Bill Ferrari revealed in late fall that he will be trading the maroon and white colors of Verona for the black and blue of Johns Hopkins University. Late last week, Frank Ferrari committed to Colgate University, whose colors are maroon, white–and gray.
Bill Ferrari says he had started getting letters of interest in the spring, well before he and his Hillbilly teammates delivered an undefeated state championship season. During the summer, he went to several football camps, where he kept running into the Hopkins coaches. When they invited him down to Baltimore to watch the Blue Jays in action, he noticed the quarterback spent some time on the sidelines studying. “He’s pre-med,” says Ferrari, clearly impressed.
Hopkins, which is a D-III school, had an 11-1 record this year, winning its sixth straight conference title and making it to the second round of the NCAA playoffs. Bill Ferrari says he will likely play as a tight end, and could get a chance at playing right in his freshman year.
Frank Ferrari’s journey to Hamilton, N.Y. came together quickly after some scouting by a Colgate alumni at the Verona’s November 7 game against Cedar Grove, a 35-6 Verona win. “The school got in touch, and things took off from there,” he says. But Ferrari hadn’t been able to get to the Colgate campus until after the Hillbillies’ season ended, and when he did, he discovered two feet of snow on the ground. “I’m a skier so I love the snow,” he notes. The Colgate Raiders are a D-I team that had five wins and seven losses this year.
“I looked at Dartmouth in the summer,” says Frank Ferrari. “They wanted me to play safety. But I love quarterback and Colgate wants me to play quarterback.” 
And though they will be traveling far from Verona, both will face Verona players among their new opponents. Hopkins plays Susquehanna University, where Matt McKeown (VHS Class of 2014) plays, as well as Muhlenberg College and Franklin & Marshall, where he will go up against MJ Mughetto and Tucker Freeman, who went to Seton Hall Prep and St. Peter’s Prep, respectively. Hopkins also scrimmages against Catholic University, which counts St. Peter’s alum and Verona native Robbie Walsh among its players. “I get to play against my neighbors,” he says. Brother Frank will face a closer opponent when Colgate plays Bucknell: His first cousin Bobby Kaslander, VHS Class of 2011.
Academics figured into the brothers’ decision as much as sports. Bill Ferrari, who says he “really likes” his AP government class at VHS, will major in business or economics, and “maybe a minor in politics.” Frank Ferrari also names business as a potential major, but says it might be coupled with finance. “I really like math,” he says. “I don’t want to be a math teacher but I’d like to be in something where I can use math skills every day.”
The brothers are excited about their choices, but cognizant of the changes that lie in store for both of them. “We’ll get to share our different experiences at different schools,” says Frank Ferrari. “It’s going to be fun talking about the season and all the friends we are making.”
“But we’re going to have to be more responsible,” he adds, with a nod to his brother. “He won’t be waking me up and I have to remember when practices are.”
