The first kick-off of the season is right around the corner for the Cerritos College football team, and it certainly has some high expectations.
“We want to win the opener, the league championship, the bowl game, the So Cal Championship, and State,” said head coach Frank Mazzotta, who will be entering his 35 season in the program.
Last season, things got off to a slow start. The Cerritos College football team lost its first two games.
However, the Falcons won eight of its next nine contests, before losing in the SoCal Championship to Mt. San Antonio in a close game, 17-14.
“We have high expectations because we have a lot of returning kids. The biggest challenge is getting everything on the same page, a lot of kids are from different programs,” a task that is not unfamiliar to the coach.
Joining the team this season are John Jesse, a defensive lineman from Oregon, and Robert Chism, an offensive lineman who transferred from Fullerton City College.
Both come from different walks of life, but they share the same sentiment for their football team.
“I expect no less than to go undefeated this year and win the State Championship,” Jesse said.
The opinion wasn’t very different from Chism, who said: “I want this team to get to the State Championship. We can go undefeated and accomplish the feat.”
A big storyline unfolding is the match-up that will place on Sept. 29 against Pasadena City College, when Mazzotta opposes coach Fred Fimbres, a former player and coach of his.
Fimbres played in 1990-91 for the Cerritos College football team, and would later coach for nine seasons under Mazzotta, coaching the linebackers, defensive backs, and defensive line for Cerritos College. He was a part of six bowl championship teams.
On the schedule this season is a re-match of last year’s SoCal Championship against Mt. SAC on Sept. 15 at Falcon Stadium. The game is one of five home games this season.
Mazzotta was quick to state the name of Morgan Fennell as the player who could carry the Cerritos College football team over stiff competition like Mt. SAC, “If you have a good QB, you will have a good team. We have our returning kid that we are looking at, to carry our team. He was a winner in high school, and he’s been with us for a while.”
Also on the schedule are meetings on the road against Fullerton College, Palomar College, Ventura College, and Bakersfield College, while Cerritos College host Allan Hancock College, College of the Canyons and Moorpark College.
It all begins with the season opener scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. against Los Angeles Harbor College.
