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Schools battle for bragging rights

Foot race: MacQuille Walker, left, the Berkeley striker, tries to beat CedarBridge defender Darrin Woolridge

Twenty games will be played tomorrow and Saturday to determine the Bermuda School Sports Federation football champions in eight different divisions.

The semi-finals will be held Saturday at the National Sports Centre, North Field, and the BFA field while all the finals will take place Saturday at the North Field.

In the primary girls’ semi-finals, Saltus Grammar School will take on West End Primary while Warwick Academy will meet Harrington Sound, both at the North Field 2pm.

West End will go into the semis as slight favourites to claim the title, after winning the West Zone without losing a match. They also won the primary school girls’ seven-a-side tournament, going undefeated.

West End will play Saltus, a perennial powerhouse in primary girls’ football, for a spot in Saturday’s final.

Warwick Academy won the Central Zone and they will feel confident going into the play-offs after giving West End all they can handle in an agonisingly close loss to West End in the seven-a-side tournament.

Harrington Sound have also been undefeated in zone play and will look to show everyone that they are worthy of their place in the semi-finals.

Saltus, the defending champions, are through to the semis of the middle schools boys’ under-13 division and will have their hands full in their bid to retain the title as Warwick Academy will be tough opponents in the 2pm match at the North Field.

Saltus received a forfeit victory in the quarter-finals while Warwick Academy edged Sandys Secondary 1-0 in their quarter-final tie thanks to an Anunde Todd strike. Dellwood defeated Clearwater Middle School 4-0 on their way to the semi-finals where they will play Whitney Institute at the BFA Field at 2pm. Dellwood’s scorers were Camaje Easton-Smith, Ahtyo Burgess, Jahkai Thomas and Aquaei Richardson.

Whitney advanced past Somersfield Academy 3-0 with Dante Scraders scoring twice for Whitney while David Blankendal got the other. Two middle school girls’ semi-finals will take place at 3.30pm on the North Field where TN Tatem play Warwick Academy and Saltus take on Whitney.

TN Tatem will be heavy favourites to retain their crown after finishing the regular season with comfortable wins in each match. Now they want to add the Knockout Cup to their league and six-a-side cup collection.

TN Tatem received a bye into the semi-final and will take on a vastly improved Warwick Academy team that defeated Dellwood 3-0 in the quarters with goals from Marion Chevereai, Kree Musson and Tayla Horam.

Saltus have featured in the last four middle school girls’ finals, having suffered their only defeat at the hands of Tatem in last year’s final. They will look to rebound and reach the final again, but must get past Whitney in the semis first. Saltus easily won their quarter-final with a 6-0 victory over Clearwater, Jailyn Boddington and Emily Hartwig scoring two goals each while Caroline Driscoll and Jade Johnston were also on scoresheet.

Whitney defeated Bermuda High School 3-1 with Stefanie Francis netting twice and Jahni Simmons getting the other while Katelyn Madeiros got the only goal for BHS.

Whitney Institute, the defending champions in the middle schools over-13 boys, will tackle Sandys Secondary in the semi-finals tomorrow at 3.30pm on the North Field while Saltus will play Warwick Academy in the other semi-final.

Sandys beat TN Tatem 4-2 in the quarter-finals as Kymanai McNeil led the charge with two goals. Also scoring for Sandys were Sijay Samuels and Daimori Tucker.

There will be a repeat of the under-13 semi-final when Saltus play Warwick Academy in the other semi-final. Six-a-side champions Saltus will look to reach the final for the second year running. Saltus defeated Clearwater in the quarter-final 1-0 on an Evan Washington goal while Warwick Academy needed a penalty shoot-out to beat Dellwood after the game finished 2-2.

Dylan Craft scored twice for Warwick Academy while Amir Dill and Deniko Hardy replied for Dellwood.

Two 5pm primary school boys’ semi-finals will see Saltus taking on St George’s Prep and Somersfield playing Somerset Primary. All four zones will be represented in the semi-finals as Saltus, St George’s and Somersfield all return to the semi-final stage for the third consecutive year.

Somersfield Academy have won the last two primary school boys’ titles. The six-a-side champions defeated Harrington Sound 4-0 to reach the semi-final with goals from Rhys Insley, Ayden Gardener, Rajun Cox and Malachai Belboda. Somerset Primary beat Warwick Academy in what was easily the match of the tournament as Somerset rallied late in the match to salvage a 5-5 draw after being 5-2 down with ten minutes remaining.

Two goals from Patrick Dill and one each from Josiah Bento, Kia Sampson and Jaelyn Grant earned Somerset Primary a penalty shoot-out. They carried the momentum into the shoot-out to knock out a stunned Warwick Academy side.

Ahri Daniels scored a hat-trick to lift St George’s Preparatory to a 5-2 win over Victor Scott Primary. Jannis Roberts and Brandon Burrows added goals for the East Enders while Shaezi Smith scored both for Victor Scott.

Saltus were the big winners in the quarter-finals, defeating Port Royal 8-1. Sacheil Ming led the way with a hat-trick while Nathan Dacosta, Cooper McGuire, Sebestian Smith and Ryan McDowell added a goal each.

In the senior girls’ semi-final at 5pm, CedarBridge will play Berkeley on the North Field in a repeat of last year’s final which CedarBridge won. Both teams feature many Bermuda Under-17 and Under-20 players and a tight match is expected to determine who will face Saltus in the final.

CedarBridge edged past Berkeley in league play after Symira Lowe-Darrell scored the only goal in a tight contest. Saltus have already reached the final after beat Bermuda High School 4-2 with Zakiyah Durham and Lauren Garvin both netting twice. That match was played early because of conflicts with a BHS function.

BHS had to overcome Warwick Academy in a playoff 4-1 to earn their spot in the semi-finals. Lauren Way and Shelby Swan both scored twice for the winners while Sofia Welmer replied for Warwick Academy.

Berkeley, Warwick Academy, CedarBridge and Saltus will all battle for places in the senior boys’ final, with two semi-final matches at 6.45pm on the North Field.

Berkeley and Saltus earned byes to the semis in the over-16 division after Berkeley drew their final match of the season with CedarBridge Academy to secure first place in the league.

Saltus finished in second place, thus earning the other bye. Berkeley will take on Warwick Academy in the semi-final. Saltus and CedarBridge will face off in the other semi-final. The last time both teams met Saltus edged past CedarBridge 6-5 in a high scoring affair.