IV Vitamin Therapy in Bogota, NJ

TEANECK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bogota Financial Corp. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: BSBK), the holding company for Bogota Savings Bank (the “Bank”), announced that it has received regulatory approval for the repurchase of up to 249,920 shares of its common stock, which is approximately 5% of its outstanding common stock (excluding shares held by Bogota Financial, MHC), as previously approved by the board of directors of the Company. This is the Company’s fourth stock repurchase program.

Shares may be repurchased in open market or private transactions or pursuant to any trading plan that may be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The repurchase program has no expiration date and may be suspended, terminated or modified at any time for any reason. The stock repurchase program does not obligate the Company to purchase any particular number of shares, and there is no guarantee as to the exact number of shares to be repurchased by the Company. The timing and amount of any repurchases will depend on a number of factors, including the availability of stock, general market conditions, the trading price of the stock, alternative uses for capital, and the Company’s financial performance. Open market purchases will be made in accordance with Rule 10b-18 of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other applicable legal requirements.

About Bogota Financial Corp.

Bogota Financial Corp. is a Maryland corporation organized as the mid-tier holding company of Bogota Savings Bank and is the majority-owned subsidiary of Bogota Financial, MHC. Bogota Savings Bank is a New Jersey chartered stock savings bank that has served the banking needs of its customers in northern and central New Jersey since 1893. It operates from six offices located in Bogota, Hasbrouck Heights, Newark, Oak Ridge, Parsippany and Teaneck, New Jersey and operates a loan production office in Spring Lake, New Jersey.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements about the Company and the Bank. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding anticipated future events and can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” and “intend” or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.” Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results include increased competitive pressures, changes in the interest rate environment, inflation, general economic conditions or conditions within the securities markets, changes in the quality of our loan and security portfolios, increases in non-performing and classified loans, ongoing effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and legislative, accounting and regulatory changes that could adversely affect the business in which the Company and the Bank are engaged.

The Company undertakes no obligation to revise these forward-looking statements or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Contacts

For Bogota Financial Corp.: Joseph Coccaro President and Chief Executive Officer (201) 862-0660

@thefrez56

FRANKLIN (Somerset) — The Bogota girls volleyball team is one of the true athletic high school dynasties in New Jersey. Delaware Valley found that out for the second straight season Sunday afternoon.

Bogota won its 10th NJSIAA Group 1 title since 2011 and fourth in the last five state tournaments, 25-14, 25-6, Sunday at Franklin Township High School. It was the second straight season the Bucs defeated Del Val in the state final.

Bogota finished 28-2, winning eight in a row following a 2-1 loss to Immaculate Heart in the Bergen County Tournament final. Skyland Conference Raritan Division champ Delaware Valley finished 17-10.

The Bucs trailed 13-12 in the first game before running off eight straight points to pull away. The second game was no contest, as a 5-4 Terrier lead was eclipsed by 20 straight Bogota points.

“I don’t think we played our best in the first set,” Bogota coach Brad DiRupo said. “The moment got to us a little bit, being in a state final, which I didn’t understand because we’ve been here [before]. But I thought in the second [set], we were ourselves. We played much better.”

Players of the match

Bucs senior outside hitter Ashanna Caviness recorded 14 kills, five digs and 12 service points, senior setter Mia Pimentel had 24 assists, and senior OH Angelina Buhler collected 10 kills.

“She [Caviness] is an all-state player,” DiRupo said. “We rely on her, and she came through today.”

Unsung heroes

? Bogota senior libero Gianna Estevez finished with 14 digs.

? Delaware Valley sophomore middle Heather Bivona tallied 11 digs, six kills and three blocks.

They said it

“It’s great to coach these kids, but they are also committed. People always gives me credit – I’ll take part credit, but it’s the kids and families. That’s what makes a program.” —DiRupo on the school’s sustained success

“They are a very strong team; they’re historically very strong. … Not just their one player [Caviness], who’s scoring everything, but their defense is very strong. They were picking up stuff that my offense has gotten away with all year.” —Delaware Valley coach Erin Fleming

“I’m incredibly proud of our girls for coming back two years in a row. We have had most of our success the past three years. I’ve been hearing about [Bogota] since I was in high school, and we’re going to keep coming back and hopefully see them again.” —Fleming

TENAFLY — Sofia Bell was on the spot for the second match in a row.

The senior hitter responded by wrapping up Tenafly’s second North 1, Group 3 girls volleyball championship in three seasons.

Bell spiked the final point in the top-seeded Tigers’ 25-11, 25-13 victory over No. 2 Paramus on Tuesday, punctuating a match-ending, 7-1 run.

“The last game in the semifinals [a 2-1 win vs. Wayne Valley], I also got last point,” Bell said. “It’s definitely a lot of pressure being in the front row at the end, especially in such a tight game… but I knew what it felt like two years ago to win, and I just wanted it so badly, I was willing to do whatever it took.”

This time, Tenafly (20-2) has at least one more match. Their sectional title in the pandemic-altered Spring 2021 season represented the finale, with no further rounds of NJSIAA competition being played.

The Tigers are slated to host North 2 champ North Hunterdon at 2 p.m. in Thursday’s Group 3 semifinals for a spot in the state finals Sunday at Franklin High School.

“We’ve all been together so long,” Bell said, “and just knowing that we can have more rounds and more time together, that’s all we want.”

Paramus (17-9) ends with its best record since its last sectional-final campaign seven years ago. The Spartans were on the verge of forcing a third set, holding a 22-18 lead in the second. Tenalfy took a time out, then scored six in a row to tip the scales.

“I was ready to play a third at the end,” Tigers setter Meghan Koehler said. “But, I knew we could always come back, and we obviously did. In the end, I was ready either way.”

Other top performers for Tenafly:

? Senior Rylie Theuerkauf, who has committed to Wake Forest for basketball, led all players with nine kills. “This is the closest team I’ve ever played for in basketball, volleyball, anything,” she said. “So, we’re just going with it and having fun, and we’ll see where it takes us.”

? Senior Anna Taufield led the Tigers with 16 digs, and coach Jeff Koehler cited her infectious energy as a key to their performance. “I play every play like it’s my last,” Taufield said, “whether that’s sacrificing my body, diving for the ball – because I know that it is the little things that matter.”

? Junior Sophia Tapia served six straight points to help Tenafly pull away in the first set, then served four straight (with an ace) to help erase a 9-7 deficit in the second.

Bogota Bucs’ lucky 13th

North Jersey had two public schools claim sectional crowns, with Bogota topping Cresskill in Monday’s North 1, Group 1 final, 25-11, 25-14.

That gave the top-seeded Bucs (26-2) their 13th consecutive sectional championship, with the last three coming in the current playoff format. They’ll host a Group 1 semifinal Thursday at 6 p.m. versus Verona (22-5), which knocked off Rutherford for the North 2 title Monday, 25-6, 25-13.

Against Cresskill (19-6), the 1-2 punch of outside hitters Ashanna Caviness and Angelina Buhler totaled 30 kills for Bogota, which has won the last three Group 1 championships contested. The last team to beat the Bucs in a state final? Verona, which did so five years ago in a three-setter.

The following year, Bogota turned the tables on the Hillbillies to begin its current streak of NJSIAA titles, which was interrupted only by the lack of state finals in Spring 2021.

Donald “Ozzie” Osbourne knows full well the significance of following in the legendary footsteps – and vocal cords – of his former coach, Jay Mahoney.

Osbourne has been hired as Bogota’s boys basketball coach, succeeding a father figure who led the program for 43 seasons and to more than 700 wins, two Bergen County Jamboree titles and a state crown.

“Going to coach where I played, and going to coach where he coached, it’s an honor,” Osbourne said Wednesday.

Osbourne, 50, is a veteran educator and coach in Bergen County. He is dean of students at Hackensack. For a decade, he coached girls and boys basketball at Dwight Morrow. He spent the past four seasons as men’s basketball coach at Bergen Community College.

“He’s going to care about the kids in school, he’s going to care about their grades, he’s going to care about how they act outside of school,” Mahoney said. “He’s going to do a terrific job with basketball, there’s no doubt about it.”

Bogota's interim athletic director, Pat Clark, is excited to have an alum and former player guiding the program. Osbourne understands the tradition, Clark said, and being part of a Group 1 program.

"We always talk about that Bogota mentality," Clark said. "That small school, where we're not going to have great numbers, but we're going to work really hard and be tough kids. And Coach Osbourne is one of the kids. He works really hard and was one of those tough kids, so he knows what it takes to be successful in Bogota."

Osbourne, who recently moved back to Bogota, credits Mahoney for helping him grow from a troubled teen into a mature adult.

“He was the one who put me under his wing and was like another dad to me,” Osbourne said. “He kept me in line, taught me right from wrong, taught me to stop being a silly kid, a kid who wanted to fight all the time, and how to be a student-athlete. And he really changed my life.”

Osbourne is a 1990 Bogota graduate who was a starter on the 1989-90 team that won Bergen Jamboree and NJSIAA Group 1 championships. Osbourne is among multiple players from that roster to become coaches.

The Bucs’ most notable player from that 1989-90 team is Pat Sullivan, who went on to win a national college championship with North Carolina in 1993. Sullivan is the Tar Heels’ director of recruiting, after 18 seasons working on NBA coaching staffs.

“If it wasn’t for coach Mahoney, I don’t know where I would have been,” said Osbourne, who played collegiately at County College of Morris and Fairleigh Dickinson. “I certainly wouldn’t have been a college athlete. I certainly wouldn’t be working in schools and coaching.

“I think he was the one who started me off, indirectly, teaching me how to be a young man and doing the right thing. He was an inspiration that made me want to be a coach.”

Mahoney and Osbourne have similar sideline coaching styles. They stand most of the game and constantly yell instructions to their players, their voices sometimes becoming hoarse.

They differ somewhat on game philosophy. While Mahoney’s teams were known for 3-pointers and junk defenses, Osbourne’s teams play pressure defense, attack the basket, and shoot 3-pointers as a second option.

“My philosophy has never changed over the years,” said Osbourne, who takes over a team that last season went 9-12. “I only ask for three things from players: Play hard, play tough, and play defense. And if you know Bogota, we’re good for that.”

“He has the ability to relate to the kids,” said Mahoney, who retired as hoops coach but will remain as a cross-country assistant. “He can be stern with them, yet he can also joke with them. He knows how to do both. He knows how to reach the kids.”

New Jersey’s hoops season opens in mid-December and Osbourne will be honoring Mahoney during the first home game with what he calls “Jay Mahoney Day.”

“I’m going to dedicate that day to him,” Osbourne said. “I’m going to have a special chair just for him, where nobody else sits in that chair. We’re going to have that day especially for him.”

And Osbourne will be sitting in a chair on Bogota’s sideline, where he hasn’t sat since 1990 and where Mahoney coached since 1979.

Greg Mattura is a sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your phone, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.

The crowd was booming in the Township of Washington. Despite it being a regular season matchup, plenty laid on the line in this Bergen County bout between two of the Top 3 teams in the state -- and it sure felt, sounded and looked that way.

No. 1 Immaculate Heart handled business at home on Tuesday, defeating No. 3 Bogota 25-15, 25-12 to remain undefeated against New Jersey teams and powerfully stamp their prowess as the top dog.

“In all my years here, that was the biggest crowd we ever had. They were just so loud, I didn’t think so many people would actually come. Feeding off the crowd was definitely big for us,” IHA superstar Brookelyn Talmadge said.

This contest is a rematch of the 2021 county tournament quarterfinals that saw Bogota stun the Blue Eagles in three sets. Playing in their home gym, that couldn’t happen again.

“It really did seem like a postseason environment. Being ranked at the top in the state with Bogota right behind us, plus the volume of the crowd made it feel this way. It got so loud that no one could hear what we were saying during the game,” IHA head coach Maria Nolan said.

Feeling the energy of the crowd vibrating the court only added to Talmadge’s excitement for the match. The senior middle blocker, who entered the day leading the state with 170 kills, erupted right from the beginning.

The ball kept finding its way to Talmadge at the net, setting the tone with six kills to give IHA (16-1) a 9-0 lead in the first set. She finished the match with 14, surpassing 600 for her career.

“It just kept working with Brookelyn. When she’s in that rhythm, we’ll keep going to her,” Nolan said.

A victory wasn’t all IHA walked away with during this highly-anticipated showdown. Junior setter Kalena Stavish also took center stage, recording her 1,000th career assist.

“Getting this at home in front of friends and family against such a great team is pretty cool. It took a lot of hard work being in the gym on personal time and just wanting to always get better,” Stavish said, who finished with 23 assists.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment for Kalena. She has been such a consistent player and keeps our players grounded. She’s so talented, getting to 1,000 at this point in her career is very impressive,” Nolan added.

Normally passing the ball, Stavish also snuck in a kill of her own. To close out the opening set, Bogota’s defense was preparing for a Talmadge slam at the middle of the net, so Stavish improvised and faked the pass with a finesse touch that floated over for the winning point.

“Kalena and I are in this really good groove now. We just know where we each other are and have become so connected to set ourselves up,” Talmadge said.

On the other side, Bogota’s Ashanna Caviness came into the match trailing Talmadge by 10 just kills, which is good for second in the state. Despite Bogota (11-1) losing their first sets of the season, Caviness left her mark with a string of kills in the middle of each set to get the Bucs back on track in a tough environment.

“I don’t pay much attention to the amount of kills I have. I just try to stay focused on the winning the game. At first for me, I had to build up the intensity and get the first kill out of the way,” Caviness said.

“We’re friends. I think she is an incredible player, so to be so close to her [in kills] is so insane. We have a tremendous respect for each other and I just know I have to be on my A-game when we face her,” Talmadge said.

For the match, IHA’s Abby Romero tied for a season-high with 19 digs. Eve Roman added seven alongside her six kills and three aces. Grace Coughlin racked up 12 digs and two aces while Khalia Content produced four blocks and a pair of kills.

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