NSMQ 2023 grand finale: Three giants, different paths, one prize

There have been shocks and upsets, hitherto unfancied schools breaking new ground and bigger names bowing out earlier than expected, but the lineup of schools going into the October 31 decider at the National Theatre in Accra looks very familiar: Achimota School, Opoku Ware School, and Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon.

The finalists are all past winners of the competition, holding 11 of the previous 27 titles between them, but they all come into the latest final with differing profiles.

ACHIMOTA SCHOOL

First up, Achimota, who are in a three-school final for the very first time.

To win each of the two titles already to their name, they had to beat just one school—St. Peter's SHS on both occasions, incidentally—but will now have to contend with and overcome two in order to triumph.

Their victory in the semi-final over Wesley Girls High School and St. Louis SHS may have put paid to any chances of a girls school winning a maiden NSMQ title, but Achimota themselves are in a position to end the 19-year grip boys schools have had on the competition; should they prevail, Achimota will be the first school of mixed gender to win the NSMQ since… well, Achimota themselves, even though—make of this detail what you will—they are primarily represented by male contestants.

Few could have predicted Achimota, though being one of the competition's more pedigreed participants, would advance this far after last season's unremarkable performance. They've certainly had to do it the hard way, starting from the regional qualifiers, rather uncharacteristically, but it's testament to Achimota's persistence and quality that they've gone all the way. All that stands in their way now is one last hurdle.

The capital-based school has lost as many finals as it's won, and would be counting on the power duo of Elagbe Walter Abiwu and Kenneth Bakhita Egbadzor to tip the scales in their favour this time. On the evidence of what they've seen thus far, 'Motowners' young and old would feel confident of securing that quite elusive third star.

OPOKU WARE SCHOOL

There is, of course, no sure strategy to make an impression at the NSMQ—to win it, even—and many schools have taken the liberty to attempt some pretty bold moves over the years in order to reach their goals.

But even as left-field tactics go, Opoku Ware's decision to pick a first-year student, Stephen Apemah-Baah, as one of their two starting representatives is practically unheard of. If the plan was to give him the exposure this year so Apemah-Baah would emerge sharper and readier in subsequent years to lead 'The School' to victory, the young man has defied expectations and promises to deliver way ahead of schedule.

Like a duck to water, Apemah-Baah has taken to the stage of the NSMQ, unfazed by the prospect of coming up against older students. He has, to many, stood out as the star of this edition, combining to devastating effect alongside Andrews Oppong Damptey—at least two years his senior—to win contest after contest.

And none of those would Opoku Ware have enjoyed more than the semi-final defeat of fellow Catholic school Pope John SHS & Minor Seminary and—drumroll, please—archrivals Prempeh College (who themselves won the competition two years ago while fielding a second-year student) by just two points, courtesy of which they return to the final for the ninth time; no school, bar record champions PRESEC, have been at this stage more often.

Opoku Ware's record with finals, however, is far from impressive. Their 25% winning rate is the second-lowest of any school that's been in the final at least six times (better only than Adisadel College), and they'd hope to muster all the effort required to buck the trend and bring in a third title—more than two decades since the last—to their Santase base.

What a story that, with young Apemah-Baah at the heart of it, would be!

PRESEC, LEGON

These days, there's hardly a Grand Finale of the NSMQ without a touch of blue—of the PRESEC, Legon, variety—and that touch has proved golden in two of the last three years.

So often the school to beat, PRESEC have managed to maintain their calm and composure—unsurprisingly—in breezing through the earlier rounds and holding off stiff competition from Mfantsipim School and Keta SHTS at the penultimate stage.

Now in familiar territory, they're ready to strike and pounce. What they have to their advantage isn't just recent experience of success, but also the distinction of being the competition's most decorated school, their seven titles ranking them two clear of the next school, Prempeh. With a chance to put daylight between themselves and everyone else, PRESEC's uncanny and unparalleled ability to sniff glory and to snatch it even against formidable opposition is a strength they can always rely on.

In Benedict Partey Dortey and Selinam Kofi Mortey, PRESEC have two contestants who share more than just surnames that rhyme. More pertinently, the pair has created a synergy that places them in good stead to emerge the latest in a long line of 'Presecans'—ably supported, of course, by the rest of the team—to pick up the torch and run with it, keeping the flame of excellence burning for the 'Ɔdadeɛ'.

PRESEC have already made history by reaching a fifth final in a row (a new competition record, one better than Adisadel College's 2015-18 streak); now they could make even more by becoming the first school to win back-to-back titles since they—who else?—pulled it off in the years immediately preceding the NSMQ's 2010/11 hiatus.

The battle lines are drawn. The duelists are ready. As a befitting climax to the NSMQ's 30th year of existence, a spectacle awaits.

By: Sammie Frimpong