STOCKDALE, Texas – Stockdale High School is buzzing with excitement after former NFL star Rob Gronkowski gave a shoutout to the Brahmas for reaching the top 25 in T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights contest.
From a pool of 2,000 schools nationwide, Stockdale is now in contention for a $1 million grand prize to upgrade its athletic facilities, including a potential new turf field and training equipment.
The Brahmas, ranked ninth as of Wednesday night with over 34,000 votes, are rallying their community and beyond to keep the momentum going.
Voting is open daily through Oct. 24, 2025 at the T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights website. Supporters can visit the site, find Stockdale’s voting page and submit their email to cast one vote per day.
“We’ve never been anything like this,” said Stockdale senior center Jason Martinez. “I think it’d be really huge, especially because we’re on one of the only teams in our district to have a grass field. Every other school is upgraded, so a lot of the schools we play have turf, and you can just see the difference and how it makes them a better football team.”
The school’s grass field takes a beating during games, a challenge not lost on senior safety and tailback Trenton Gordon.
“Pretty much every field has a turf field except for us, and not saying that our grass isn’t good, but we work really hard on here and it tears it up a lot,” Gordon said. “We have a good weight room, but we could really use the opportunities and some new technology.”
Head football coach Shawn Alvarez believes the time is right for a major upgrade.
“I really think that that our time is due,” Alvarez said. “We’ve been kind of itching for a new stadium and kind of especially new surface on the football field.”
Stockdale faces stiff competition, with schools like Dierks High School in Arkansas and Lebanon High School in Oregon leading the rankings.
Daily voting could push the Brahmas closer to the top spot and the massive prize, which includes Gronk Fitness equipment and stadium enhancements.
To support Stockdale, click here. Locate the school’s voting page and cast your vote daily until the contest closes.
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