The 2023 football season didn’t end the way the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks wanted.

They saw their streak of two consecutive Section 9 Class AA championships end despite posting an 8-2 record. Their only two losses came to the Middletown Middies during the regular season and in the Section 9 Class AA championship game.

Then the losses to graduation came, leaving the Goldbacks with a young and less experienced team as they head into the 2024 season.

“We lost a lot of seniors, so we have a young team, but they’ve showed us that they want it as bad as the remaining older guys on our team,” lineman Norman Henry said. “It’s going to be a good year for us.”

The 26-14 loss in the Section 9 championship game haunted the Goldbacks as they went into the offseason. Despite losing key players like running back Tajir Walker, wide receiver Jun Rivas, and two-way lineman Fabian Rhoden to graduation, the Goldbacks used that loss to focus during the offseason.

“That definitely motivated us,” Henry said. “We looked at each other, and said, “we’ve got to get it right. We started by coming out here in the field, doing our position groups and trying to get better every day.”
The Goldbacks will also have a new quarterback as two-year starting quarterback Mason Hoover transferred out of the district after last season.

Bruce Montgomery will return to the back field, along with tight end Christopher Leggett. Henry, Leggett and Montgomery are senior captains. Daijon Johnson will serve as a junior captain. Jaden Hines also returns at wide receiver.

“The offseason was long,” Johnson said. “Every day, we were working out and stacking the bricks. We’re going to be a problem this year.”

The loss in last year’s sectional championship doesn’t only motivate the players, but also the coaching staff, as well.

“You always want to win,” Newburgh coach Bill Bianco said. “You always want to win and you do everything you can to try to get to that spot, where you’re playing in the state playoffs. Last year, it didn’t go our way. Credit to Middletown. They had a great team, and they played better than us last year. It’s always good to get another opportunity.”

The Goldbacks, entering the season with plenty of open positions, and so far, the players have answered the call.

“They’re locked in doing what they’ve got to do,” Bianco said. “Every day is a new day in the sense of trying to develop them as a group, and then try to develop them individually, too, as far as their positions and trying to tweak things so they can become the best they can be.”

The Goldbacks have some time to get things together before suiting up for their first game of the year on September 6. They hosted their annual intersquad scrimmage last Saturday and will host a scrimmage against the FDR Presidents on Friday at Academy Field.

They’ll open the season on the road against the Arlington Admirals on September 6. They will host their home opener against the Minisink Valley Warriors on September 13.

“Just watch us this year,” Montgomery said. “That’s all I’ve got to say.”

2024 Schedule
Friday, Aug. 30 - vs. FDR, 5 p.m. (scrimmage)
Friday, Sept. 6 - at Arlington, 6 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 13 - vs. Minisink Valley, 6 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 20 - vs. Cornwall, 6 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 27 - vs. Monroe-Woodbury, 6 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 4 - at Valley Central, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 10 - at Middletown, 6 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 18 - at Pine Bush, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 25 - vs. Kingston, 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 1 - at Our Lady of Lourdes, 6 p.m.