Manj Singh, the new head football coach at Verona High School, has assembled his coaching staff for the 2024 season and they include two very familiar Verona football names: Jimmie Crawford and Matt Riccitelli.
Crawford and Riccitelli (above) were both part of Verona’s undefeated 2014 state championship team, in offensive and defensive positions. Crawford then played at Montclair State University, where he was the 2016 Fred Hill Hustle Award winner. He is currently a property manager for F.M. Ferrari Investment. This will be his first coaching position.
Riccitelli started playing football at a young age and came up through the Verona youth and high school program. After VHS, he played defensive line for the Ithaca College Bombers from 2015-2019. Riccitelli has previously coached in the Verona Eagles program. He will be coaching the defensive line for VHS.
Singh’s other staffers include Chris Ferrara, a Montclair native with 20 years of coaching experience who played on Montclair’s 1994 state championship team, as well as Jimmy Romano and Steven Brown. Romano has been coaching for eight years in Bloomfield and Glen Ridge and, when not coaching, is a detective with the Bloomfield Police Department. Brown was a three-year varsity starter at quarterback for Rahway High School who went on to be offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Columbia High School. He was also the head coach for Hillside High School’s varsity girls flag football, leading them to Big Central Conference championship titles in 2022 and 2023, and the state championship semifinal in 2022.
Finally, there’s Jon “Chevy” Chevalier, who has lived in Verona for more than a decade, and was a Verona football volunteer last season. His coaching career began at his alma mater, Queen of Peace High School, where he served as a head freshman coach and later as varsity assistant from 1995 to 1996. He then became head freshman coach at Hudson Catholic in Jersey City from 1997 to 1998. Coach Chevy went on to be the offensive coordinator at Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City from 1999 to 2002. In 2001 the team achieving a school record 10-1 season, ranking second in nation among Division IAA mid-major colleges. He also served as the college’s assistant recruiting coordinator; two players went on to play in the NFL. Returning to Hudson Catholic from 2002 to 2006 as a coach and offensive coordinator, Chevy guided the team to four playoff appearances and coached three Division 1A running Backs. His family includes his wife Danielle and their daughters Caitlin (VHS 2026) and Pippa (VHS 2030).
Photo courtesy Bob Thomas. Used by permission.
