If recent history is any indication, Iona Prep and Monsignor Farrell probably aren’t finished with each other. Friday night in New Rochelle brought together the two programs that played for the 2025 CHSFL AAA championship, and once again there was history attached to the matchup.
A year ago, Farrell handed Iona Prep its only loss of the 2025 season, going into New Rochelle and beating the Gaels 28–21 during the regular season. Iona eventually got its revenge when it mattered most, defeating Farrell 42–20 in the CHSFL AAA Championship Game before going on to capture the state Catholic title.
Friday was the next chapter. And Round One of 2026 belonged to Iona. The Gaels beat Farrell 24–9, improving to 4–0 while handing the Lions their first loss of the season.
Jackson continues to command the Iona offense
Junior quarterback Jaydin Jackson was at the center of another efficient Iona performance. Jackson threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 attempts and added 58 yards on the ground. Against a Farrell defense that entered the night unbeaten, Jackson didn’t need huge volume. He created plays when Iona needed them and helped the Gaels control the game without beating themselves. Iona finished with only 30 penalty yards.
That’s increasingly becoming part of Jackson’s story. He’s not simply managing one of the area’s most talented rosters. He’s becoming one of the players driving it. And having a weapon like Trey Watson on the outside only makes the Gaels more difficult to defend. Watson gives Iona another explosive option capable of stressing a secondary vertically and creating favorable matchups elsewhere. Even when the ball isn’t going his direction, his presence changes how defenses have to approach Jackson and the Iona passing game. For a team with championship expectations, that Jackson-to-Watson connection is one worth watching as the season moves deeper into October.
Farrell showed why this matchup may come back around
The final score shouldn’t erase what Farrell was able to do offensively. Quarterback Bryce Moye threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, his highest reported passing total since at least the start of the 2024 season. His brother Braxton Moye was the Lions’ biggest receiving threat, finishing with 136 receiving yards and Farrell’s lone touchdown.
Those numbers matter because Farrell wasn’t overwhelmed. The Lions moved the football against Iona. They simply weren’t able to turn enough of those yards into points. Bryce Moye has already shown he can play on this stage. As a sophomore in last year’s postseason, he completed 12 of 14 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns in Farrell’s semifinal win over Chaminade. Now a year older, he’s directing a Farrell team that entered Friday 4–0 and once again looks capable of making a deep November run.
Braxton gives him a legitimate big-play target, and their production Friday should make the potential rematch even more interesting. A rivalry that may be headed toward another November, and there’s something developing between these programs:
In the 2025 regular season, Farrell won 28–21.
In the 2025 championship, Iona answered 42–20.
In the first meeting of 2026, Iona took the next one, 24–9.
That’s three meaningful games in less than a calendar year between two programs that expect to be playing deep into November. And Friday didn’t feel like an ending. It felt like the first act.
Iona leaves Round One undefeated and with another important win on its resume. Farrell leaves with its first loss, but also with evidence that Moye and the Lions can move the football against the defending champions. There is still a lot of season left. St. Anthony’s, Stepinac, Hayes, Chaminade and the rest of the AAA field will have plenty to say about how November ultimately looks. But if Iona Prep and Monsignor Farrell eventually find themselves across from one another again with a championship on the line, nobody should be surprised.
Iona got the first one in 2026. The question now is whether we get Round Two.
