Lakeland High School won a major prize, but it could get a lot bigger with community help
Lakeland High School’s football team started the season 6-0, but that’s not the only reason there has been a special buzz surrounding Lakeland’s 2025 campaign.
The school recently was announced as one of 25 nationwide to win $25,000 from T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights Contest. The contest was created to help smaller schools upgrade their football field.
Each of the 25 schools is now competing for a grand $1 million prize, as well as a renovated weight room from Gronk Fitness, a consultation with stadium experience experts, an all-expenses-paid trip to the Southeastern Conference Championship Game for 16 school representatives, and a tailgate party revealing the finalized upgrades in 2026.
“I was in complete and utter disbelief. Shocked, but very excited,” said Owen Forsman, the Idaho Vandals’ kicker and a 2024 Lakeland graduate. “The recognition for a small community like this, where those outdoor facilities really bring together what Rathdrum has, I think that is a great thing.”
Having played high school and college football in Idaho, Forsman has a lot of pride in Idaho, and he hopes the entire state will get behind the Hawks during the voting process.
“I think if you live in Idaho, you should be hammering the votes in on this because this doesn’t just help North Idaho, this helps the whole state. It’s publicity. It’s community building,” Forsman said. “I would encourage people to get involved by voting and talking about it. Word of mouth is huge.”
Ammon Munyer, a 2021 Lakeland graduate and current tight end for Weber State, said the big prize would be “huge” for Lakeland.
“Definitely would put them above any other school in the area, status-wise,” Munyer said. “For the community, it would create a sense of pride. Athletes at Lakeland would be taken more seriously. Kids in elementary schools would dream of playing in that stadium when they get the chance. It would be generational, as far as an impact.”
The Lakeland community is rallying for the grand prize.
“I think it just goes to show, again, that our community, our school, our administration is excited about an opportunity to improve their facilities,” said Matt Neff, Lakeland’s athletic director. “I am always looking for ways to improve our product, improve our facilities, and improve this experience for our student-athletes. ”
For an eight-week stint, schools around the country can sign up to compete weekly for a $5,000 prize, and several winners are picked each week, decided based on how unique your school’s situation is.
Social media engagement is a critical component that T-Mobile’s staff considers when narrowing down candidates. Things like reposts, using the designated T-Mobile hashtags and consistently posting engaging content on Instagram helped Lakeland and 24 other schools from 21 states advance to the finals.
“I think the content of our Instagram is what got us into the finals. We had student council and the booster club helping with that,” said Jacquie Neff, the multimedia director of the Lakeland Joint School District. “This whole thing is really galvanizing the community, and it’s really a rallying point. Lakeland football is kind of the heart of our community. So I think helping that facility is only going to benefit the whole community.”
Lakeland and Post Falls each won a weekly contest in 2024, and Timberlake won one in 2025. Through seven weeks in 2025, Lakeland hadn’t won anything this season, and even a few days after the week eight contest, Lakeland still hadn’t been informed that they had won anything.
Eventually, they were contacted and informed that not only did they win for week eight, but they were also selected as a finalist and awarded a total of $30,000. When asked what the school will do with the $30,000, Jacquie Neff said, “We definitely have things to use it on, but, you know, we’ve got to keep our eyes on the prize.”
Over 30 schools entered the contest across Idaho, and over 60 across Washington, but Lakeland is the only finalist from Idaho. South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard is the only Washington finalist.
Lakeland’s home field, Corbit Field, is too small for the large turnouts that they get each Friday night. There are consistently over 100 people who have to sit on blankets on the hillside next to the bleachers because of a lack of seating. They hope to use the prize money to expand the bleachers, among other renovations.
“We’re always working with a really frugal budget. And that’s great, because that’s how we do things around here. We make the most of what we have,” Jacquie Neff said. “We have a lot of people that like to come to the games. We’ve sort of created, not just a football game, but an event.”
Katy Ryan is a 2021 Lakeland graduate and collegiate volleyball phenom who graduated from Washington State University. She won conference honors all four years at WSU and was selected to the All-WCC 1st team in 2024.
“This type of recognition is special for the Lakeland community because it brings us together to achieve something,” Ryan said. “It is very special for me to see my high school get recognized, because the Lakeland community was such a big part of my success, and it’s exciting to see them potentially benefit so much.”
The community can help the school win the grand prize by voting on the Friday Night 5G Lights website. Voting lasts through Oct. 24, and people can vote once per day. The winner will be announced on Oct. 30.
Jace Taylor, a three-sport varsity athlete and captain of the football team, has loved to see how this entire process has brought the community together.
“A $1 million makeover would be astronomical for this high school, along with the football program,” Taylor said. “Updated facilities could be huge for sports at Lakeland High School moving forward. I strongly encourage people to get on and vote for us, as we really need this makeover, and our future generations would benefit significantly from it.”