As expected, contests in the Central Region began in earnest with several notable schools in the region poised for action. At the end of the day’s four contests, 24 schools had taken the stage, with 4 qualifying to the Preliminary Stage and the Central #AbsaRegionalChampionship scheduled to take place from Wednesday 12th to Thursday 13th May, 2021.
With 4 contests remaining in the Central Region, here’s a rundown of the contests that took place on Day One (10th May, 2021) in the Central Region.
Contest 1
The very first contest in the region featured an uncontested victory for Assin State College, who saw off the likes of Efutu SHTS, Mankessim SHTS, Mando SHTS, Academy of Christ the King and Abakrampa SHTS. From the beginning to the end, Assin State dominated the competition, finishing with 49 points, with their closest rivals – Efutu SHTS – following not so closely with 24 points. Mankessim SHTS and Mando SHTS tied for third place with 18 points each, while Academy of Christ the King and Abakrampa SHTS finished the contest with 15 and 13 points respectively at the rear.
Contest 2
One-time NSMQ finalists, University Practice SHS and Mfantsiman Girls’ SHS faced off in the second contest in the Central region, with the likes of Mozano SHS, Namanwura Comm. Day SHS, Nyakrom SHTS and Bisease SHS. In an unbridled show of pedigree, University Practice SHS took charge with a 21-point lead at the end of the first round, that was maintained and climaxed with 67 total points, the highest recorded so far in this year’s Regional Qualifiers. Mfantsiman Girls’ followed the exceptional performance of the UPSHS team with an underwhelming 19 points at the end of the contest. The remaining four schools also had similarly underwhelming final scores, with Mozano SHS scoring 13 points, Namanwura Comm. Day SHS with 09 points, Nyakrom SHTS with 06 points and Bisease SHS ending with a single point.
Contest 3
The third contest in the Central Region was the day’s closest-fought challenge. Although Edinaman SHS eventually won the contest with 38 points, Eguafo Abrem SHS steadily followed them throughout the contest, ending with 34 points. The remaining schools did not pull off any memorable performances with Oguaa SHTS finishing with 22 points, Twifo Praso SHS ending with 14, J.E.A Mills SHS ending with 11 points and Siddiq SHS finishing with 3 points. Better luck next year.
Contest 4
Two-time champions – Mfantsipim School – began their NSMQ 2021 run from the Regionals another year in a row. Since their defeat in 2019 to city rivals St. Augustine’s College, Mfantsipim School has been unable to get past the One-eighth Stage of competition, and thus, has lost out on the highly coveted “seeded” status at the National Championship. Despite this turn of fates for “KWABOTWE”, Mfantsipim School progressed masterfully in a contest against Fettehman SHS, Enyan-Maim SHS, Gyaase SHS, Swedru School of Business and Twifo Hemang SHTS, with a whopping 66 points! At the end of the contest, the tally of points for the remaining schools was still less than Mfantsipim’s final score: Gyaase SHS scored 20 points, Swedru Sch. of Business managed 15 points, Enyan-Maim SHS accrued 11pts, with Fettehman SHS and Twifo Hemang SHTS accumulating 05 points apiece.
The action is far from over, with Day 2 of contests in the Central Region promising more vibrant and competitive showdowns. After the Regional Qualifiers, the third edition of the Central #AbsaRegionalChampionship will come off in Cape Coast, featuring the eight winners from Day One and two, and the seeded schools in the region on Wednesday 12th to Thursday 13th May, 2021.
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The Regional Qualifiers and Championships continue across the country with contests happening till 5th June, 2021. The NSMQ 2021 Regional & Zonal Championships are proudly sponsored by Absa Bank. Updates on all contests will be on the official NSMQ Ghana Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms.
