Class AA will not lack quarterback star power in 2026.
Monroe-Woodbury’s Ethan Maldonado, Newburgh’s Jaiseon Barnwell and Middletown’s Joseph “JoJo” Royal have already accumulated years of varsity experience. Each has played postseason football, endured championship pressure and become one of the most recognizable athletes in Section IX.
Their resumes are different. Their playing styles are different. Their teams enter the season from different positions.
The goal is the same.
Only one of them can lead his program to the Class AA championship.
Ethan Maldonado: The Defending Champion
Ethan Maldonado enters his senior season with something the other quarterbacks are chasing: consecutive Class AA championships.
Monroe-Woodbury defeated Middletown in the sectional final in both 2024 and 2025. Last November, Maldonado threw three touchdown passes as the Crusaders earned a 28–21 victory and secured their second straight title.
His job in 2026 is no longer to prove that he can win the classification. It is to complete the three-peat.
That brings a different kind of pressure.
Every Class AA contender has spent the offseason preparing to knock off Monroe-Woodbury. The Crusaders will receive everyone’s best effort, and Maldonado will be expected to provide the composure and production needed to keep them on top.
He enters his third season as Monroe-Woodbury’s varsity starter and has already been recognized as a Class AA Offensive Most Valuable Player. He has won close games, produced explosive passing performances and played beyond the sectional level.
The remaining question is whether Maldonado can finish his high school career with a third consecutive crown—and possibly carry Monroe-Woodbury deeper into the state tournament.
Jaiseon Barnwell: The Dangerous Challenger
Jaiseon Barnwell gives Newburgh one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the classification.
Barnwell has already demonstrated the ability to change a game with both his arm and his legs. He has produced five-touchdown passing performances and gives the Goldbacks an explosive threat on every snap.
But talent has never been the only standard at Newburgh.
The Goldbacks own 13 sectional championships and have appeared in 21 title games. This is a program expected to contend for Class AA championships, not merely collect regular-season victories.
Newburgh finished 6–4 in 2025 before Middletown ended its season with a 21–16 victory in the sectional semifinal. Barnwell and several important pieces from that offense return in 2026 with another opportunity to make a run.
For Barnwell, the challenge is converting individual ability into the complete postseason run Newburgh has been seeking.
He has the experience. He has the playmaking ability. Now he has one final season to push the Goldbacks past Middletown, past Monroe-Woodbury and back onto the championship stage.
Joseph Royal: The Young Veteran
Joseph Royal may be the youngest quarterback in this conversation, but he is not inexperienced.
Royal has been playing varsity football for Middletown since the seventh grade. He helped the Middies win the 2023 Class AA championship as an eighth grader and has since developed into their starting quarterback.
He enters 2026 as a junior and a veteran of multiple championship runs.
Middletown reached the Class AA final in each of the past two seasons, losing both times to Monroe-Woodbury. In 2025, the Middies defeated Newburgh in the semifinal and pushed the Crusaders throughout a 28–21 championship game.
Those losses have placed Middletown in an unusual position. The Middies are unquestionably one of the classification’s leading contenders, but being close is no longer enough.
Royal’s experience becomes especially important here. Despite belonging to the Class of 2028, he has already spent more time around varsity football than many seniors. He understands the atmosphere surrounding the rivalry games and the weight of a sectional championship.
He also possesses a distinction neither Maldonado nor Barnwell can claim: after the 2026 season, Royal is currently positioned to return for another year.
That makes him both a championship contender now and potentially the future face of Class AA.
Three Different Situations
These quarterbacks are not entering identical seasons.
Maldonado is defending the throne. His legacy already includes two sectional championships, and a third would place him at the center of one of Monroe-Woodbury’s strongest modern runs.
Barnwell is trying to return Newburgh to the final and prove the Goldbacks can translate their talent into a championship.
Royal is attempting to help Middletown finish what it has come close to completing in consecutive seasons.
Their teams also know each other extremely well.
Monroe-Woodbury defeated both Newburgh and Middletown during the 2025 regular season before beating Middletown again in the final. Middletown eliminated Newburgh in the semifinal. Every meeting added another chapter to a race that will continue this fall.
The quarterback who handles those matchups best could determine the entire classification.
Who Owns Class AA?
Quarterback play will not decide Class AA by itself.
Protection, defense, special teams, coaching and the development of each supporting cast will all matter. The championship will belong to the most complete team—not simply the player with the biggest statistics.
But when the season reaches its most important moments, the football will likely be in the hands of one of these three quarterbacks.
Maldonado has the championships.
Barnwell has the explosive ability and one final opportunity.
Royal has the unusual combination of youth and varsity experience.
Three quarterbacks. Three major programs. One Class AA crown.
The answer will come this fall.
