Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 03/Dec 13:04

Signal Hill reawaken Tobago’s football power

VIDIA RAMPHAL SIGNAL Hill Secondary head coach Downie Marcelle has issued a warning to the football heavyweights of Trinidad—Tobago’s tide is rising, and the 2025 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) title chase has redrawn the map of power. Marcelle’s Signal Hill were a whisker away from winning the SSFL title, but fell 2-1 to Trinidad giants Naparima College in a virtual final on November 27. Signal Hill produced a remarkable string of victories in trying conditions against the best of Trinidad to arrive at the doorstep of the title, only to fall at the final hurdle. However, Marcelle sees their victories over major teams in Trinidad as a visible sign of the shift. “(When) you're winning against the Fatima’s, and you're going against St Benedict’s and you are going against Presentation,” he told the Newsday, “It will cause teams in Trinidad to pay attention to you.” Signal Hill’s seismic win over Presentation College, on 11 October, at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium forced Trinidad coaches to scout the Tobago team with a seriousness that is normally reserved for league favourites. Naparima coach Angus Eve prepared for the title-deciding match by going “back to the tapes” to decode Signal Hill’s high-intensity, aggressive style. “It meant, therefore, we were doing something good,” Marcelle said with a knowing laugh, “Signal Hill was lying rent-free in Angus Eve’s head.” Marcelle’s team did not lift the title. However, he felt they did something more significant—they restored competitive respect for Tobago football. His team is not based on raw athleticism or individual brilliance, but relies on a structured approach—clear pressing triggers, purposeful transitions, and academy-fed continuity. Most of Signal Hill’s starters are the products of Marcelle’s Ball Blasters Youth Academy—the 2025 national U-17 club champions. Marcelle and his staff at Signal Hill hammered that mantra of championship pedigree into the psyche of their young charges. “We used those things as momentum. You highlighted that we have a lot of national champions in this team,” he said, “We gave the players the belief that they know we can do this.” Marcelle and his team used every method necessary to bring them to the brink of the title, especially early in the season when a string of postponed matches threw off their competitive rhythm. “We went to the beach, you know, spent quite some time doing things outside of football. We played cricket and all these things,” he said. Just before taking the field against Presentation, they found the soundtrack to their campaign—Firm and Strong by Jamaican reggae artiste Popcaan. “The kids are so connected to all the music,” he said, “We use that song as our anthem, and it has been our motivation from since that game versus Presentation.” Marcelle’s team defended with intelligence and attacked with conviction throughout the season, and he believes they have changed perceptions about Tobago teams. “To play against Signal Hill, they have to bring their A game,” he said, “We are no walkovers. Tobago schools in general, we are no longer walkovers.” Marcelle has big shoes to fill at Signal Hill—he is walking in the shadow of football legend Bertille St Clair. St Clair’s Signal Hill teams of the 1980s and the 1990s built their reputation on bullish brilliance, intensity, and fearless physical play. They won often and emphatically and produced national players—current national senior team head coach Dwight Yorke was at the head of that class. Marcelle acknowledges the legacy openly. “(St Clair) was so successful and so integral to what teams in Tobago are doing now,” he said, “Big respect for what he has done for Tobago and secondary schools, and Signal Hill.” “We are trying to do the same,” he added. Marcelle stopped short of saying that the fear factor that the St Clair teams brought is back, but he believes they are not far off. “Until we can win something nationally, then, I could say we are back to those glory days,” he said, “Right now, we do not have anything to show, so there is nothing to be afraid of.” Marcelle and his team will contest the Tobago Zone Intercol finals against Speyside Secondary on Wednesday at the Dwight Yorke Stadium. Beyond this year’s Intercol competition, his team will chase in 2026 a piece of history that eluded them this year. “We really wanted to be the first secondary school in Trinidad to ever be Premiership champions,” Marcelle said. “That by itself was a motivation for us. We wanted to create history.” As Signal Hill sharpens its ambitions for 2026, the message to the mainland is clear—the tide hasn’t stopped rising, and the new map of power is here to stay. The post Signal Hill reawaken Tobago’s football power appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.