Although Ballyclare SS played with a strong breeze in the first half, it was Omagh CBS who had an opportunity to open the scoring but a penalty attempt by captain Patrick O'Neill drifted wide. His opposite number Thomas McGuckin made no mistake with his effort shortly after to give Ballyclare SS a 0-3 advantage.
Buoyed by that, McGuckin sparked a move which brought about the first try of the game. His neat pass found left wing Ryan Larmour who brushed off two defenders before offloading to Sam McIlwaine on a great support line. The big centre's touchdown was unconverted but his side had extended their lead to 0-8 going into half time.
After the break, Omagh used the wind to their advantage by playing a territorial game, ably directed by O'Neill. After a number of phases close to the Ballyclare line, the pressure eventually paid off when Ryan Flanagan drove over from close range. O'Neill added the extras to reduce the arrears to 7-8.
Ballyclare SS replied almost immediately with a superb backline move involving McGuckin and Larmour as the latter crashed over for an unconverted try.
Omagh CBS took the lead for the first time when O'Neill's delayed pass found Padraig McGirr on a great angle and he crashed through to touch down. The successful conversion brought the score to 14-13 in Omagh's favour.
The see saw nature of the game continued when Conor Cambridge - who took on the kicking duties after McGuckin got injured - restored Ballyclare's lead with a well struck penalty. But as his team pushed for a further score, O'Neill intercepted a pass and dashed 60 yards before sliding in on the right hand corner. His difficult conversion was off target but his team were now 19-16 ahead with just four minutes remaining.
Cambridge missed a penalty effort with the last kick of the game as he attempted to rescue a draw and the final whistle was greeted with scenes of jubilation from the Omagh schoolboys and their travelling support.
The victorious Omagh CBS squad (Image credit: Ronan McHugh)