The Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks are going to the Dome.
Two touchdown returns – a punt return by Joe Alicea and a pick-six by William Patterson – led to 12 fourth-quarter points in the Goldbacks’ 31-20 win over the Christian Brothers Academy of Albany in Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA semifinal at Faller Field in Middletown.

“That’s a big accomplishment for us,” said Fabien Rhoden, who finished the game with three tackles, one of them for a loss. “This is my third year on varsity and my first time going to the Dome so I’m just glad we made it, because last year we came up real short against Carmel. So, I’m glad we got it this year.”

The Goldbacks will return to the JMA Wireless Dome on Sunday to face the Section 6 champion Bennet Tigers, 34-7 winners over Section 3 champion Cicero-North Syracuse in the other semifinal.

“This obviously feels tremendous,” Newburgh coach Bill Bianco said. “We’ve been there two other times, and every time it’s just as sweet. Hopefully, we can get it done next week.”

The road to the Dome was difficult, a week after knocking off unbeaten Section 1 champion Carmel, who ended the Goldbacks’ season almost exactly a year earlier on the same field.

“I had to get my revenge,” Johnson said. “I kept telling them we were here last year. We know what we have to do to move on to the state championship, and to be ourselves.”

For the second straight week, it required the Goldbacks to overcome a double-digit deficit. A week after falling behind to the Carmel Rams 13-0, the Goldbacks fell behind 10-0 early on a touchdown run by CBA’s Jahmir Pitcher and a field goal by Carson Leto.

But the Goldbacks responded with a big second quarter. Immediately after Leto’s field goal, the Goldbacks’ engineered a seven-play drive for their first score, requiring two big plays in the passing game.

The first was a pass from quarterback Mason Hoover to Elijah Bevier that went for 27 yards and then Hoover threw a long, high pass to Johnson, sending him up and over the receivers, putting the Goldbacks at the CBA 12 yard-line.

Two plays later, Tajir Walker ran it in from 7 yards out to pull the Goldbacks to within three points.

After forcing the Brothers to punt, the Goldbacks took over on the CBA 40. Hoover hit another long pass to Bevier, and then a targeting penalty and ejection of CBA cornerback and quarterback Donald Jones set the Goldbacks up on the CBA 11.

Hoover found Johnson in the end zone on the next play, giving the Goldbacks their first lead of the game, 12-10 at halftime.
Not having Jones in the backfield, the Brothers turned to Jack Gialanella, more of a pocket passer than runner, and that changed the dynamics of the Brothers’ offense.

“That was a great benefit,” Rhoden said. “Their backup quarterback was not really as much of a runner as (Jones) was. So, I think that was a good thing for us.”

Newburgh took an 19-10 lead on Johnson’s 4-yard run.
Even though a second field goal by Leto pulled the Brothers to within six points twice, it was the special team’s score by Alicea and Patterson’s interception return that put the game away.

“Any time you get a punt return touchdown, it’s a big momentum shifter, and credit them, they put (Gialanella) in at quarterback and he was throwing the ball around,” Bianco said. “We needed someone to make a play and Matt’s been steady all year. We moved him into the starting lineup in Week 3 and he’s done a tremendous job.”

It clinched the Goldbacks’ third trip to the Dome. The last time was in 2014, when they suffered a 41-20 loss to Section 6 champion Jamestown. They went for the first time in 2011 where they lost, 21-13, to Section 6’s Orchard Park.

A win Sunday will bring home Newburgh’s first state title.

“There’s full confidence from me,” team captain Deondre Johnson said. “I’ve never been there before and I’m sure our team will be real prepared. We’re going to prepare this week for Sunday. We’re going to have enough time to get prepared.”