Frank Mazzotta is entering his 29^th season as the head football coach at Cerritos College. Over the last two seasons, the team has been hit hard by injuries and as a result, had their first back-to-back losing seasons in school history. However, the team is stockpiled with returning players who saw a great deal of action to go along with a deep incoming freshman class. During his tenure with the Falcons, Mazzotta has now guided his teams to 14 bowl games including 10 of the last 13 years. In addition to defeating Victor Valley in the Potato Bowl three years ago (and went 7-4 on the year), they played in seven of the nine Cerritos Strawberry Bowls, defeating Moorpark and Allan Hancock twice, along with Santa Ana and Orange Coast once. For the first time in the history of the Strawberry Bowl, the Falcons were defeated, as Saddleback posted a 35-28 win in overtime during the 2002 season. The Falcons faced the Raiders in the 1994 inaugural game, a 55-9 win, while Cerritos handed Moorpark a 16-15 setback in 1996. Then, in 1998, Cerritos upended a strong Allan Hancock team 35-21, before defeating Orange Coast, 31-17 in 2000. During the 2001 season, the team posted a 39-28 win over Allan Hancock. The Falcons have also played in the Avocado Bowl, Potato Bowl, Pony Bowl (twice) and the Orange County Bowl (twice). While compiling a 180-108-6 record (.625), 407 Falcon players have received scholarships to continue their education, which is perhaps an even more impressive number. Mazzotta’s career wins ranks him in the top 12 in the history of community college head coaches.

            During Mazzotta's tenure, many of his former players have gone on to achieve great success on the professional playing field. Most recently, Michael Bragg signed a two-year free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, while Tuko Peko was signed by the Green Bay Packers. Bragg signed as a free agent with the New York Giants two years ago, while Peko was originally drafted by the New York Jets and has also seen time with the Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts (as a starter) and with the Carolina Panthers. They are joined by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T. J. Houshmandzadeh, who will be entering his fourth year in the NFL and is one of their starters. In addition, Demetrin Veal, who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons four years ago, will begin his third season with the Denver Broncos. Jason Lowe signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers, but was cut before the start of the season. Other players who have spent time in the NFL that played for Mazzotta include Kareem Larrimore, a two-year starter for the Dallas Cowboys from 1996-97, Rich Camarillo (1978), Rico Smith (1989) and Broderick Thompson (1979). Mazzotta also coached Herb Welch (1981), who was a starter for the 1986 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants and Anthony Drawhorn (1985), who was the Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year. Also included is Mario Bradley (1994), who played with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football and is also spent time with the Amsterdam Admirals, while Dione Tyler played with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Other past Falcons and former professionals include Keith Dykes, Corey Kelley, Jean Boyd, Sidney Johnson, Jackie Johnson, Guy Teafatiller and Greg Williamson. There are currently 13 former Falcon players playing some form of professional football, while over 30 are coaches at some level.

            After graduating from El Rancho High School, where he was All-League and All-CIF, Mazzotta played in the Shrine Classic between the North and South and has since been named to the Shrine Classic Hall of Fame. Long Beach City College was next for Mazzotta, where he became an All-American tight end, played in the Potato Bowl and led them to the National Championship. Mazzotta received a scholarship to the University of Utah, where he became an All-Western States Athletic Conference selection and played in the Liberty Bowl. Mazzotta went on to earn his Bachelor of Science Degree in both Physical Education and Biology at Utah and then his Master’s Degree at Pepperdine University.

            Mazzotta started his coaching career at the University of Utah as a graduate assistant. After his stay in Utah, he returned home to coach at his high school alma mater, El Rancho. Mazzotta received his first head coaching job at Warren High School in Downey in 1973, where he turned a dismal Bears program around. In 1976, Mazzotta joined his high school coach and mentor, Ernie Johnson, on the Cerritos College staff. On January 31, 1978 Mazzotta was named the head football coach for the Falcons.

            Frank and his wife of 42 years, Helen, who reside in Whittier, have two sons, Frank Jr. and Casey. Frank Jr. was an All-Conference, All-State and All-American wide receiver for the Falcons in 1986-87, and received a scholarship to the University of Utah. Frank Jr. He spent five years as the wide receivers coach at Cerritos, one year at El Rancho High School and two years as the head coach at Artesia High School. He is now in his seventh year as the head coach at La Habra High School, where they won back-to-back CIF Championships (2003-04) after reaching the CIF Championship game the year prior and was named the CIF Coach of the Year. Casey was a two-time All-Conference and Academic All-American free safety for the Falcons in 1990-91. He received a scholarship to Brigham Young University, where he was an Academic All-WAC selection. After serving as a graduate assistant for the Falcons, he was named the head coach at Bellflower High School. After spending two years as the head coach at Foothill High School in Tustin, he his now the defensive coordinator at Fullerton College.

                Set to begin his 10th year with the Falcon coaching staff, Caines has done a phenomenal job with the offensive linemen. In the past six seasons, 15 of the 19 sophomore offensive linemen have earned Division I scholarships. All in all, he has sent 31 linemen on, with 17 of them going to Division I schools. Caines came to Cerritos College with plenty of community college experience, although he had been the head coach at Hacienda Heights Wilson High School for two seasons before coming to Cerritos College. He spent three years as a coach at Mt. San Antonio College, where he handled the inside linebacker duties, and even produced an All-American. In 1996, he led Wilson High to the league championship, as well as the CIF Championship and a 14-0 record. He began his coaching career at Bishop Amat High School, where he spent three seasons as their defensive line coach.

                Caines, who was a very good football player in his day, graduated from Damien High School, where he was a two-way starter at linebacker and tight end on their 1982 CIF Championship team and earned All-CIF honors as a senior. He then attended Taft Junior College and earned 2nd Team All-State honors as the Cougars won the 1984 National Championship. Caines then received a scholarship to Long Beach State and led the 49'ers in tackles and was their Captain. In his senior season (1988), he earned 2nd Team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association honors. The following year, he signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

                Caines graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 1989 with a degree in Physical Education and went on to earn his Master’s degree in Education from Azusa Pacific University in 1995.

                During his coaching career, Caines has produced several very good players at both the high school and community college level, including former Falcon offensive lineman Tupe Peko, who was drafted by the New York Jets and is now with the Green Bay Packers and Anthony Guerrero, who was a starting guard for the Florida Gators and is now in the Arena Football League.

                Tom and his wife of 16 years Stacy, reside in La Habra and have three children - Justin, who is 12, while Dillan is seven and Bobby is six.

                Another former Falcon, Grosfeld is entering his 13th season at Cerritos College and is serving his second as the Offensive Coordinator. Grosfeld was a former record-setting Falcon quarterback who has great knowledge of the game. He turned down a graduate assistant position at Utah State University after graduation to come home and work with the Falcon quarterbacks. He still holds the single-game record for most passing yards with 388 against Mt. San Antonio in 1991. His 25 pass completions against Palomar that same season are also still the second most ever in a Falcon game. Grosfeld earned his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Health from Utah State University and the completed his Master's degree from Azusa Pacific University in Education and Physical Education.

                In five of the last six seasons, all of the starters have earned scholarships, with Doug Baughman signing a free agent contract in the National Football League four years ago. Mike Harrison recently graduated from Louisiana State University, while Glenn DeBerg played at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Michael Keeling at Eastern Illinois. Two years ago, starter Kevin Brown earned a scholarship to San Jose State University.

                Grosfeld, a local product from St. John Bosco High School, was a wide receiver that played in the CIF Championship game at Anaheim Stadium in his sophomore season. He moved to quarterback his junior season and was named his team's Captain, and even threw for 460 yards against Long Beach Poly. He earned All-Del Rey League honors while receiving his team's Coaches Award.

                After high school, Grosfeld came to Cerritos, where he set the school's single-season passing record at 1,817 yards (since broken). Playing on the 1991 Mission Conference Championship team, Grosfeld was named All-Mission Conference as well as earning the team's Captain Award and Offensive BYA of the Year Award. After Cerritos, Grosfeld earned a scholarship to Utah State University, where his team won the Big West Championship and won the Silver Bowl. Grosfeld says that he admires his mother for her courage and integrity.

                Grosfeld is a full-time instructor on campus, teaching Health and Physical Education classes. Grosfeld, 35, and his wife Kristy had their first child, Chase Stephen, who is now 1½, while the couple is expecting their second child who is due in November. Grosfeld and his family reside in Cypress.

                Fifth-year wide receivers coach Charles Hicks is very familiar with the Falcon program. He played on the school’s 1991 Mission Conference championship team and was named All-Conference, as well as the team’s Most Improved Player. In his sophomore year, Hicks was second on the team with 32 receptions for 318 yards and one score. Hicks caught eight passes for 61 yards as a freshman for the Falcons and after graduating, he  then transferred to Eastern New Mexico University, where he was a two-year starter.

                Hicks started his coaching career 10 years ago at Artesia High School, where he was the wide receiver and running back coach. He also spent time as their offensive coordinator. Hicks is still employed by the high school and works in the SDC program. Hicks prepped at Long Beach Jordan High School and played football and basketball.

                He and his wife Latisha live in Bellflower and have two children – Tyrone (13) and Morgan (5).

                In his first coaching assignment, Guyness is entering his fifth season with the Falcons, and is in charge of working with the tight ends. He came to Cerritos College after playing for the University of Southern California, where he earned an athletic scholarship to play wide receiver for the Trojans from 1996-2000. Guyness graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Public Policy and Management and is currently working on obtaining his Master’s degree.

                While attending Los Alamitos High, Guyness was ranked the #1 wide receiver in the country his senior year. Some of his 1995 honors included Parade All American, Super Prep All-American, Blue-Chip All American, Schutt Sports All-American, U.S.A. Today All-U.S.A. 2nd Team, Blue-Chip Best of the West 1st Team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Los Angeles Times All-Orange County 2nd Team, Press Telegram Best in the West 1st Team and Press-Telegram Dream Team. As a senior he recorded 46 receptions for 1,010 yards (21.9 avg) with 12 TD's in 1995.  As a junior in 1994 he made the Press Telegram Dream Team 3rd Team while making 42 catches for 905 yards (21.5 avg) with 10 TD's and rushed for 264 yards (11.6 avg) with 4 TD's.  Guyness rushed for over 500 yards in his high school career.

                Guyness is 28 and lives with his family in Cerritos.

                Coach Perumean is in his third season with the Falcon coach staff, but he is not new to either coaching or Cerritos College. After graduating from Warren High, Perumean transferred to Fresno State University, where he was a member of the 1988 Big West Championship team that went on to win the California Bowl. Perumean then transferred to the Falcons and played for Coach Mazzotta in 1989 and was a teammate of quarterbacks coach Dean Grosfeld and wide receivers coach Charles Hicks. However, before playing in a game for Cerritos, an injury ended his playing career, but Perumean decided to get into coaching and has been one for the last 16 years.

                Perumean started his coaching career in 1990 at Bishop Amat High, where he stayed until 1994. During the 1992 season, he helped the team to a 15-0 record and the CIF Division I championship. From there, Perumean was an assistant coach at Hacienda Heights Wilson High from 1994-2000 and coached with current Falcon assistant Tom Caines. While at Wilson High, the team won their first ever championship in 1996 going 14-0 and then followed that year by going undefeated again and winning the CIF Championship. Coach Perumean returned to Bishop Amat High in 2001, where he coached the wide receivers for three years.

                While at Warren High, he was a three-sport athlete and was a 1st Team All-San Gabriel Valley League quarterback and played in the 605 All-Star Game. Perumean now resides in La Habra Heights and enjoys golfing, basketball and spending time with his family. He finished his Bachelor’s degree this past summer and is working towards his teaching credential and Master’s degree. He also became engaged to his girlfriend, Stacy Hines and will be married in May, 2007.

                Back in 2000-01 Lloyd Wilson was the starting center for the Cerritos College Falcons and now returns in his second year as an assistant offensive line coach. He was one of the anchors of a team that passed for a school-record 2,260 yards his freshman year and went on to be a member of two Strawberry Bowl championship teams. After attending Granada Hills Kennedy High, Wilson enrolled at Cerritos College and went on to earn his Associate of Arts degree in Humanities before accepting a scholarship to Eastern Michigan University. While at Eastern Michigan, Wilson was a two-year player and went on to earn a scholar-athlete award, as well as being named to the Top Ten Scholar Award and was one of the team’s co-captains.

                Wilson went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in the College of Arts and Sciences with a major in communications and graduated with a 3.21 grade point average. His first coaching assignment was at Long Beach Wilson High, where he served as an offensive line coach and assistant strength and conditioning coach.

                Joining the Cerritos College football staff for the second time is Marijon Ancich, who is the all-time winningest high school football coach in California. Coach Ancich, who spent the 1983 season as a Falcon assistant, returns and will work with the defense this year. He and head coach Frank Mazzotta are longtime friends and Ancich has sent 61 players to Cerritos College from St. Paul High. In his years at St. Paul High, Ancich led his teams to numerous league and CIF championships. During his tenure with the Swordsmen, Ancich won a state record 339 games and was recently inducted into the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Athlete Hall of Fame and the San Pedro Harbor Walk of Fame.

                Ancich and his wife Jacquie reside in Whittier.

                Second-year Falcon assistant coach Vern Vander Sluis returns to campus, where he played for Cerritos College back in 1978-79. In his freshman season, the team won the South Coast Conference championship and competed in the Avocado Bowl. Over the last 23 years, Vander Sluis has been coaching and came to Cerritos after serving as the head coach at Ocean View High School. Prior to that, he spent the last 13 years as a defensive coordinator at Ocean View High, Norwalk High, Bellflower High and at Cerritos High.

                Coach Vander Sluis resides in Huntington Beach and has a son (Vince) and two daughters (Krystal and Victoria).

                Another former Falcon, Mark Schulist is entering his second year as the defensive line coach for Cerritos College. While with the Falcons, Schulist started all 11 games on the 1993 team that played in the Orange County Classic Bowl Game. After graduating from Gahr High, Schulist attended Whittier College and started for them at defensive end. He then came to Cerritos and led the defensive line in tackles while earning All-Mission Conference honors and was voted the team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman and earned the Coaches BYA Player of the Year Award. He then moved on to the University of Hawaii before an injury ended his playing career.

                Schulist then enrolled at Cal State Fullerton, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology-Exercise Physiology/Sports Management in 1998 and completed his Master’s degree in Physical Education from Azusa Pacific University. In 1999, Schulist returned to Whittier College as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach, while he also taught classes and supervised the George Allen Fitness Center. At that same time, he returned to Gahr High as the defensive line coach and head of strength and conditioning for all levels of football. For the last five years, he has taught at Gahr High as a physical education and weight training instructor.

                Schulist is also certified as a strength and conditioning coach by the NSCA, health/fitness instructor by ACSM and as a club weight training coach by the USWA. Additionally, Schulist is also the head wrestling coach at Gahr High.

                Now his second season coaching on the defensive side of the ball, Coach Pedroza came to the Falcons after spending two years as the defensive and offensive line coach at Diamond Bar High School. He will assume the responsibilities of coaching the linebackers after working all aspects of the defense last season. Prior to that, he spent three years as an assistant coach at Buena Park High School. Coach Pedroza played high school football at Canyon High as an outside linebacker and defensive end and warned 2nd Team All-League honors as a junior and 1st Team recognition his senior season. He then played at Santa Ana College for two years as a defensive end.

                Coach Pedroza received his Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Cal State San Bernardino and is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Physical Education.

                Refugio Estrada is currently in his 18th season serving as the equipment manager for the football, baseball and track and field teams at Cerritos College. He is responsible for distributing, as well as maintaining the quality of the equipment. At times, Estrada can be seen working on several football players’ equipment problems at once, and is considered a vital part of the team’s success over the years.

                A former Falcon athlete himself, he is better known as “Poonie”, and was a to-year letterman in both cross-country and track and field. His specialty was the 5000 meters and he went on to earn the team’s Most Improved Runner. While at Mark Keppel High School, Estrada was a two-year letterman on the cross-country and track and field teams. He was selected his team’s Most Valuable Performer for cross-country.

                After graduating from Cerritos College with an A.A. in Physical Education, Estrada moved on to Cal State Fullerton and ran cross-country for one season, earning their Athlete of the Year Award.

                Estrada and his wife Maria have two children - 10-year old daughter, Desiree and son Matthew, who is 6 - and reside in Norwalk.