It starts with a dream for every high school football player from the first time they step on to a freshly mowed field under Friday night's bright lights.
For some, the journey also includes the chance to sign a college scholarship as part of the National Signing Day ritual.
For three players at Northgate High School, all the hard work was rewarded through national letters of intent signed early Wednesday morning.
Alex Lakes, Jake Slagle and D'lonzo Harris all signed their letters of intent.
"It's a great day, but it's also a sad day," said Northgate head coach Tommy Walburn. "It's sad because these kids won't be here next year and we are going to miss them."
(To view photos of the signings, visit http://photos.times-herald.com/mycapture and navigate to Sports / Football for the photo gallery.)
All three Northgate seniors helped lead the Vikings to the best year in school history.
Northgate compiled a perfect 10-0 regular season, before finishing 11-1 overall and advancing two rounds into the playoffs.
"I learned a long time ago that good football players make good coaches," Walburn said.
Running back Alex Lakes signed his letter of intent with the Air Force Academy.
Lakes was named The Newnan Times-Herald Co-Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,270 yards and 19 touchdowns.
"I have coached some great backs in my time, but Alex might be the best because the bigger the game, the bigger he played," said Walburn, who was an assistant at Hogansville High when Lakes' father was a standout football player.
For Lakes, selecting Air Force was an easy decision.
"The (job) security after college of having a degree and a guaranteed job made it pretty easy, plus I get to play Division I ball."
Lakes joins an Air Force Academy team that runs the spread option, so he is confident he will have several chances to carry the football.
"Their offense is very similar to what we ran here at Northgate, so it should be an easy transition," Lakes said.
The Colorado Springs school plays in the Mountain West Conference and posted a 7-6 record last season. It suffered a 42-41 loss to Toledo in the Military Bowl in Washington DC last December.
Lakes is the third athlete from Northgate to sign a letter of intent to the Air Force Academy in the last decade.
Former Viking standouts Andre Morris and Carson Bird also signed with Air Force during impressive college careers. Morris played all four years at linebacker, becoming a team captain. He is now a prep school coach and instructor at the academy. Bird was an All-Conference player in 2007.
Jake Slagle was one of the players who helped open the holes for Lakes.
The offensive lineman is taking his game to the next level after signing a letter of intent with Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N.C.
Slagle, who was a first-team All-Region 3B-AAAA and All-County selection this year, was moved to offensive line when Walburn and his staff arrived at Northgate two years ago, having played at quarterback.
"He did something that was very unselfish, so we moved him to guard and he really took that position. He's just a really good role model," Walburn said. "He is just a really good Christian young man, and he really contributed to this team."
Slagle could have joined his brother Toby, who is a quarterback at Carson Newman.
The two now will meet as conference rivals. Both schools are members of NCAA Division II South Athletic Conference.
Former Newnan High standouts Lendell Arnold and Christopher Robinson signed with the school last year
In addition to Lenoir Rhyne and Carson Newnan, Slagle thought about becoming a part of Mercer's first signing class.
"All three schools had plenty to offer, but I just really felt right at home at Lenoir Rhyne," Slagle said. "I like the facilities and the coaching staff. They put a lot of time and effort into recruiting me and I just felt like I was chosen to be there."
The chance to keep playing football was all Harris needed to sign his letter of intent to Fort Valley State.
"I just want to play at the next level," he said. "They gave me a nice look, so it's the chance to play ball again."
The coaching staff plans to take advantage of Harris' versatility by playing him at both cornerback and linebacker.
Harris had 98 tackles this season to go with an interception and 2 1/2 sacks.
Walburn and his coaching staff moved Harris to the outside linebacker spot two years ago, where he equally thrived.
"He is a great kid," said Walburn. "He has made a tremendous contribution to our program. We finished .500 (5-5) our first season, and without him playing there, I am not sure we would have finished that well. This year, he just played well all season."
For Harris, the memories of winning a region championship is something he will take with him for the rest of his life.
"It was a lot of hard work," he said. "We really humbled ourselves, but it is not going to be the same playing again without my boys, but I will have to make some good friends up there."
Walburn is quick to point out that Lakes, Slagle and Harris will always be part of the Northgate football family.
"They might be moving on, but they are still part of Northgate," he said. "Hopefully, they have helped lay a foundation and we can now build a tradition."
Walburn said more of his seniors are expecting to sign scholarships before the recruiting process ends.
