Ramos Leads Sherman Into 128th Battle of the Ax

By GvilleTX Newsroom

Sherman ISD listed the Sherman Bearcats and Denison Yellow Jackets for the 128th Battle of the Ax at 7 p.m. Friday, August 28, 2026, at Munson Stadium, sending Sherman into the rivalry game under first-year head football coach Efrain Ramos. For Cooke County readers, the game falls in the same North Texas high school football season tracked locally, with Gainesville High School’s official calendar also showing Friday-night varsity football dates in September.

Sherman ISD announced April 27 that Ramos had been named Sherman High School’s head football coach and boys coordinator. Denison also enters this rivalry cycle with a newly announced leader: Denison ISD’s athletics staff page lists Brian Lilly as district athletic director and DHS football head coach, and the district held an official press conference announcing Lilly in those roles.

The game carries a long record in the two Grayson County communities. Sherman ISD identified Friday’s meeting as the 128th Battle of the Ax, and Sherman High School has described the Sherman-Denison series as Texas’ longest-running high school football rivalry.

The trophy changed hands in Sherman’s favor two seasons ago, according to Sherman High School’s account of the 2024 matchup. The school said the Bearcats beat Denison 31-13 on August 30, 2024, bringing the ax back to Sherman after 11 years.

Friday’s site listing also separates the rivalry game from Sherman’s new-stadium home schedule later in the fall. Sherman ISD’s 2026 schedule release put the Denison game at Munson Stadium, while the district said Sherman’s new 8,000-seat stadium is scheduled to host its first varsity home game on September 18. Sherman ISD athletics said the Bearcats are set to play four home games in the new facility during the 2026 season.

Sherman ISD tied the 2026 schedule work to the UIL’s February realignment announcement, which the district said started the process of arranging district and non-district opponents. The season also began under a new statewide heat rule: UIL health guidance made Wet Bulb Globe Temperature monitoring required for outdoor UIL athletic and marching-band activities beginning August 1, 2026.

Denison ISD records show the game was handled beyond the football staff level. In the district’s August 18 board-meeting record, Superintendent David Kirkbride told trustees about a Battle of the Ax reception involving Sherman and Denison administrators and board members, and the record says trustees had already received game tickets.

Ticket information remains online through the districts. Denison ISD says sporting-event tickets are sold through HomeTown and that cash is not accepted at the gate, while Sherman ISD lists varsity football ticket prices by seat type and purchase time.