Berrien High School named Georgia’s only finalist in T-Mobile football contest

Staff Reports

NASHVILLE — Berrien High School is the only Georgia school remaining in a national competition offering a $1 million football field renovation.

T-Mobile selected Berrien as one of 40 divisional finalists in its Friday Night 5G Lights competition, the company announced Thursday. The Nashville school advanced from a field of nearly 2,500 applicants and is one of 10 schools competing in the South Division.

Berrien will receive $25,000 and a T-Mobile-hosted home game celebration for reaching the divisional round. The school can earn considerably more if supporters throughout South Georgia and the state help it advance.

Fans may vote once per day through Oct. 25 at FridayNight5GLights.com or through the T-Life app. A valid mobile phone number is required.

The school receiving the most votes in each of four divisions — South, East, Midwest and West — will collect $250,000, a Gronk Fitness gym upgrade valued at $90,000 and a $5,000 student leadership award. Those four division champions will advance to the final round for a chance to win the $1 million field upgrade.

Berrien is the only Georgia school to make the top 40, but the competition has already benefited three Albany schools. Westover, Monroe and Dougherty each received $5,000 through the program’s earlier $5K Fridays sweepstakes, although none advanced to the divisional round.

Berrien will compete against schools from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas for the South Division title.

T-Mobile said finalists were selected based on community need and impact, creativity, school pride, social media participation and community engagement. Schools across the country submitted requests for projects such as replacing aging bleachers, improving stadium lighting and repairing worn playing surfaces.

“We heard from nearly 2,500 schools hoping to fix things like aging bleachers, outdated lights and worn turf,” T-Mobile Chief Operating Officer Jon Freier said. “While each application reflected a unique community, they all shared a common thread — pride, need and a community ready to rally behind their team.”

The four division champions will be announced Oct. 29, when another round of voting begins. Fans may vote daily through Nov. 8 to select the grand-prize winner, which will be announced Nov. 12.

Berrien can also earn bonus votes by completing social media challenges and posting school-spirit content using the hashtags #FN5GL and #Entry.

For Berrien, advancing will require support well beyond Nashville. As Georgia’s final contender, the school now has an opportunity to rally high school football fans across South Georgia and throughout the state.