2 days ago
Top of the Morning, June 12, 2025
Jun. 12—At this weekend's Newman Freedom Festival, football players from Tri-County High School will be barking out signals of a different kind.
Carrying on a generation-bonding tradition that started nearly a decade ago, the teens will be in charge of the bingo tent — drawing balls, calling out numbers, swapping out cards and making sure the older crowd behaves.
"I've got kids already asking me 'Can I be the one calling out 'Bingo!' " Tri-County coach TJ Blake said. "They're definitely into it."
The annual festival — known for its tractor pulls — runs Friday through Sunday in a tiny Douglas County village that is one of 13 towns that feed the Tri-County co-op. Bingo starts at 1 p.m. Saturday.
"It's an opportunity for our players to get out in the community and give back as a program," said Blake, a 2012 Oakland High grad. In his day, high schoolers volunteered at a horseshoe tournament. "And it allows the community to put a face to the name on the back of the jersey."
