Fresno City College is known asone of the best junior colleges in the state of California. Also there is a number of outstanding student athletes who make an impact while attending FCC, and then moving on to a four year college or university.
With so many students on a college campus, you never really know who plays a sport unless it’s a classmate or a close friend. You may hear about them word of mouth, the paper, even the news. But you never get to know who they are as a person…all you know is that they scored a goal or through a game winning touchdown. earlier this week I sat down with a one of FCC’s unrecognized student athlete and got to know who he is, where he has been, and where he is headed.
The 21 year old sophomore and Bakersfield native says being a “Ram” has been great. Coming from the south valley of Tulare county, Lewis talked about some of his first memories of playing ball. “My dad and older brother played football, so I’ve always wanted to play too” says Lewis. “I remember I was like three or four playing with all the older neighborhood kids in the streets, then by the age of five I was already playing organized football. It was only flag, but by seven I was already in pads playing tackle,” he said. “When I started high school, I never thought I would be a quarterback. I kind of got stuck playing the position. I’ve always wanted to be a running back, I grew up wanting to be like Emit Smith.” He said playing for Tulare Union was fun. “There is nothing like playing high school ball. We had a few bad seasons, but my senior year we were good. We made it all the way to the championship game, and lost. Losing that game still hurts, it was a fun experience, all the hard work paid off, and I ended up getting a scholarship. I enjoyed coming from a small town and community. People always recognized who I was; it was like being the man of the town,” he said.
Before his success at Tulare Union, Lewis and his family moved out to Atlanta, Ga. where he played for a very good football program. “It’s a lot different down south on the east coast; it’s a different vibe, and the game is rougher,” said Lewis. His family would later move back to the valley after a few years and he finished high school years in Tulare.
“Playing for FCC is a great opportunity because I’m close to home, and my family and friends get to come out and support me,” said Lewis. “I was a starter my freshmen year, and even made All Conference. I thank Coach “C” for giving me a chance; I was looking for somewhere to play at a short period of time.” When asked to describe the pressure of being a quarterback, Lewis said, “The nerves are there, but I feel that there is no pressure at all. I’m still learning this position and I want to get better. I don’t feel that I’m a quarterback completely yet, there is a few things I still need to learn,” With a sophomore at every key position, this year’s team has built a strong foundation that took the pressure off of me if any.”
The Rams football team has a slogan titled “FCC finish”. “It’s not how you begin, it’s how you finish,” said Lewis. “The slogan is more of a mental aspect that came from the lack of us not finishing how we should have last season. This year our goal is to finish and finish strong”. “Even with the games we’ve lost, we still finished hard; the teams who did beat us knew that they couldn’t just walk away with the win they had to finish the game just like us. We’re not a losing team, we have that bad taste in our mouth we’re hungry; and ready to win.” Two week ago, the Rams played at home for the first time this season against the undefeated Bear Cubs from Santa Rosa Junior College and won. Lewis said that Santa Rosa was a good team and that being undefeated means nothing. “It’s just a record; we have to prove how good we are on the field,” he said. Lewis said he likes working with impressive receivers like Arkeem French and Isiah Barton and throwing the ball up and trusting they will make the catch. “They’re very different from each other, but both have a good upside to their game,” he said. Along with the win, Emmanuel had a great game himself, completing about 75 percent of his passing; he even walked one in for a touchdown. “Scoring is part of my job; it happened a lot in high school but with the mentality I have, I want to score any way I can…throwing and passing,” he said.
With the season just getting started, Lewis says that his goals for the rest of the season are to not only have a successful season, but to win conference and hopefully make it to state.
Lewis also said that after it’s all said and done, he wants to graduate from FCC and further his education. He said, “I would like to make it to the NFL. If it happens it happens; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
The Rams are back at home Saturday afternoon Oct. 17, 2009 against West Hills College. Lewis said, “Last year’s game was tough; it was hot out there but it was a good game. We’ll be ready; we’re a tough, fast, and physical team, so our opponents need to bring their “A” game because the Rams lay down for no one.”