DEWAR — Classes were called off Wednesday morning in Dewar.
Even dressed out the band for this one.
It’s not every day one of its own signs a letter of intent to play college football.
In fact, never has a native son of Dewar, population 919, signed a letter of intent.
Before a standing-room only gymnasium, Ronnell Lewis, the Tim Tebow of Dewar, signed sweatshirts, signed sneakers, and when they ran out of those, simply signed loose-leaf sheets of paper, moments after signing to play linebacker at the University of Oklahoma.
"I’m going to be playing for everyone back home,” said Lewis, who drove from Norman to Dewar on Tuesday night for his signing day ceremony. "It’s a great feeling to know that all these people are going to be supporting me.”
Even teachers were buzzing with excitement, taking pictures of Lewis with cell phone cameras.
"This is the biggest event I can remember ever in Dewar, definitely,” said second-grade teacher Jo Mahaffey, a teacher in Dewar the last 11 years. "Especially for these elementary kids. They all look up to him.”
Mahaffey’s students were among the countless who stood in line to get Lewis’ autograph and their picture taken with him.
Said fifth-grader Jordan Gresham, "He’s a great athlete to look up to. A great football player.”
Said fourth-grader Kaleb Simmons, "Everything Ronnell does in football is great. I want to be like him someday.”
That’s the onus Lewis will shoulder to Norman.
The weight of an entire town watching on.
"At Jenks, at Tulsa Union, they experience this all the time. We don’t,” said school superintendent Todd Been. "We’ve been stressing to our kids here and people at other small places that if you put your heart into it, you can follow your dreams no matter where you’re from.
"Ronnell is a great inspiration to these kids and they love him.
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