Though the final scores were not impressive, the match between The Manning's School and Manchester High was perhaps one of the most exciting of the entire season.
Both teams were yesterday competing for a spot in the quarter-finals of Television Jamaica's Schools' Challenge Quiz.
After a very tense third section, the Manchester team came out on top, but just by a mere two points. The final score was 26-24.
The first section of the match was evenly contested and that was the first indication that this match would be a very exciting one. The fact that this section ended with both teams tied on five points only added to the intensity.
Section two was however, where Manchester began to pull away from their opponents. They amassed a total of 17 points in this round, taking their score to 24 after a judges' review, and an additional point. Mannings on the other hand, only gained 11 more points, bringing their score to 16.
Though it seemed like the Manning's were dead and buried, they made a very impressive comeback in the final section. Though they did well, they were two points shy of catching up with their opponents and, ultimately, two points shy of the victory.
Joy West-Carr, coach of the Manchester team, told THE STAR, "I don't think they performed to their fullest potential. They could have done much better. We know what they have to do for the next match and we congratulate Manning's for doing well."
Manning's coach, Jermaine Williams, said it was his first time working with the team but said he was optimistic that they would have taken it. He said, "We put a lot of hard work into reaching this far and although we would have hoped to go further, it's a big accomplishment to go this far. Next year, we will be stronger and better and we'll have three of our team members. We're hoping to pull it off next year."
The Manning's team : Randy Goldson, Andre White, Yovan Shaw, Adion Sutherland.
The Manchester team : Darren Gooden, Paul Allen, Thadeka Brown, Courtney Shaw.