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AFTER BEING absent for a year, Herbert Morrison Technical High School are back for this year's renewal of the daCosta Cup.

Kenrick Smith, head coach, said the team is ready to take on all comers and win the title this season as they have been putting in the work.

Speaking with STAR Sports, Smith said that preparations are going smoothly, expectations for the team are very high this season, and the team is ready to face any obstacles that may arise in the competition.

"Once you face Herbert Morrison Technical High School, be prepared for a football fight," Smith declared. "The goal is always to win, so we are just working; and once we execute, my dream for us to win will come true."

According to Smith, though the team did not enter the daCosta Cup competition last season, they entered the ISSA rural under-16 and under-14 competitions. The under-16 team made it to the second round and the under-14s failed to get past the first round.

This year's daCosta Cup team will include under-16 and under-14 players and some seasoned campaigners.

"I believe there has been some consistency with the players since I have been coaching the team. In the last two years, the under-15 team has only lost one game. The under-14 team only lost to Rusea's High last year, and they went to the semi-finals," he said.

Herbert Morrison have had three coaches in the last five years. After an abrupt resignation by former coach Leecroft Lettman in 2019, Garfield Anderson took over for two seasons.

Smith, who took over the head coaching job in 2022, has been around the team for 15 years.

Herbert Morrison began competing in the daCosta Cup in 1976. They went on to win two titles, in 1986 and 1988, while producing national players such as Hector Wright. They also won two Ben Francis KO titles.

"We are a winning institution. We know what it takes to win, so that is why we try to instil the winning mentality in the players that we have. We won in 1986 and 1988, so this year we want to add the third title," Smith said.

Herbert Morrison will contest Zone A of the first round with Cornwall College, Green Pond High, Irwin High, Maldon High and St James High.

In the season's opener, they will face many-time champions Cornwall College at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Saturday, September 7.