WESTERN BUREAU:

IF THE recent history of the daCosta Cup is anything to go by, the 2008 season should boil down to a face-off between the big guns from central Jamaica and western Jamaica, the two dominant regions over the past 25 years.

Since the fabulous 1981 Dinthill High School aggregation dazzled all and sundry before waltzing away with the coveted trophy for the second time, the Cup, symbol of rural schoolboy football supremacy, has been changing hands between the teams from the west - Hanover, St James, Westmoreland and St Elizabeth; and Clarendon, Clarendon College, Glenmuir and Garvey Maceo.

While Cornwall College, who won five titles since Dinthill's 1981 triumph and six before that, remain the competition's most successful team, the honour of the most successful team in the past 25 years belong to Rusea's. The 'Russians', dubbed the team of the '80s, won the title in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993 and 2002.

On the few occasions they faltered, the slack was usually picked up by another western team. In Rusea's era of almost total dominance between 1984 and 1990, the only other champion in that period was fellow western team Herbert Morrison High School, which won in 1986 and 1988.

Central Jamaica gradually began to match western Jamaica in 1991 when Clarendon College ended nine years of western dominance by taking home the title. Since then, it has been like a 'west versus central' tug-of-war as except for 1999 when St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) won.

After Clarendon College's 1991 win, Rusea's took back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993 but Clarendon College bounced back in 1994. In 1995, Cornwall College joined the mix when they celebrated their centenary with the title. Clarendon reclaimed the title in 1996 and were favourites for 1997 when the competition was called off because of disciplinary problems.

When action resumed in 1998, Clarendon College promptly won, only to relinquish the title to STETHS in 1999. Since then, western teams have won the title five times: Cornwall College - 2000 and 2001, Rusea's - 2002, Frome - 2003 and Godfrey Stewart - 2005. Central Jamaica, which has won the past two titles - Glenmuir - 2006 and Garvey Maceo - 2007; also won through Glenmuir in 2004.

Based on last year's semi-finals, which saw Clarendon's Garvey Maceo and Glenmuir facing off against western Jamaica's Rusea's and Cornwall College, indications are that the trend of the last 25 years should continue this year.

- Adrian Frater