Piscataway 29 Irvington 28
November 14, 2026
Piscataway came back from 11 points behind with 2:23 left to beat Irvington, 29-28, in the North Jersey Section 1 Group 5 championship. Irvington came back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to go ahead, 28-17. Piscataway will play Passaic Tech at home next Saturday for the North Jersey Group 5 final.
First Quarter: Irvington was in an immediate jam on the opening kickoff; the kick sailed towards the sideline, and Leonidas Williams caught it on the fly, but his momentum landed him out of bounds at the Irvington 7. The Blue Knights went three-and-out and punted to their 45.
Piscataway picked up a first down on three Zaire Young runs, but turned the ball over on downs at the 25.
Irvington picked up a first down on three Nadree Richardson runs to the 35. Two plays later, Justin Spellman was sacked by Donald Young and Tahmir Davis, fumbled, and Xavian Ali recovered for Piscataway on the 32-yard line.
Landon Pernell ran for 10 yards on fourth down to the 21. Three plays later, Pernell found Colby Cotton for a 24-yard touchdown, one minute into the second quarter.
Second Quarter: Piscataway began a drive with four minutes left on their 34. A pass to Cam Olivencia gave them a first down on their 46, and Pernell threw downfield on the next play to Devin Labega for a 54-yard score with two minutes left.
After an Irvington punt, Piscataway started on their 34. A circus catch by Olivencia on the first play went 21 yards to the Irvington 45. Pernell ran for 15 yards to the 20 with 11 seconds remaining, and the half ended with a 37-yard field goal by Patrick Novak.
Third Quarter: Piscataway started the second half with a 20-yard pass to Olivencia with a defender all over him. But Young was stopped on fourth-and-2 for 1 yard, and Irvington had the ball.
After picking up a first down, Spellman ran 5 yards, and a facemask call on Piscataway brought the ball to the 18-yard line. Then Spellman found Sinaj Thomas-Williams, who caught the ball in the end zone over a Piscataway defender for a touchdown.
Irvington began their next drive on their 37. The Blue Knights picked up a first down, but on third down, Spellman was sacked by several Piscataway defenders, and they had to punt. Ali broke through the line and blocked the punt, with Piscataway recovering on the 30.
Malachi Mills sacked Pernell on second down to the 33, and a 50-yard field goal attempt by Novak was short in the end zone.
Fourth Quarter: Mitch Jenkins found a crease and ran 19 yards to the 39, and 18 yards to the Piscataway 43. Spellman connected with Mazai Logan for 24 yards to the 17, and handed off to Williams on the next play for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 17-14.
Pernell found Labega on 3rd-and-14 for 33 yards, as he outjumped the defender for the ball. But Mills forced a Pernell fumble, and Irvington recovered on their 46.
It took one play: Spellman found Thomas-Williams at the 15, as he turned his body around and ran to the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown, giving Irvington the lead for the first time, 21-17, with 5:20 remaining.
Piscataway had the ball at midfield, and Mills sacked Pernell for a 12-yard loss to the Piscataway 41. Piscataway punted, but Jamir Howell misplayed the ball, and Labega recovered for the Chiefs at the 17. After a 3-yard run by Young, Jeffery Antwi intercepted on the 2; his momentum carried him into the end zone. He turned around and ran down the left sideline for 90 yards.
Jenkins took the handoff inside, before bouncing to the right and scoring from 10 yards out to make it 28-17 with 2:21 left.
Piscataway began on their 26. With 4th-and-2 on the 34, Pennell found Olivencia for 3 yards to keep possession. Pernell ran 15 yards to the Irvington 43 and got out of bounds to stop the clock. Two plays later, he found Shawn McGee for 12 yards, and he got out of bounds. Then Pernell took off with the ball, sidestepped defenders for a 30-yard touchdown. The two-point try failed, and it was 28-23 with 1:01 left.
It was onside kick time. It came and took a high bounce, and Labega leaped up and grabbed the ball on the Irvington 45.
First play: Defensive holding was called on Irvington, and the ball was moved to the 35. 54 seconds left.
Second play: Pernell quickly takes off, gains 13 yards to the 22, and steps out of bounds. 45 seconds left.
Third play: Incomplete. 40 seconds left.
Fourth play: A delay-of-game penalty moved the ball back to the 27. Pernell takes off to the 9-yard line and gets out of bounds. 33 seconds left.
Fifth play: Pernell finds McGee in the far right corner of the end zone, who makes a one-handed catch for the touchdown. 26 seconds left.
2-point conversion: After a penalty moved the ball to the 8-yard line, Pernell’s run comes up short of the end zone: 29-28 Piscataway.
Irvington got off two plays, and time ran out.
Comments: It was a wild game, and I thought each team was dead at different points in the game: Irvington at halftime and Piscataway when they were down, 28-17. In fact, I saw some Piscataway fans leaving at that point from the Irvington sideline.
Pernell led Piscataway, especially in the last two minutes. He completed 13-of-21 for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns, while rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. The Chiefs’ defense was stingy in the first half and was dominant up front, holding Irvington to 42 yards of offense and 4 first downs – one by penalty. With their backs against the wall, the Chiefs came through and got to play another week.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Irvington, but they didn’t quit. At halftime, it wasn’t a question to me whether they would win; it was whether they would score. And they did in the second half, and their defense stepped up until the last two minutes. They could have floundered in the second half, but they had heart, and I have respect for them.