BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 30, 2017–The regular season ended on Saturday for the Central Secondary Schools Sports Association (CSSSA) 2016-2017 football competition, and playoffs are scheduled for this week.
On Thursday, January 26, (F) Maude Williams High and Wesley played to a 0-0 stalemate. And (M) Gwen Liz bombed Excelsior, 8-nil, with goals from Orlando Velasquez (2), Kieron Patnett (2), Michael Deshield, Jadon McGregor (2) and Jurel Westby. Excelsior was awarded a penalty, but missed.
On Friday, (F) SCA won (3-0) over Pallotti by forfeit. And (M) Sadie Vernon dropped Maude Williams, 4-1, with goals from Stephan Bowen (2), Cion Augustine and Christian Gladden; while Egbert Myers scored for Maude Williams.
Four male games were scheduled for Saturday, January 28, to complete the regular season. (M) Wesley edged Gwen Liz, 1-0, with a goal from Jalen Babb. (M) Ladyville Tech won (3-0) by default over Belize High. (M) SJC bombed Nazarene High, 6-1, with goals from Shamar Gabourel, Eric Rodriguez, Carlos Pineda, Dion Cacho, Chris Herrera and Claishaun Lewis; while Austin Dawson got the sole tally for Nazarene High. And (M) ACC crushed Excelsior, 4-0, with goals from Shaquile Matute (2), Akeem “Bib” Sutherland and Darrel Flowers.
Standings
At the end of regular season, the points totals, according to our tabulations, are as follows:
Male Division 1 – #1 SJC (13 pts), #2 MWH (9 pts), #3 LTH (9 pts), #4 SVT (8 pts), NHS (4 pts), BHS (0 pts).
Male Division 2 – #1 WES (10 pts), #2 GLH (9 pts), #3 ACC (5 pts), #4 EPY (4 pts), EHS (0 pts).
Female – #1 SCA (15 pts), #2 LTH (10 pts), #3 GLH (8 pts), #4 MWH (4 pts), WES (2 pts), PHS (2 pts).
Playoffs
The stage was therefore set for the playoffs this week. In round 1 of the male playoffs, the top 4 teams from each division are matched in a quarterfinal knockout on Monday and Tuesday, with the winners going on to best-of-2 semifinal series, which are scheduled for Thursday and Saturday. The top 4 female teams enter directly into best-of-2 semifinal series, which take place on Wednesday and Friday. The Finals, also best-of-2 series, take place on Monday and Wednesday of next week.
This week’s playoff schedule looks like this:
Mon. Jan. 30, Quarterfinals – (M) #1 SJC vs #4 EPY; (M) #4 SVT vs #1 WES
Tue. Jan. 31, Quarterfinals – (M) #2 MWH vs #3 ACC; (M) #3 LTH vs #2 GLH
Wed. Feb. 1, Semifinals – (F) #1 SCA vs #4 MWH; (F) #2 LTH vs #3 GLH
Thurs. Feb. 2, Semifinals – (M) win A vs win C; (M) win B vs win D
Fri. Feb. 3, Semifinals – (F) #2 LTH vs #3 GLH; (F) #1 SCA vs #4 MWH
Sat. Feb. 4, Semifinals – (M) win B vs win D; (M) win A vs win C