Clarendon College team that first copped the daCosta Cup and Olivier Shield double in 1977, was overwhelmed that he was able to witness a team repeat the feat under his leadership.

Clarendon College’s other Olivier Shield triumphs came in 1978 and 1998 when they shared with Camperdown and Dunoon Technical, respectively.

“Sweet, sweet like honey. This one is great because from 1977 we haven’t won this double (outright) and this man (Winston Chung Fah) led us to it, so I am dedicating this to him,” Hyde told journalists while clutching a photo of the football legend.

“They (Kingston College) had a good first half and from they didn’t score I knew we were still in it. And the second half was our turn to play and I know once we got a chance, we would score. From the season started we have scored in every game, so no game would finish without us scoring — and we showed it tonight (Saturday),” he added.

Even though his current Clarendon College team caught the attention of many with their stylish, possession-biased football, Hyde was quick to point out that it was the determination of the team that stood out most.

“Last year we had a much better team than this year but this team has something in it; I saw it from we started preseason preparation and I told them that this team will win the daCosta Cup, and they did it.

“So this means a lot to us because last year we gave it away because we had too much touch players, but this year we were rugged, we showed guts and determination, and that is what brought this team success. It is not always the best teams that win all the time, it’s the guys that show character right through — and those are the guys that you want in a team,” Hyde noted.

Meanwhile, Team Manager Richard Palmer echoed similar sentiments.

“The feeling is great; it is really hard to explain because I have been working at this a long time and it is just joy unspeakable right now. But the half has not yet been told because we are still at it and we don’t plan to let these titles go,” Palmer told the Jamaica Observer while being swarmed by a mob of Clarendon College supporters.