Winner takes all: 'Naps,' Signal Hill clash with SSFL title on the line

THE 2025 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) premier division season will come to a thrilling close on November 27 on the final day of the league campaign, with St Benedict's College (33 points), Signal Hill Secondary (34 points) and table-toppers and four-time premier division champs Naparima College (34 points) all hunting the crown.

There will be five games kicking off at 3.30 pm in the premier division, but the biggest game of them all is the clash between "Naps" and Signal Hill at Lewis Street in San Fernando. Due to constant challenges faced by the league with inter-island travel this season, coach Downie Marcelle's Signal Hill team had many games rescheduled, while other teams in the league had already completed their fixtures or just had the solitary game left to play.

In those rescheduled matches, Signal Hill have taken down all comers in their path as they increased their tunnel vision – jumping from sixth to second in the standings over a two-week period to go level on points with coach Angus Eve's formidable Naparima outfit. On November 25, a ruling by the SSFL's disciplinary committee saw Signal Hill claiming three points for a November 17 fixture against St Augustine Secondary, which didn't go ahead as planned because of the absence of the "Green Machine."

That decision has made the task straightforward for both Naparima and Signal Hill, as the winner of their match on Lewis Street will claim the league title. It will be a fifth premier division title for Naparima should they win, while it will be Signal Hill's maiden crown. Should the teams draw the match, the third-placed Benedict's could take premier division honours if they manage a win in their simultaneous fixture away to Trinity College East in Trincity.

LET'S DO IT FOR 'BAGO

Marcelle said winning the title would mean the world to the school, and he and his charges want to win it for Tobago.

"We'd be elated to create history. Not only for this school, but for the entire island of Tobago. For a secondary school to be the premiership champion, trust me, this is what you dream of as a player. You want to win for your school and win for your island," Marcelle told Newsday on November 26.

"It will also add more positivity coming out of Signal Hill. All the negatives the school sometimes goes under, we hope that the boys could pull it off to show that Signal Hill is not just a top school in Tobago, but one of the top schools in TT for sure."

When Naps last played in the premier division on November 10, there was a 12-point gap between themselves and the Tobago outfit. Since then, a lot has happened as Naparima hammered Rio Claro West 15-0 in the south zone intercol quarterfinals before beating Benedict's to a zonal intercol final spot. Meanwhile, Signal Hill have gone on a run which has included wins over St Anthony's College, Malick Secondary and a Trinity East team they drubbed 9-2 last week.

Marcelle said maintaining focus and limiting distractions have been key.

"We have been taking it one game at a time. We haven't been paying attention to the table, because at one point in time, we were on like three or four games, and were in tenth (place) for a very long time because of the number of games the teams in front of us had played," Marcelle said.

"Every time we approached a game, we approached it like a final. They were all must-win games for us, because mathematically, we didn't have much room for mistakes coming down to the end. Once we drew the game against San Juan North (on November 4), it meant we couldn't lose or draw any more else we wouldn't have been in this position."

Marcelle said he believes his players can get the job done and will not be changing the team's style of play against Naps, although he said Eve's charges will start as favourites.

"We're going into this game with no pressure at all. We're going to play our brand of football because I believe (my players) are just as good as any, so we're not going to change too much."

He said Signal Hill's standout win so far this season was their 3-2 result away to outgoing champs Fatima last month, but a victory over Naparima will now surely trump that.

FEWER MISTAKES WIN YOU THE LEAGUE

With a south intercol finale against rivals Presentation College San Fernando to come on December 1, Naparima manager Percy Samlalsingh said the group's focus is on Signal Hill and wrapping up unfinished premier division business. Similar to Marcelle's sentiments, Samlalsingh said it would be vital for Naparima to stick to the habits which have brought them to this point.

"To be second in the league – it's a tough league – so they (Signal Hill) have done well. We have to respect them," Samlalsingh told Newsday.

"This game is our home game, so we have to use that to our advantage with the little support and stuff like that. We just have to go out and do what we've been doing so far this season: grinding out results; keeping clean sheets and taking our opportunities."

There is precious little to choose between the teams as they have both won 11 matches, drawn one and lost two. Meanwhile, Naparima have scored 40 goals and conceded seven, giving them a +33 goal differential, which is marginally better than Signal Hill's +32. The Tobago team have put in 47 goals, while conceding 15.

Samlalsingh expects the contest to be a tight one.

"I think it will come down to who makes the fewest number of mistakes and the team that capitalises on the mistakes of the other team," he said. "I think both teams have been playing some decent football, based on what we've seen with them. We saw some good goals and good combination football from them as well.

"I'm hoping for a good game and some decent weather. The last couple of days have been rainy, so the ground is a bit soft."

The Naps manager said the players have been growing impatient as they had to put their league campaign on hold. However, he hopes they get their moment to exhale once the dust settles.

"The boys have been a bit frustrated in waiting, but they understand what's happening, and they're in good spirits and focused for that game. We always tell them to approach every game like a final, and tomorrow (November 27) is virtually a final."

SSFL premier division standings

Team*GP*W*D*L*GF*GA*GD*Pts

Naparima*14*11*1*2*40*7*33*34

Signal Hill*14*11*1*2*47*15*32*34

St Benedict's*14*11*0*3*41*14*27*33

Presentation (Sando)*14*10*1*3*37*9*28*31

Fatima*14*9*2*3*46*24*22*29

St Anthony's College*15*8*1*6*30*25*5*25

Trinity Moka*14*7*2*5*29*32*-3*23

Arima North*15*6*4*5*34*27*7*22

QRC*15*5*4*6*23*25*-2*19

St Mary's College*15*5*3*7*31*23*8*18

Trinity East*14*4*1*9*21*50*-29*13

Malick*14*3*3*8*29*40*-11*12

St Augustine*15*3*3*9*16*46*-30*12

San Juan North*14*2*5*7*22*26*-4*11

Scarborough*14*2*5*7*18*35*-17*11

Carapichaima East*15*0*0*15*7*72*-65*0