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Xavien Rodriguez’s 4-yard rushing touchdown in overtime proved to be the game winner as fourth-seeded Union City rallied from 14 points down to defeat fifth-seeded Irvington, 21-14, in the first round of the NJSIAA/Xfinity North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 tournament at Roosevelt Stadium in Union City.

Facing a 4th-and-2 on the first possession of overtime, Naythan Pena powered his way nine yards down to the Irvington 8. Three plays later, Rodriguez faked a handoff then bootleged to his left for the Union City (6-3) touchdown.

Irvington got possession with a chance to force a second overtime, but was denied when a 4th-and-16 pass was broken up in the end zone, giving Union City its fifth win in a row.

Union City, the two time defending North 2, Group 5 champs, found itself in a 14-0 hole when Leonidas Williams returned the second half kickoff 68 yards for a touchdown.

Pena (20-for-85 rushing) ran for a 5-yard TD with 3:36 left in regulation, followed by Jayden Chaviano’s extra-point to tie the game and force overtime.

Irvington jumped out in front just 4:20 into the game when Jazai Reid recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. The lead doubled with 10:40 left in the half when Justin Spellman threw a 6-yard TD pass to Reid to make it 14-0.

Jaydiz Vargas paced the Union City defense with 11 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Chris Sibrian Jr. had 14 tackles with a forced fumble, and Jordan Peterson intercepted a pass.

Union City travels to top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan in the semifinals next Friday. Bridgewater-Raritan defeated Linden, 35-6.

Public employees who want to cash in on their unused sick time wouldn’t have to wait until retirement to do so under new legislation.

Under a bill sponsored by Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson), government officials could “purchase” up to 120 hours a year of accumulated sick leave from employees at up to 60% of its worth. The bill would undo part of a 2007 law that allowed such payouts to be disbursed only at retirement. Employees would have to maintain at least 800 hours of accrued sick time after such a purchase.

It’s unclear what motivated the bill. Stack, who’s also the Union City mayor, did not respond to a request for comment.

Lavish sick leave payouts to retiring public workers have long been a target for reform by government watchdogs.

Acting state Comptroller Kevin D. Walsh urged state legislators in 2022 to tighten up sick leave rules after his investigators found, in a review of 60 towns statewide, that most illegally paid out millions and ignored state caps on such payouts, which can cripple local budgets. Walsh earlier this month directed Pleasantville to correct sick leave and severance policies he called “wasteful and ripe for fraud” after investigators found the city paid its former business administrator almost $84,000 in accumulated sick leave she wasn’t entitled to.

Asked to comment, Walsh blasted the bill as “a step in the wrong direction.”

“It’s effectively a taxpayer-funded bonus that will fuel waste, favoritism, and ballooning government costs,” Walsh said in a statement. “At a time when the state is facing a budget crunch and many residents are financially struggling, it’s terrible to see this bill that would invite more fraud, waste, and abuse and favoritism.”

The proposal has some cautious early support.

John Donnadio, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties, said it could help local officials better financially prepare for the departure of employees who are due checks for accrued sick leave by paying them smaller amounts over time instead of a one-time windfall. He also likes that the plan would allow, but not require, local governments to make these changes.

“I don’t know the politics behind the bill, but it seems like maybe you can use it as a budgeting tool,” Donnadio said.

The bill has no Assembly companion and has not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing. Lawmakers have a short window to act on legislation in the Statehouse pipeline, with the current session set to end in mid-January.

Union City, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $7.8 million sale of a 22,000-square-foot retail strip center located at 4700 Bergenline Ave. in Union City. The property is occupied by three tenants, including CVS Pharmacy, a laundromat and a physical therapy office. Alan Cafiero, Brent Hyldahl and Devin Perez of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction. Dean Matuszewicz, also of Marcus & Millichap, procured the buyer.

Bannockburn, Ill. — Associated Bank has provided an $11.7 million loan to GTZ Properties for the development of a four-building, multi-tenant retail center on a vacant parcel in Bannockburn, approximately 30 miles north of Chicago. The 23,864-square-foot project is situated on a 5.3-acre corner lot adjacent to a Mariano’s grocery store and across the street from a Heinen’s grocery store. The development is 93 percent preleased with one space remaining. Signed leases include Wells Fargo Bank, Chipotle, Heart Certified Auto Care, Just Salad and a nail salon. The Gardner School is purchasing a parcel to develop the fifth building on the property for an early childhood education center. Completion of the retail center is scheduled for summer 2026. Daniel Barrins of Associated Bank handled the loan arrangements and closing.

Walker, Mich. — Mid-America Real Estate Corp. has arranged the sale of Green Ridge Square, a 225,307-square-foot shopping center in Walker, a northwest suburb of Grand Rapids. Shadow anchored by Target, the property is home to Best Buy, Burlington, Michaels, Urban Air, Five Below, Panera and Shoe Dept. Ben Wineman and Daniel Stern of Mid-America represented the seller, Birmingham, Michigan-based Bacall Cos. Seattle-based Bridge33 Capital was the buyer.

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Phoenix — Phoenix Commercial Advisors has arranged the sale of Ninety Nine Ave, a 47,201-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail center in Phoenix. A private buyer acquired the property from the developer for $30.7 million in an all-cash transaction. Ninety Nine Ave was fully leased at the time of sale to a mix of tenants including Sprouts Farmers Market, CAVA, Hand & Stone and Mountain Mike’s Pizza. The property was newly constructed in 2024 on 5.3 acres, according to LoopNet. Danny Gardiner and Chad Tiedeman of Phoenix Commercial Advisors represented the seller in the deal.

This story has been updated with more information.

BRIDGEWATER — With a berth in its first sectional final since 2017 in the offing, Bridgewater-Raritan was hardly in need of any extra motivation Friday, Nov. 7.

But, just in case it did, the fact that the Panthers were playing Union City, the team that routed it by 50 points in last year’s sectional semifinals, was all the added incentive it needed.

Top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan (8-3) avenged that loss with a 22-7 victory over the Soaring Eagles (6-4) in the North 2, Group 5 semifinals and will host the winner of Saturday’s match between Bayonne and Piscataway for the sectional crown next Friday.

“Me, personally, because I played against them last year as well, it definitely was motivation for me and all of the returning guys. Seeing we were playing Union City, it definitely lit a fire for us,” senior quarterback Declan Kurdyla offered. “The score last year where we lost by 50 (61-10), playing them again and being able to beat them now, I think it just shows the culture we have as a team, beating them now.”

“We try to find anything you can to motivate kids so we definitely used that as some motivation,” Bridgewater coach DJ Catalano confirmed. “We knew we were a lot better football team than we were last year and we felt really good going into this game.”

The Panthers never trailed in the contest as they drove 68 yards in eight plays on the opening possession, with Denzel Amoafo bursting 20 yards up the middle for the game’s first score. Joe Squicciarini added a 29-yard field goal on the penultimate play of the first quarter to extend the lead to 10-0.

Bridgewater-Raritan set the tone in the first quarter, running 21 plays to Union City’s four, winning the time of possession battle by a 10:12/1:48 margin. It is very difficult to score when you don’t have the ball.

Union City’s lone touchdown came on its second possession of the contest, an 11-play, 80-yard excursion that ended on a 3-yard run by Mario Medina. The Soaring Eagles only crossed midfield twice over the remainder of the contest and never advanced beyond the Panther 22.

Union City did cross the goal line one more time but it was the wrong end zone after it began its next possession at its 1-yard line, where Will Higgins downed Squicciarini’s first punt of the evening. A botched handoff on the next play forced Union City quarterback Xavien Rodriguez to fall on the ball in the end zone for a safety and Squicciarini added a 26-yard field goal on the final play of the half for a 15-7 cushion.

“He’s huge, he’s a weapon for us,” said Catalano of his senior kicker, stressing that his touchbacks on all four of his kickoffs eliminated Union City’s dangerous return game. “On field goals, we know he’s pretty much automatic with that, just to get points. What we want to do is come away with points every drive as much as possible.”

Bridgewater-Raritan amassed a 200-82 edge in total offense in the first half, 163-44 on the ground, and were dominating the contest everywhere but the scoreboard.

“What we talked about was, ‘we’re right there, we’re controlling the game, we just have to finish,' ” Catalano said of his halftime message.

Union City received the second-half kickoff in a one-possession contest and the outcome was secured over the next nine minutes.

The Soaring Eagles failed to score despite advancing to the 22 following a 52-yard run by Leonidas Williams. Bridgewater-Raritan answered by going 70 yards in 13 plays, all on the ground, with White (25-147 rushing) finishing with a 7-yard, off-tackle run that concluded the scoring with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Bridgewater-Raritan did not commit a turnover and was only flagged for one penalty, a holding call early in the fourth quarter.

“That’s something that we harp on every day in practice,” Catalano claimed. “We want to control the football and hold on to the football. They’re coached really well and they were coming after the football."

The Panthers, led by White, Amoafo and Kurdyla, amassed 290 yards on the ground on 56 carries.

“I’m so thankful for my O-line. Having them, blocking for me, I felt like we had them the whole game, our O-line was playing so good,” said Kurdyla. “We want to be able to run the ball and the holes were that big.”

Catalano was understandably proud of his team after the contest.

“We have an opportunity to do something that this school has never done before,” Catalano said. “Since the merger we do not have a sectional championship so we’re looking to do something special and I think we have a special group of kids and I’m really excited absolutely the opportunity for the program.”