_{Photo: 1st place – Tut Bay FC wins Peace Cup champs}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 2, 2024

After several weeks of intense competition in the inaugural season of the William Dawson Peace Cup, an Open 1st Division Amateur tournament, the season finally concluded on Sunday, April 28, at the MCC Grounds in Belize City with Tut Bay FC becoming champs.

Before the finals began, the third-place match was played with Hattieville winning over Fort George FC, 3-1, with Brandon Rogers, Jr., Patrick Max, and Shemar Waight all scoring goals for Hattieville, and the goal for Fort George coming from Scorian Stuart.

In the championship game between Tut Bay FC and Caesar Ridge FC, the match initially ended in a 1-1 draw, with a goal scored by Richard Mendoza of Caesar Ridge, then Tyrone Guy of Tut Bay returning the favor, causing the game to go into overtime.

However, in overtime, a winner was still not decided, as Calvin Thurton of Tut Bay netted a goal, and Aidan Nuñez equalized for Caesar Ridge. Thus, the game entered into a penalty kick shootout, making it the deciding factor.

In the penalty kicks, Tut Bay scored in all 5 of their goal attempts, but Caesar Ridge was only able to convert on 4 of their 5 attempts, making Tut Bay FC the reigning champion.

The champion, second and third place teams were gifted with medals and a cash prize, along with individual awards to outstanding performers, which are listed below:

Team cash prizes: 1st prize $5,000 – Tut Bay FC; 2nd prize $3,000 – Caesar Ridge FC; 3rd prize $2,000 – Hattieville FC.

Individual awards: MVP Regular Season – Calvin Thurton (Tut Bay FC); Best Forward – Cion Augustine (Survivors FC); Best Midfielder – Whitfield Fisher (Caesar Ridge FC); Best Defense – Shemar Waight (Hattieville FC); Best Goalkeeper – Glenford King (Hattieville FC); MVP Finals – Devin Thurton (Tut Bay FC); Best Coach – Albert “Ali” Thurton (Tut Bay FC); Best Manager – Melbourne Rice (West Lake FC); Most Disciplined Team (Fair Play award) – Tut Bay FC.