The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

Standing tall among giants

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SCC Panther’s Raymond Bautista was on fire during Nov.10,2012 game against Laney Eagles. Here he charges on qaurterback Charles Cobbs,#10. Tony Wallin | [email protected]
Football players tackle on the Hughes Stadium field.
City College linebacker #44 Raymond Bautista and defensive back #22 Russell Robards combine to tackle Laney College quarterback #10 Charles Cobbs in the final home game of the season Nov. 10, at Hughes Stadium. R.Hanna|[email protected]

While the average linebacker on a football team typically stands over 6 feet tall, there is one who claims his height to be his No. 1 setback. Even with a slightly smaller stature, he currently holds the No. 1 position for number of tackles this season on the City College football team, proving that you don’t always need that kind of height to make an impact.

Raymond Bautista, better known by his teammates as RayRay, is the defensive linebacker of the Panthers’ football team, and shines on and off the field. Not only has he achieved all-conference, once in high school and once in college, he has managed to also maintain a noteworthy GPA of 3.7.

“I have a nose for the ball,” says Bautista, 20. “There’s those people who like to run to the ball every play and there’s those people who don’t. I’m one of the people that likes to.”

Bautista has always gained recognition for his stellar performance on the football team, and says in high school, he was talking to representatives from UC Davis and Sacramento State. But genetics seemed to be his biggest default. Standing at just 5-feet, 9-inches, he is almost 5 inches shorter than the average linebacker.

“They’re looking for someone they can build on,” he says. “And I wasn’t that.”

As for football, Bautista realized it was time to move on and pursue his education and dreams of one day becoming a cop. In fact, he just signed a contract with the United States Air Force and will be leaving sometime after Dec. 31.

“Sometimes you’re gonna have to hang the cleats up, and that’s something I have to deal with,” Bautista says.

Dannie Walker, head coach of the Panthers’ football team, says he will miss Bautista now that the season is over.

“As a two-time, All-Conference linebacker, and helping lead a defense who ranked ninth in the state this year, his talents will definitely be missed!” Walker says.
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The hardest part of leaving town for Bautista won’t just be leaving football behind, but it will be the first time he is away from his family.

“I like them, actually I love them,” he says. “We’re close.”

He names his father as his hero and admires his strength in the way he handles certain situations.

“He takes everything with a positive attitude and even though I don’t always act like that, I always think of him,” says Bautista. “He is the best guy I know.”

Like his father, he strives to keep a positive attitude, even when he has a bad day on the field.

“I hate losing,” says Bautista. “I handle losses pretty well. I don’t get mad.”

His teammates agree.

“He is a silent leader,” says Beto Cano, a fellow teammate and close friend. “People don’t look up to him because he is vocal, they look up to him because he is a hard worker and doesn’t make excuses.”

Bautista has clearly made an impact on his team, on and off the field.

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