Like any high school girl, homecoming weekend is a big occasion, getting dressed up and having an enjoyable time at the dance.

Shelly Ford is a typical high school girl, eager to make the most of homecoming in her junior year at Jefferson High School a special occasion this weekend.

But don’t blame Ford if her attention is a little bit divided this week, because she has another big date along with her big night Saturday with Brian Rosenberg.

The other matter catching her attention is equally big, because Ford will be spending today and the early portion of Saturday in Columbus at the Division II girls golf tournament at Ohio State University’s Gray Course. She will have to race back to Jefferson after she completes her round Saturday to get ready for the dance that night.

Ford has known since before school started that the dates of the state tournament and homecoming would conflict, and she and Rosenberg have already talked the issue through.

“He understands,” she said.

Making the trip to the state tournament is a quest that started when she was not much bigger than the clubs, and it become a passion over the past five years and has finally become a reality.

The journey reaches its destination today at 9:40 a.m. when the Falcon junior tees off in the first round of the Division II state tournament at Ohio State University’s Gray Course. She will complete the 36 holes of state competition sometime Saturday afternoon.

Ford and first-year Jefferson coach Sara Dean headed to Columbus on Thursday to give her enough time to get in a practice round. That will be very important since she is totally unfamiliar with the course.

“You’re only allowed to play one ball, but you can be sure I’m going to be taking some really good notes about the course,” Ford said. “I’ve never played the course before. My dad did about 30 years ago, but I’m not sure how helpful that will be because I’m sure it’s been changed a lot.”

The trip to Columbus figures to be a joy ride after all the hard work that has gone into helping Ford achieve her mission.

“It’s been a long road to get there,” the daughter of Jeff and Mary Ford of Ashtabula said. “I’ve been working for this since I was in the seventh grade and found out Jefferson had a high school team.

“It’s really been something to find out how elite those athletes are. It’s an awesome feeling to realize I’m going to be there. I’ve been going over it in my head, imagining how it would be for a long time. The realization of knowing how it is to actually be there is even better than what I imagined.”

The week since she learned she had made the grade for state with her 81 in the district tournament at Canton’s Tam-O-Shanter Golf Course. The experience has left Ford with a smile virtually plastered on her face.

“Everyone has been so supportive,” Ford said. “My family and friends are definitely excited. So many people at school have been coming up and congratulating me. It’s been so cool.”