Union City scored the first time they had the ball when Jean Alvarez scored the first of his five touchdowns on a 31-yard run. The score was set up when Bayonne fumbled the quarterback snap, with the Soaring Eagles recovering.
In the second quarter, Bayonne took an 8-7 lead when Danny McAuliffe found Nasir McNair for a 39-yard score. Alvarez scored from seven yards out with three minutes left in the half to go up 14-8, set up by a 27-yard run by Devin Gonzalez.
The Soaring Eagles added to their lead early in the fourth quarter when Alvarez scored on a 5-yard run. Bayonne came right back when McAuliffe found Cedric Bazile for a 42 yard score down the right sideline to the west end zone, following it up on a pass to McNair for 85 yards. The Bees were buzzing as they went ahead, 24-21, with four-and-a-half minutes left. Alvarez scored on a 3-yard run on a drive where he kept getting the ball, putting Union City in front, 28-24, with just under two minutes left. The ensuing kickoff killed Bayonne’s chance to win when McNair fumbled and Union City recovered on the 20, followed by Alvarez scoring on the following play.
Alvarez was the star of the night with his five touchdowns and approximately 179 yards rushing. He runs hard, decisively, and is a player opposing defenses need to stop. Union City ground things out and won the battle up front. Their defense gave Bayonne running back Azhaun Dingle little room to run and his yards were well earned.
Bayonne has several players who can hurt opponents in McNair, Dingle, and Bazile; all with speed. The difference was turnovers leading to two Union City scores. If they can correct that, they can make noise in the playoffs.