Eventually the game would come down to two small errors by Trident, which would seal JPC's first division one title in the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Secondary Schools' rugby finals.
Trident, from the kick-off, tried to keep Rotorua pinned inside their own half and looked to capitalise on any mistake by JPC.
The mistake came within the first few minutes, when the Rotorua side were penalised for taking too long to set up in a lineout, 45m inside their own half.
A number of JPC supporters were surprised when the Trident captain and kicker Cameron Watkins pointed to the posts. It even caught the young chap holding the kicking tee off guard, taking him several moments to run the tee out to Watkins.
At nearly 50 metres on the angle, Watkins' line was fine but the range was found wanting.
However, the second-five would nail a 48m blinder a few minutes later to open the score for Whakatane.
Trident used their big props, Hamiora Cossey and Manuel Manuel, like battering rams on the JPC defensive line but the Rotorua side soaked it up, using aggressive defence to try to subdue the barrage.
The majority of the first half was played in between both sides' 22, with neither really threatening to break free.
A rare jaunt into Trident's 22 gave JPC their first chance to put points on the board, after referee Shane McDermott pinged Whakatane's backs for being off-side. JPC halfback Petelo Kelemete had no trouble kicking over the penalty.
With neither side looking like gaining dominance through attack, it came down to pressure and JPC seemed to be able to apply it at the right time.
When JPC managed, again, to get inside Whakatane's 22, a poor clearing kick by Trident soon had the side scrambling and fumbling the ball. Blindside flanker Joseph Keenan chased hard and kicked the ball through and his team-mate, second-five Tremayne Watson, pounced on the ball and ran the 15m to score right on halftime. Again, Kelemete made easy work of the conversion for JPC to go into the break 10-3.
The first 15 minutes of the second half appeared to be all JPC with their bigger loose forward trio, Joshua White (openside), Jack Bird (No8) and Keenan playing a vital part in the team's forward movement. Both White and Bird showed pace and power in open play but weren't afraid to get their hands dirty in the tight stuff as well.
If JPC were guilty of one thing it was not being able to finish off a number of times they were camped on Trident's line, due to Trident's defence.
With about 10 minutes left on the clock, Trident went to their impact players on the bench. The changes lifted the side, who started to get more possession and drove JPC back down into their own 22 for the first time in the second half. Trident put the Rotorua side under pressure and came away with a great forwards' try to Cameron Rio-Kumeroa, which was converted by Maia Westsrupp to level the score.
Trident supporters sensed an upset and became vocal, the shouting and cheering was deafening. However, JPC maintained their composure and moved into another gear. They ran with more urgency and hit the line harder.
When Trident were penalised in front of the posts it seemed the game was over. But a rugby ball can do funny things and when Kelemete's kick ricocheted off the crossbar and a JPC player knocked the ball on it was the Rotorua supporters' turn to become nervous and worry about a fired-up Trident side.
But, with Whakatane bringing the ball out of their danger zone, they were unable to secure a bobbling loose ball and JPC pounced on it, passed it to a rampaging White who broke a tackle, ran 30m to score, and gave JPC the win.
John Paul College captain Logan Norman said it was a proud moment for him and the team.
"We [the team] are pretty proud. It's a privilege to be in a team that makes history. It goes up on the wall [at school]. It was awesome. We put a lot of hard work in at practice and we came away with a win."
A clearly disappointed Watkins said: "It was pretty hard, but I'm just proud of our boys. We came back after being down a try in the first half. But JPC looked like they wanted it more."
