Hughson High School is currently running in second place in T-Mobile’s nationwide Friday Night 5G Lights contest ( which could net the school significant technological upgrades for its stadium and school as well as new athletic equipment.
Hughson High School has already earned $30,000 so far by making it to the 16 finalists among 1,700 schools across the nation which entered the promotion.
The goal of the program is to highlight the pride and community spirit that surrounds high school football in small-town America. That’s why only cities with populations of 50,000 or less were eligible to enter.
Currently in first place is Paradise High School in Paradise, Calif. Ironically, Hughson High Principal Loren Lighthall was principal at Paradise High, located northeast of Chico, until the 2018 Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed most of the town.
“I think that’s cool,” said Lighthall of the Paradise connection. “If we don’t win, I want them to win.”
Other participating schools are from places like Greenwood, Ark., Dumas and Beaumont in Texas, Redmond, Ore., Manchester, NH, Inola, Okla., Salisbury, NC and Superior, Ariz.
Hughson High School Athletic Director Justice Futch said the winning school will receive a $100,000 grant, a new stadium scoreboard, a 5G network upgrade package for the stadium, upgraded weight equipment courtesy of Gronk Fitness, and a professional consultation with football field experts.
Winning will come down to the highest number of “likes” a school receives on its Instagram page video. Hughson High School officials hope local residents will help out by going to Instagram and clicking on the “like” button for the Hughson High’s Friday Night Lights video post. It may be found on Instagram @hughsonhighfootball @tmobile or online at
They’re also hoping that locals will repost and/or share the post on their social pages and encourage friends and family to give a “like” on the page.
“We’ve already have some NFL players that we reached out to – that we have relationships with – who have posted it,” said Futch. They are Johnny Mundt, a former Hughson resident who is the tight end for the Minnesota Vikings; and Morgan Fox, Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle. Fox is the son-in-law of Hughson assistant coach Chris Wolfley.
“I’m from Hughson so I am seeing a lot of community involvement … sharing and liking it,” said Futch.
Although the excitement is as intense as the Huskies’ stellar football performance in recent years and their 6-0 record this season, Futch said Hughson must climb higher than Paradise’s count.
“I keep looking at Paradise thinking we’re going to close the gap but every time we start jumping up they jump up too. It’s going to go on until Nov. 12 so it’s really going to be who can keep that second wave going.”
Melinda King, who has spearheaded Hughson’s efforts since the contest began in August., said she “never imagined that this could happen. It’s an amazing honor to make it this far.”
The Hughson video – written and created by Melinda King – is intended to be an ode to Hughson football and is narrated by many of this year’s players who talk about realizing their boyhood dreams of playing in Husky Stadium.
King is an English teacher at Ross Middle School and the wife of head football coach Shaun King. Others have helped on the campaign, including Hughson Elementary third-grade teacher Jamie Mankins, whose son Max is a star tight end and defensive end on the team and whose husband Jeremy is an assistant coach.
“We want that hype video to go viral,” said Bert Gough, a T-Mobile marketing manager from the Bay Area who was on campus Thursday morning. “It gave me the chills. This is the ideal school for the program. Our public relations people (who helped select the finalists) were really impressed by Hughson. They really stood out.”
T-Mobile had a presence at Friday’s home game against the Sonora Wildcats with the theme “Pink Out” since October is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month.” The company held tailgate games and gave away prizes and souvenirs.
Hughson High School also held a food donation drive during the game and invited attendees to bring nonperishable food items to donate at the stadium.
Half-time on Friday included a check presentation for the $25,000 awarded for making it into the top 16 finalists. Previously the school received $5,000 for entering the contest.
Futch said Hughson High was introduced to the contest through a T-Mobile employee who is the wife of Ross Middle School teacher Jayce Jepson.
