Mount San Jacinto College (MSJC) Eagles football head coach, Casey Mazzotta has been the head coach at MSJC for 16 seasons. Mazzotta came from a football family as his father Frank was the head coach of Cerritos College from 1978-2017 where he posted a 252-153-6 record. Mazzotta learned the game of football from his father Frank Mazzotta, he learned from Marijon Ancich in Tustin High School who is the second winningest high school football coach in the state of California. Mazzotta also learned from legendary college football coach LaVell Edwards at Brigham Young University (BYU) who revolutionized the passing offense. After learning the game of football from three of the greatest head coaches in their respective levels of football, Mazzotta is looking to share his knowledge of the sport with his student-athletes at MSJC.
“I was fortunate enough to play for three great coaches in my career, they’ve all had a profound influence on what I’m doing. ” Coach Casey Mazzotta.
Mazzotta played defensive back for the BYU Cougars football team. In high school, under Ancich, his position was defensive back, but he also kicked and played different positions on the offensive side of the ball. Before serving as the head coach of the MSJC Eagles, Mazzotta spent six seasons as the defensive coordinator at Fullerton College. Mazzotta also had coaching jobs at Bellflower High and Foothill High before taking over MSJC’s football program in 2007 after Ed Carberry’s departure.
“I looked at MSJC as a bright spot, because I saw the potential for growth. In a lot of community colleges in the state of California, there’s not a chance for growth, but there’s a chance for growth here. We’re still the fastest-growing community college in the state of California. It was appealing to me to be a part of something that is growing,” Coach Mazzota.
The growth has been there at MSJC these last couple of years in the football program. The Eagles football team is currently playing their inaugural season at the newly added beautiful stadium in the Menifee Valley Campus. In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Eagles were back-to-back conference champions; they were undefeated in conference play in the 2022 season.
In 2023, the Eagles were promoted to the National Southern Conference. In that conference are two juggernauts, 2019 CCCAA State Champion Riverside City College and 2016 CCCAA State Champion Fullerton College. This season has been a struggle for the Eagles as a result and will serve as a learning experience as the team adjusts to the stronger competition. In the meantime, Mazzotta will continue with the growth and get the best out of all of his players both on and off the field.
“I try to get my players to constantly think about a couple of things like what direction they’re going. To keep them focused on moving forward and moving upward, and not staying the same or going backward. I talk to these guys a lot about putting the team before anything. That’s important in any team game and in life. Sometimes the team goes before your own desires and wishes which is a great life lesson. I talk to these guys a lot about love. They need to love what they’re doing. Grit stems from love. If you’re going to fight through things, you have to love it. I talk to them about the little things. The little things are the difference between success and failure.” Coach Mazzotta.
Coach Mazzotta plans on continuing his great work here at MSJC. Growing up in a football household and learning football from three very successful coaches have shaped the man and the coach that we see today at MSJC.
