CARMEL Secondary, on Sunday evening, etched their name into history by becoming the 2023 winners of the Digicel Schools’ Football Championship.

Having missed out on the top four of the Georgetown Championships, Carmel roared back to defeat three Regional Championship- winning teams on their way to the coveted title.
The final showdown between the eventual champions and Region 9’s St. Ignatius Secondary got underway at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground, Carifesta Avenue, with the majority of spectators backing St. Ignatius.

The motivation helped the visitors to an early lead as Romel Ernest opened the scoring with a left footed strike in the 13th minute.
However, that was the last mistake that Carmel’s keeper Ray Richards would make for the remainder of their 90 minutes.

The slim lead lasted only three minutes, when Carmel’s Marcus Layne chipped one over the head of the St. Ignatius goalie for the equaliser.
Then in the 28th, Carmel standout player, Ian Daniels outfoxed the defender on the – wing and with a perfectly placed right-footed shot, brought the scores to 2-1 in Carmel’s favour.
The remainder of the half went quietly and though St. Ignatius started the second with fresh intensity, they were unable to get past Richards in the nets.

Carmel’s Captain Shem James, found himself in the right place at the right time in the 78th to head a set piece into the net for his team’s third goal in their 3-1 victory.
In the third place playoff, Bevon Jones added 6 goals to his already large tally to lead D.C Caesar Fox (Waramadong) Secondary to an 8-0 victory over Waramuri Primary Top. Adding to Jones’ 6 was Carrington Isaacs and Dominic Elliman, who netted one each. For individual awards, Carmel’s Ian Daniels was the most valuable player of the tournament, while Waramadong’s Jones was the highest goal scorer with 21 goals. Carmel’s Ray Richards won the best goalkeeper in the tournament accolade.

The top four teams will receive $1M, $500,000, $300,000 and $200,000 respectively for a school project of their choice.