Arima North Secondary and Presentation College San Fernando had strong seasons in the BG T&T/First Citizens Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) League competition, and will put their unbeaten records on the line today when they meet in the BGTT "Big Five" quarter-final at Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar from 4 p.m.
Presentation were perfect in winning all their 12 matches in the South Zone this season to dethrone Shiva Boys Hindu College, while Arima North also played unbeaten to take the East Zone title.
Both teams missed out on places in the Big Five competition last year, and will be looking to take advantage of the momentum they have been building up throughout the season so far.
Presentation will feel like they have the edge heading into the quarter-final, especially after their 100 per cent record in the League. The South Zone champions are also one of the highest goal-scoring sides in the competition with 46 goals scored in 12 matches. They have only conceded four goals.
Arima also had a high tally of goals, scoring 34 goals and conceding just 12 in 12 matches, of which they won nine and drew three.
Both Arima North and Presentation will be without their star players, playmaker Marcus Gomez and in-form striker Shakiel Henry respectively, as both players take up national Under-20 duty in Jamaica soon.
'Pres' Coach Shawn Cooper is wary of today's opponents, who were beaten finalists in last year's InterCol, as they lost 3-0 to St Anthony's College's 'Tigers', who completed a sweep of 2011 titles.
"I saw them play against St Augustine, (and they are) a pretty strong team. I think they play on the counter-attack and they depend heavily on Marcus Gomez, which is influence on the game," Cooper told the Express yesterday.
The Pres coach added: "Whoever we play now is champions. Whichever zone we play, we expect a tough game. They may be going to the game with home advantage, it may favour them because it's a bit low and the ball runs a lot, and sometimes a bit bumpy.
"We probably would have referred to play with a little more grass. But it's not a problem. Whoever we meet, we would have liked probably an easier challenge first, but it's Big Five, and it's championship time, so you expect every challenge to be a tough one."
Whoever wins today will move on to Wednesday's Big Five semi-final against Tobago champions Scarborough Secondary at Dwight Yorke Stadium from 4 p.m. But today, the only certainty is that one team will lose their unbeaten tag.
In the other Big 5 semi-final, which takes place tomorrow (Tuesday), Central Zone champions Carapichaima East Secondary will face North Zone winners St Anthony's College at Ato Boldon Stadium from 4 p.m.
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