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Surprise star Nick Ferrentino fuels CVU's football success

Written by John A. Fantino for the Burlington Free Press

HINESBURG — Not many people outside the Champlain Valley Union football community knew about Nick Ferrentino before this season. Playing on the junior varsity team two years ago and missing all of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, CVU’s junior running back flew under the radar most of his high school football career. Now healthy, he’s flying past everyone trying to keep him out of the end zone. “I don’t think he’s going to sneak up on anybody anymore,” CVU coach Jim Provost said.

One of the most impressive backs in the state through the first three games of high school football season, Ferrentino has piled up 546 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Making up for lost time, his production has highlighted the Redhawks’ 3-0 start in their first season playing in Division I. “I was anxious for this season,” Ferrentino said. “I really worked hard in the summer.” Ferrentino is coming off a 242-yard, four-touchdown performance in CVU’s 49-21 win at Essex.

That’s not including the 68-yard TD dash that was called back by a penalty. However, Provost said that negated play put on full display the attributes that make the 5-foot-7, 175-pound Ferrentino a headache for defenses. “There were four (Essex) guys who had an angle on him,” Provost said, “and they didn’t touch him. He throttled it up and just took off.”

Also scoring three touchdowns apiece in CVU’s lopsided victories over Brattleboro and Burlington, Ferrentino has been a major factor in helping the Redhawks score 126 points. His speed has been a big asset but not the only reason he’s been so productive. Provost said although diminutive, Ferrentino is strong enough to shed tacklers and drag defenders into the end zone.

Said CVU senior lineman Dylan Raymond about Ferrentino: “He has the speed to go from a dead stop to just be sprinting. He finds the cutbacks. We could be running to the two hole but he sees something in the five (hole), and he’s gone. He’s got that ability to go slow and let everything develop and then burst through and take off.”

It’s been a longtime coming after overcoming injuries. Provost remembers seeing Ferrentino play for the Buccaneers, a youth feeder program, and thinking he had potential to be a star at the high school level. But Ferrentino broke his shoulder in eighth grade, a nagging injury that lingered his freshman year. “It didn’t heal right so I had to get surgery,” Ferrentino said. “It was tough to sit out last year, but I’m playing now and that’s all that matters.”

Ferrentino and CVU play host to St. Johnsbury on Saturday to start a critical stretch for the Redhawks. Games against BFA-St. Albans, Mount Anthony, South Burlington and Middlebury round out the regular season. “Our next couple of games are going to be really tough,” Ferrentino said. “This is our chance to see where we stand.”