Kingston shows improvement in defeat
Newburgh spoils Senior night for the Tigers with 36-16 victory to take 53-52-5 series lead
Senior night provided Kingston High’s football team with its best showing of the year, but Newburgh Free Academy’s fast and elusive runners proved too much Friday night as the Goldbacks won the 110th meeting of the two rivals 36-16 at Dietz Stadium.
Newburgh has won the last four games against the Tigers and now has a 53-52-5 lead in a series that began back in 1915.
Jadon Munroe rushed 10 times for 181 yards and four touchdowns to lead the (4-0, 5-2) Goldbacks, who had already clinched the Section 9, Class AA Division I title. Newburgh has the second seed and a bye in next week’s quarterfinals and will play the winner of Minisink Valley-Pine Bush in the semifinals.
Kingston got a tremendous performance by junior JaVar Tinsley, who carried the ball 25 times for 153 yards and one touchdown to lead the winless Tigers. Kingston finishes 0-4 in the division and is now 0-7. The team has a crossover game next week, possibly at Roosevelt on Friday. Section 9 will release the full crossover schedule early this week.
Newburgh had the lead just 21 seconds into the game. Terry Anderson’s 71-yard kickoff return had the Goldbacks on the Kingston 14 to start and Munroe scored on the first play. He later scored again on a 57-yard sprint. Kicker
Pete Matthews, who booted four extra points, lofted a 2-point conversion pass to Wayne Murray for a 15-0 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.
It became 29-0 after Chris Monroe, who rushed for 85 yards overall, scored on a 1-yard burst early in the second quarter and Munroe raced 49 yards for his third TD.
Reid Jordan made a beautiful over-the-shoulder grab for an interception just before NFA’s fourth touchdown, but the catch was negated as he made it just as he stepped out of bounds. The senior cornerback had the timing down though and, on the Goldbacks’ next possession, made a running pick of a Ryan Skivington pass just before stepping onto the Tiger sideline.
The Jordan highlight reel continued two plays later when he made a textbook two-handed, feet-just-inbounds reception on Manny Wilson’s 36yard pass. Tinsley barreled twice for 11 yards to put the ball inside the NFA 5. Wilson then swept left and dove for the pylon for a 3-yard TD. Senior Cameron Tiano sprinted to his right on a 2-point conversion to have Kingston down 29-8 at the half.
“That’s a great Newburgh team. Let me say that. A class act. Fast and big,” Kingston coach Nick Badalato remarked, ”And, honestly, our kids stepped up. This is the best game I can say that they had mentally, physically, just playing it right. There were not as many penalties.”
Kingston’s defense played much better in the second half, holding NFA to 71 yards. The Goldbacks’ final TD was Munroe’s 4-yard run 4:23 into the final half.
The Tigers had five takeaways: interceptions by Jordan and Mikah Short, plus three fumble recoveries, including one each by Josh Proner and Jonte Wright. Three of the turnovers came in the last two quarters.
Kingston stopped Newburgh on downs at the Tiger 28 early into the fourth period, then marched the other way in eight plays for its second touchdown.
With Wilson injured and Jordan filling in at quarterback, Tinsley did the heavy lifting. He had runs of 8, 4, 21, 1, 2 and 15 yards. A personal foul was tacked on to that last carry, then Tinsley raced 11 yards for the score with 3:13 to play. Tiano sprinted to his left this time on a fake kick for another 2-point play.
“They left it all out there tonight,” Badalato said. “It’s not easy. It’s not easy being just 30 kids and undersized, but they bring it. They brought it. I’m very proud of them.”