Denison will keep the Battle of the Ax after a 50-19 victory over Sherman on Friday, Aug. 28, at Munson Stadium, according to Denison High School's official Yellow Jackets page and Sherman ISD's game notice. For Gainesville and Cooke County readers, the result came from a larger-school Texoma matchup: UIL records place both Denison and Sherman in 5A, while Gainesville is listed in 4A.
Sherman ISD identified the game as the 128th Battle of the Ax between the Sherman Bearcats and the Denison Yellowjackets. The district described the matchup as one of the oldest high school football rivalries in Texas.
Denison ISD lists Brian Lilly as Denison ISD athletic director and Denison High School football head coach. The district's athletics page lists the Denison athletic office at 4200 North State Hwy. 91 in Denison.
The game carried more than a football schedule line, according to Denison ISD board minutes. At the district's Aug. 18 meeting, Superintendent David Kirkbride told trustees about an annual Battle of the Ax reception involving Sherman ISD administrators and board members, Denison ISD board members and Denison central office staff before the game.
Denison ISD's August minutes also show the district linking rivalry week to Yellow Jacket history. During board comments, trustee Brian Hander said Denison High School was 151 years old and that Denison had been educating students since 1875.
UIL alignment records put the teams in the same conference but separate football divisions for 2026-28. Sherman is listed in 5A Division I, District 3, while Denison is listed in 5A Division II, District 4; UIL cutoff numbers place Division I and Division II on opposite sides of the enrollment line within 5A.
That matters locally because Gainesville sits in a smaller bracket. UIL's alphabetical realignment list puts Gainesville in 4A Division II football with enrollment of 885, below the 5A classification used for Denison and Sherman.
Area school athletics also show a move toward online ticket systems. Denison ISD says its sporting-event tickets are sold online through HomeTown Ticketing and that cash is not accepted at the gate; Sherman ISD says varsity football tickets must be bought online, and Gainesville High School Athletics lists varsity football events through an official ticketing page.
State and national records put the game inside a broader school-sports record. UIL's football champions archive lists Denison as the 1984 Class 4A champion, and the National Federation of State High School Associations reported about 8.3 million high school sports participants for 2024-25.
For Denison, the verified result leaves the ax with the Yellow Jackets. For Sherman, the public record of the Aug. 28 game is a 50-19 loss in a rivalry that both districts treat as part of the school calendar and community life.
_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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