The MSJC football team will kick off the 2023 season on Saturday night with a road game at Mt. SAC, the following week the Eagles will open their brand new stadium in Menifee.
The Eagles are coming off two of their most successful seasons in the Casey Mazzotta era as they won back to back American Mountain League Championships and in 2021 won the American Division title. In all MSJC has appeared in a Bowl game for three straight seasons. This year however, the Eagles embark on a new challenge as they have moved into the National Division and the Southern League. Mazzotta says expectations haven't changed, "Our plan is to compete for a conference championship and to reach a bowl game." "We know we are moving into one of the best if not the best conference in the state, but we just need to stay focused and take it one week at a time."
MSJC will also be playing their home games in a brand new stadium on the Menifee Campus. The project was completed this past Spring and the Eagles spent their summer camp in the new facility. "Having a state of the art facility has made this an exceptional place for our players to develop", said Mazzotta. "We are excited to give the community something to rally around on Saturday nights."
For the team itself, the Eagles will rely on a nice balance of returning players and newcomers heading into their opening game at Mt. SAC. Running back Matthew Caldera returns after a strong freshman campaign where he had 654 all purpose yards and scored 6 touchdowns. Joining him on the offensive side of the ball will be returning all-conference lineman Tommy Garcia and wide out Christian Kretz. Newcomers including running back Mykai Skinner, wide outs Elijah Simley and Malik Blackmon, as well as center David Shinn are also expected to be early contributors for the Eagle offense.
The Eagles have some solid depth returning on defense as well led by a strong group of linemen including Tevita Hailalilo and Jahy Osuna who will be joined by freshmen Vincent Perryman, Darius Holmes, and Jonah Sellers. Tyrone Oloa is back for his sophomore year to help anchor the linebacking crew and is expected to get help from a talented group of freshmen led by DeShawn Brooks. The defensive secondary returns some key players for 2023 as Quentin Evans, Carsten Mamaril and Kamari Ross all three are back for the Eagles. Evans is the team's top returning tackler from 2022 as he finished the season with 47 total stops. Mamaril led the team last season with four interceptions, he also had a pair of sacks, and 40 total tackles. Freshmen Zay Lopez and Jaden Dillon will be among a handful of newcomers who will help solidify the secondary.
"I think our Fall Camp went well", said Mazzotta. "It was a great learning environment and I think we got better everyday, our team took their development seriously and were highly competitive."
The MSJC Athletic Department would also like to announce that all games will have cashless digital ticketing this season. Ticket purchases can be made through Hometown Tickets at the following link. https://msjcathletics.com/general/Tickets There are also links to ticket purchase on our social media platforms and on our msjcathletics.com website under the Gameday tab. Parking information can also be found under the Gameday tab.