Saxony Lutheran receives $5,000, remains in running for $1 million football field transformation
FOX23 News at 9 p.m.
JACKSON, Mo., (KBSI) — Saxony Lutheran High School has received $5,000 through T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights competition and remains in the running for up to $1 million toward a football field transformation.
The school was randomly selected as a $5K Fridays sweepstakes winner. The national competition awards funding to small-town high school football programs across the country.
The money comes as Saxony Lutheran continues building a football program that began with a junior varsity schedule in 2024. The school played its first varsity season in fall 2025.
“We opened up the stadium last October with 1,500-seat bleachers and the scoreboard and everything,” Principal Mark Ruark said. “We got to play two home games on our field last year. So this year, we started out the season just like this is our first full season on our own field, and it’s really exciting.”
Before the stadium opened, Saxony played part of its home schedule at Southeast Missouri State University.
Director of Activities Mike Vipperman said one of the biggest milestones came when Saxony hosted its first district football game on campus.
“One of the biggest things I think was success for us was we was able to host our first district football game last year, right here under the lights on our own campus,” Vipperman said.
Ruark said the $5,000 award will help cover immediate needs for the program, including software for the scoreboard and other expenses that come up during the season.
Saxony Lutheran remains eligible for additional funding through the competition. Forty finalists will each receive $25,000, four division champions will receive $250,000 and one grand prize winner will receive $1 million toward a football field transformation.
If Saxony wins the grand prize, Ruark said the school would like to replace its natural grass field with artificial turf.
“Well, it really can’t put into words what it would mean because it would just, it would benefit our whole school,” Ruark said. “Our plan would be to put the artificial turf in instead of natural grass.”
The field is used by football as well as boys and girls soccer.
Vipperman said improving Bennett Memorial Stadium would benefit more than one program.
“Being able to just take that field, that stadium, Bennett Memorial Stadium, to kind of another level, it’s bigger than just the game that’s going to be played on there,” Vipperman said.
Saxony Lutheran is among 25 Missouri schools selected so far to receive $5,000 through the competition, representing $125,000 awarded to schools across the state.
More than $8.4 million in prizes are available nationwide this year.
Applications closed Sept. 18. The competition’s top 40 finalists are scheduled to be announced Oct. 8, when public voting begins.
Voting will continue through Oct. 25 to determine four schools that advance to the final round. The grand prize winner is scheduled to be announced Nov. 12.
