The Atkins Red Devils have picked up a $5,000 win for their football program — and the school still has a chance to bring home an even bigger prize.

Atkins High School was selected as one of T-Mobile’s recent $5K Friday winners through the company’s Friday Night 5G Lights program.

Superintendent Chris Taylor said the district learned about the win last week.

“We’re tickled to death,” Taylor said. “That $5,000 can be used for really anything we need in our football program.”

The weekly prizes are part of T-Mobile’s nationwide Friday Night 5G Lights competition, which is open to high schools in communities with populations of 150,000 or less. For the 2026 contest, T-Mobile is awarding $5,000 prizes to a total of 1,000 schools through its weekly sweepstakes.

Atkins is also hoping its run in the competition is just getting started.

T-Mobile plans to announce 40 division finalists on Oct. 8, with those schools advancing into the next phase of the contest. The overall competition culminates in a $1 million home-field upgrade, with the grand-prize winner scheduled to be announced Nov. 12.

Taylor said the possibility is especially exciting after another small Arkansas school, Dierks, won T-Mobile’s million-dollar prize in 2025.

“We’re excited to be one of the winners,” Taylor said. “If we were able to move on to the next step … we’ll need a lot of fan support for that.”

Dierks High School, in a town of about 900 people, won the 2025 grand prize after rallying support around its campaign.

Taylor believes Atkins has that same kind of community support.

“Our community really does get behind our football program and our teams — all of our teams,” he said. “It’s a close-knit community, and we love our football here at Atkins.”

The 40 schools advancing to the next stage of the Friday Night 5G Lights competition are expected to be announced Oct. 8.