Lakeland gets national recognition in T-Mobile’s contest  

The small North Idaho community of Rathdrum has always shown a lot of interest and support for its local high school, Lakeland, and specifically the Lakeland Hawks varsity football team. This season, the Hawks have gotten off to a 6-0 start, but that is not the only reason why there has been a special buzz surrounding Lakeland’s 2025 campaign.  

After winning $5,000 through the contest in 2024, Lakeland was announced as one of 25 schools 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.  

“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 the state of 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.”  

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 SEC Championship Game for 16 school representatives and a tailgate party revealing the finalized upgrades in 2026.  

“That would be huge for the football team. Definitely would put them above any other school in the area status-wise,” said Ammon Munyer, a 2021 Lakeland graduate and current tight end for Weber State. “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.”  

So many people within the Lakeland community have rallied together in response to being selected as a national finalist. 

“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. So, I mean, I go from one project to the next. I’m always looking at ways to improve in those areas.”  

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 different 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. There are no other finalists from the Pacific Northwest.  

Lakeland’s home field, Corbit Field, is far too small for the large turnouts that they get each Friday night. There are consistently over 100 people who must 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.”  

The football team has been above average for some time, and the fan support has significantly increased over the years.  

“The pride that this community has in their schools…I actually think it really just speaks to the environment we’ve created here on Friday nights. We’re always trying to find ways to kind of create more of a community environment and a fun atmosphere,” Matt Neff said. “It’s a neat place to play, and I think it just speaks to all of those things we’ve done and steps we’ve taken to create an experience here.”  

According to Matt Neff, regardless of the result of the national competition, one of the best parts of this process has been the unity that he has observed throughout the community.  

“There are so many people from different groups that are coming together that it’s kind of a unified mission,” he said. “So, the contest in itself brings the community and the school closer by everybody having that common cause.”  

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 first 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.”  

Forsman and Ryan both noted how supportive the Lakeland community was during their time at the school. This entire process has been very beneficial to the student-athletes, and it has the potential to make a generational difference if Lakeland can win.  

“Our priority here is making this a great experience for our student-athletes,” Matt Neff said. “This is why we exist, to provide these opportunities and experiences and give kids a chance to make these lifelong memories.”  

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.  

This entire process has been very beneficial to the student-athletes, and it has the potential to make a generational difference if Lakeland can win.  

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.”  

Munyer is proud to see how far Lakeland has come, especially since both of his parents are Lakeland teachers, and his younger brother, Kenai, is a lineman for the team.  

“Made me think how far the school has come,” Munyer said. “I feel proud, especially having the blessing to have made it to the next level; I can look back and tell everyone I was a product of Lakeland football.”  

Similar to Taylor, Forsman spoke from the perspective of a Lakeland football player, or in his case, a former player, emphasizing the impact that new facilities would make.  

“Corbit Field is central to the school’s identity,” Forsman said. “The impact that these new facilities would have on the community is enormous. Something like this would really inspire the athletes at Lakeland to just continue to strive for greatness and would raise the roof for where Lakeland could go in terms of athletics.”  

Lakeland plays against Timberlake on Friday, Oct. 3, and T-Mobile is going to come to the game to do giveaways and decorate the field with some “T-Mobile swag.” Jacquie Neff said that the local T-Mobile stores are doing everything they can to promote the contest and help Lakeland win.  

“Facilities matter,” Matt Neff said. “Parents have a lot of choice today as to where they take their kids. We want to be the best choice. Status quo gets you left behind. And we don’t want to be left behind.”  

Liam Bradford can be reached at [email protected].