It was about as good a night as you could ask for at C. Ashley Morgan Field, and once Newburgh Free Academy found its rhythm, there was no stopping the Goldbacks.
Both teams came into Thursday night looking to rebound from Week 0 losses, and both had real reasons to feel good about themselves. Warwick was starting quarterback Eric Milisauskas for just the second time in his career, after a torn ACL wiped out his entire junior season. Newburgh, meanwhile, brought a roster loaded with players already drawing college scouts, the kind of team that never makes for an easy night no matter the record.
For a while, it played out exactly like that. This was a scheduling quirk, a Thursday night kickoff at 7 p.m. to work around this weekend’s Jewish holiday, which meant a 45-minute bus ride home for Newburgh with school the next morning. Early on, neither team could find separation. Turnovers gave both sides short fields, and the game stayed a genuine fight, Newburgh clinging to a 14-6 lead into the second quarter.
Then Jaiseon Barnwell and the NFA offense took over.
The senior quarterback, who’s trained with a private quarterback coach in Bronxville and worked out alongside five-star 2026 Texas commit Dia Bell this offseason, started hitting his receivers on bigger and bigger throws downfield, the kind of plays that turn a close game into a rout in a hurry. Running back Justin Lassick broke off several explosive runs of his own, including a touchdown, and once that combination got rolling, Warwick had no answer. Newburgh took a 21-6 lead into halftime and then closed the door completely, outscoring the Wildcats 21-0 in the second half. Final score: 42-6.
This is exactly the kind of response Newburgh talked about needing after a disappointing 2025 season that included a tough 16-21 loss to Middletown. Barnwell, one of four team captains alongside Christopher Mack, Nyeir Johnson and Austin Lilla, made the team’s offseason mission statement clear before the year even began: “Discipline is what the coaches have are preaching. Discipline, togetherness and fighting adversity… if you lose, you lose, there are no excuses.” A 42-6 win to open Section 9 play, capped by 28 unanswered points, is about as strong a statement as this group could have made.
Warwick will have to regroup fast with a talented Newburgh roster now off and running, while the Goldbacks carry real momentum into a home date with a solid Washingtonville team next Thursday.
Full highlights from Thursday night’s game will be up shortly at TheFridayNightFilms.com, your home for the Section 9 Game of the Week, every week.
