Official schedules list Gainesville hosting Benbrook, Sherman visiting Joshua in Week 2
Both games carried a 7 p.m. Sept. 4, 2026, kickoff on school schedules, with Sherman's trip to Joshua second among four non-district games.
Gainesville was scheduled to host Fort Worth Benbrook at Leopard Stadium at 7 p.m. Sept. 4, 2026, according to the Leopards' official schedule. Sherman was set to play at Joshua the same night at the same hour, according to Sherman ISD.
Sherman ISD listed the Bearcats' trip to Joshua's Owl Stadium as a non-district game. It was the second of four games Sherman scheduled outside its district in 2026. Denison was listed first, with Liberty Christian and The Colony after Joshua, according to the district's schedule. Sherman's district play was set to open Sept. 25 at Keller Fossil Ridge.
That is a longer non-district stretch than a year earlier. Sherman's 2025 schedule, released by the district, had two non-district opponents, Denison and Prosper Rock Hill, before eight district games. Rock Hill filled the second-week slot on Sept. 5, 2025, at Bearcat Stadium.
| Sherman schedule | 2025 | 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Non-district opponents | 2 | 4 |
| Week 2 opponent | Prosper Rock Hill | Joshua |
| Week 2 venue | Bearcat Stadium | Owl Stadium |
Sherman ISD announced April 27, 2026, that Efrain Ramos would serve as head football coach and boys coordinator. The district said Ramos previously led Lamesa to a district championship and served as defensive coordinator at Anna during its 2023 Class 4A Division I state championship season.
Sherman stays in Class 5A Division I for the 2026-28 cycle. The district reported an enrollment of 2,134, below the 2,215-student threshold for Class 6A. Under the UIL's alignment, Sherman's District 3 holds seven schools: Sherman, Azle, Denton, Denton Ryan, Fort Worth Chisholm Trail, Keller Fossil Ridge and Saginaw.
Sherman's reported enrollment for the 2026–28 classification cycle
Below the 2,215-student threshold for Class 6A, keeping the Bearcats in Class 5A Division I.
Joshua competes in a separate division. The UIL placed it in Class 5A Division II, District 7, with Arlington Seguin, Burleson, Corsicana, Ennis, Everman, Mansfield Timberview and Midlothian Heritage. Denison landed in a nine-school 5A Division II district with Anna, Celina, Prosper Richland and five Frisco schools: Frisco, Emerson, Independence, Memorial and Panther Creek.
Gainesville's 2026-28 home is Class 4A Division II, District 6, a six-team league with Krum, Lake Worth, Ponder, Sanger and Van Alstyne, according to the UIL.
Denison's district is the most crowded of the four
The chart loads when visible. All values are in the table.
UIL 2026–28 football alignments
The largest league in the area
View as a table
| Label | Schools in district |
|---|---|
| Denison (5A-DII) | 9 schools |
| Joshua (5A-DII) | 8 schools |
| Sherman (5A-DI) | 7 schools |
| Gainesville (4A-DII) | 6 schools |
The UIL advances the top four teams from each district in both divisions of Classes 2A through 5A, a rule that covers the classifications of Gainesville, Sherman, Joshua and Denison, according to the UIL's playoff bracket information.
The National Federation of State High School Associations reported that 1,029,588 boys played 11-player football in 2024-25, the highest participation of any boys sport, and that Texas led all states in overall high school sports participation with 879,403. In September 2025, the federation said boys 11-player participation had grown in three of the previous four years, following six consecutive annual declines before the pandemic.
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