McCallie School senior Jujuan "J.J." Lewis signed an institutional letter of intent Friday to play NCAA Division I football at Stetson University. The Hatters' three-year-old football program is in the Pioneer Football League, comprised of FCS schools that don't give scholarships for the sport, but a package of aid from a variety of sources is enabling Lewis to attend the DeLand, Fla., campus. He also was recruited by Division II Tusculum and Division III Birmingham-Southern, and he was in talks for a while with Wofford and Furman from the Southern Conference. "I just love the feel of it," he said of Stetson. "It has a home feel. It has a lot of similarities to McCallie. It's a building program -- a program on the rise -- and it's great to be part of something like that. It's also a great academic school. That's what I really like." Lewis said he plans to major in "some type of business and pre-engineering." The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder also runs track for McCallie and played basketball until this year. A safety for the Blue Tornado, he expects to be a cornerback for the Hatters. "I think he's going to be a great corner," McCallie coach Ralph Potter said. "He's got great speed and great explosion, and I think he's going to be really good at being a cover corner. I think we've helped him develop his skills, but he's got a real natural burst that you can't coach. And he's a great person -- a guy you can really count on."
Baseball
* Tennessee Temple University effectively is history, having held its final graduation a week ago, but the Temple baseball team will be playing in the USCAA national tournament starting May 13 in Hampton, Va. The Crusaders (19-10) have been ranked No. 1 or 2 in the USCAA, including No. 1 last week, but are seeded third for the tournament and will open that Wednesday against St. Joseph of Vermont. "When we found out we were closing, I had some guys in tears. It's been a tough time," coach Greg Bartley said Friday. "But we said from the beginning, 'Let it be our rallying cry. Let's rally around each other and make it a memorable year and make it to the national tournament." The Crusaders are 9-8 against NAIA competition, and Bartley feels their strength of schedule has helped in their national respect. "We've got a great bunch of kids, and eight of them are up for Academic All-American with 3.25 (GPAs) or better. That's pretty cool," Bartley said. "We're going to go up there and say relax and enjoy it. Win or lose, it's going to be sad when it's over, I know that."
Track & Field
* The Lee University men's track and field team is in second place after the first day of the National Christian College Athletic Association national meet, and the Flames set one NCCAA record while winning two national championships. The 4x800-meter relay team of Emmanuel Kipchumba, Adam Gullette, Terris Elliott and Harold Smith finished in 7:35.61, breaking by six seconds the mark set by Grace College in 2001. Seth Eagleson won the men's 10,000 in 32:03.89, with teammate Joseph Crook finishing sixth in 33:06.70. In women's events, Lee's Adrian Martin qualified for today's finals in the 100 and 200, finishing third and first in the preliminaries, and Emily Bryan made the final in the 400 hurdles.
Volleyball
* Sonoraville High School's Haley Ponder signed a letter of intent Thursday to continue her volleyball career at Brenau University in Gainesville, Ga. -- a member of the NAIA's Southern States Athletic Conference. She also plans to play basketball for the Golden Tigers. In volleyball she was the Rome News Tribune and Calhoun Times player of the year last season, when she also made the Times Free Press Best of Preps and was a Georgia Class AAA all-state player.
Tennis
* Dalton State has added a men's tennis signee from Colombia by way of the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky. Eduardo Cabrera VII signed a letter of intent Friday morning to join the Roadrunners. An All-MidSouth Conference second-team selection at Cumberlands, he has trained at the famed IMG Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla. "Eduardo is a phenomenal talent but an even better young man," DSC coach Zach Rogers said in a school release.
Softball
* UTC's last regular-season softball series of the season is today and Sunday but at unusual times. The Mocs are hosting Samford at 7 tonight and in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Sunday.