MaxPreps records linked through the UIL scoreboard show Azle, Denton and Denton Ryan opened the 2026 football season at 1-0 in UIL 5A Division I District 3, while Sherman began 0-1 after its Week 1 loss to Denison. For Gainesville and Cooke County readers, the standings offer regional context rather than a local district race: UIL alignment records place Gainesville in 4A Division II District 6, outside the larger-school group now bringing Sherman into District 3.
UIL says its football scoreboard uses MaxPreps for current scores, records and team information. Those MaxPreps pages show Denton beat Frisco Centennial 41-0 on Aug. 27. On Aug. 28, Azle defeated Cooper 28-24, Denton Ryan beat V.R. Eaton 30-27, and Sherman lost to Denison 50-19.
The same team pages list Azle, Denton, Denton Ryan and Sherman at 0-0 in district play after Week 1. That makes the early standings an overall-record snapshot before District 3 games begin showing up in the record column.
UIL's 2026-28 alignment lists the football district as Azle, Denton, Denton Ryan, FW Chisholm Trail, Keller Fossil Ridge, Saginaw and Sherman. UIL's cutoff chart places 5A Division I football from roughly 1,900 to 2,200 students, and its rank order puts each District 3 campus inside that band, from Saginaw near the lower end to FW Chisholm Trail near the top.
The new lineup differs from the prior UIL cycle. UIL records show Azle, Denton, Denton Ryan and Keller Fossil Ridge remained in District 3; Aledo, Granbury, Birdville, Richland and Brewer left; FW Chisholm Trail and Saginaw came in; and Sherman moved over from District 5. UIL's rank order now places Aledo in 6A. Sherman ISD said in February that Melissa's move into 5A Division I put Sherman with football opponents to the west instead of the schools to the south.
The Week 1 opponents came from different parts of the UIL map. UIL records place Ryan's opener against a 6A V.R. Eaton program; Denison, which beat Sherman, is in 5A Division II District 4; Abilene Cooper is below the 5A Division I football cutoff; and Frisco Centennial is in 5A Division I District 5.
Sherman's first season in the new football district also lines up with a facility change. Sherman ISD says its new multipurpose stadium is scheduled to open in September, with the first varsity football game there set for Sept. 18 against The Colony. The district says the stadium is part of the bond program voters approved in May 2023.
National participation data gives the local scoreboard a broader frame. NFHS reported that high school sports participation increased for a fifth straight year in 2025-26, and its 2024-25 survey counted roughly a million 11-player football participants.
_Editor's note: Everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law._
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