Summit football hosts its second night game under the new Tatlock Field lights Thursday, Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m. against Woodbridge. Eight more permitted night games remain for the school year, and no one has decided which sports get them.

The $1.2 million lights, installed in June after a project that began nearly a decade ago, come with a cap: only 10 varsity night games per school year. Football claimed two of those slots this fall, the maximum allowed for the season, according to The Verve, Summit High School's student newspaper. That leaves eight games for spring sports like lacrosse, but no allocation plan has been announced.

The cap has players thinking ahead. Andrew Cano, a Summit lacrosse player, said the limited slots could create tension between sports programs at the high school.

Lucas Kubeck, a senior captain who plays both football and lacrosse, wants football to get priority. "I think that we should try to get as many of those as we can," Kubeck told The Verve, citing football's long-standing night-game tradition.

Coach Casey Sink said the excitement will eventually settle into routine, envisioning a weekly rhythm of high school football on Friday nights, college football on Saturdays and the NFL on Sundays. Sink said the atmosphere extends beyond the players to cheerleaders, band members and the full student body.

In the first night game, on Sept. 24, Summit shut out Edison 20-0 at Tatlock Field. Quarterback Matt McKeever, running back Gavin Schnall and kicker Jackson Mark led the way, Patch reported.

The Hilltoppers improved to 3-2 with that win and now carry a 4-2 record into Thursday's matchup. Woodbridge also enters at 4-2, according to MaxPreps.

Before the new lights, the last night game at Tatlock was played on Oct. 8, 2021. That is exactly five years to the day before Thursday's contest.

Summit Common Council approved the lighting contract in October 2025, awarding it to Musco Sports Lighting LLC. The project was funded by $650,000 in city bond money and a $500,000 anonymous donation through the Summit Foundation, Patch reported at the time. Councilmember Michelle Kalmanson cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing the city should first establish a binding agreement with neighbors on how the lights would be used.

A neighborhood group called United for Tatlock Neighborhood opposed the project. As of the October 2025 approval, the Summit Law and Labor Committee was finalizing an ordinance to balance athletic use with neighborhood impact. Whether that ordinance was adopted is unclear.

No plan exists yet. The allocation of the remaining eight night games has no announced timeline, and kickoff Thursday is at Tatlock Field.