Whitney Institute captured the coveted Middle Schools cup double at the National Sports Centre last Friday.

Whitney, who over the years have produced some of the Island?s most successful athletes including Reading striker Shaun Goater, edged Warwick Academy 2-1 in the Under-13 final and then dug deep to erase a two-goal deficit in the Over-13 clash to come away with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Spice Valley.

But youth football perhaps emerged as the night?s biggest winner as some of the Island?s most talented youngsters gave a good account of themselves, treating those gathered at the Sports Centre to a calibre of football worthy of those well beyond their tender years.

?I thought the games were very good. The first game (Whitney versus Warwick Academy) was very evenly balanced,? said Bermuda School Sports Federation (BSSF) administrator Manny Farias.

?Warwick threw a lot at Whitney but the difference was the goalkeeping of Kashi Davis ? he was responsible for keeping his team in the game.

?Both teams played some quality football and passed the ball around really well as a unit and both teams were obviously well coached.?

Dandy Town coach Devarr Boyles was at the helm of the victorious Whitney Under-13 squad.

The boys in green prevailed via goals from the boots of Troy Tucker and Zakie Iris while Warwick replied through Dakari Tucker.

?Both teams appeared to have a game plan and they were able to stick with it,? added Farias.

Whitney ?keeper Davis and and Warwick full back Marc Smith were chosen as the final?s Most Valuable Players during a short presentation afterwards.

Whitney, meanwhile, had to pull out all of the stops en route to clinching the Over-13 final after Spice Valley jumped into a 2-0 lead at the half ? thanks to a superb second-half hat-trick from Dominique Lambert.

Kushae Hypolite opened the scoring for an aggressive Valley, capitalising after a fine run down the right flank.

Valley then doubled their lead when a Jamel Hill shot took a wicked deflection.

Whitney coach, national cricket team skipper Clay Smith, then made a tactical move that ultimately swayed the match in his team?s favour ? switching ?keeper Anthony DeCosta from between the posts to defence.

Smith?s decision paid off handsomely as DeCosta repeatedly frustrated Valley?s attack before Che Smith began Whitney?s fightback when he converted early in the second half.

Valley?s woes were just beginning as a shot by Tilhan Chitrananda then found the hand of an opposing defender in the box. Lambert made no mistake with his spot kick to level the scores and set up a thrilling finish.

With ten minutes remaining, Lambert scored a spectacular 25-yard free kick after Chitrananda was sent crashing to the ground. Lambert?s super blast beat the ?keeper and nestled in at the far right-hand corner to put Whitney ahead for good.

Whitney then extended their lead late in the contest when Lambert secured a memorable treble.

Lambert was a unanimous choice for Whitney?s Most Valuable Player Award while Hypolite was chosen as Valley?s top player.

?Valley had some frontrunners who were very good and caused a lot of problems for Whitney?s defence,? added Farias. ?They just could not contain them. I don?t know what the coach (Smith) did at half-time . . . but they came out with a purpose and turned things around.?

Meanwhile, the BSSF Senior School cup finals remain tentatively scheduled for January, said Farias.