Shaquille O'Neal backs Denison in 128th Battle of the Ax

A video message from Shaquille O'Neal backing the Denison Yellow Jackets went out before the Aug. 28 football game against Sherman at Munson Stadium, a meeting Denison ISD and Denison High School counted as the 128th Battle of the Ax. Denison won 50-19 and the ax stayed in town, according to Denison Yellow Jackets Football.

The Denison program posted the recording, in which O'Neal told the Yellow Jackets to beat Sherman and signed off with the school's own "Sting 'em." Denison Fire Rescue, a City of Denison department, shared the clip and described it as Shaq endorsing the Yellow Jackets for BOTA. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame lists O'Neal as enshrined in 2016.

UIL's football rivalry archive dates the first Denison-Sherman game to 1902, a 15-6 Sherman win, and lists the series as the "Battle of the Axe." That archive puts the two schools 16 miles apart and shows Sherman ahead through the 2019 meeting listed there, on a total meeting count lower than the 128th figure the two Denison schools used this year.

The trophy has moved recently. Sherman High School said the Bearcats won the 126th meeting in 2024, 31-13, and reclaimed the ax after 11 years.

The two programs sit in different districts. For the 2026-28 cycle, UIL places Sherman in Conference 5A Division I and Denison in 5A Division II, a split that follows the league's enrollment cutoffs for the two 5A divisions. Denison ISD identifies Munson Stadium, at 326 West Crawford, as the home of the Yellow Jackets and as a site used year-round for district and community events. Sherman ISD said the ax game would be played at Munson and that the Bearcats' first varsity home game in their new 8,000-seat stadium would come Sept. 18 against The Colony.

Neither district takes cash at the gate. Denison ISD said ax tickets went on sale Aug. 17 and that athletic tickets are sold through HomeTown, by credit or debit card only. Sherman ISD says varsity football tickets must be bought online or by QR code. Cooke County schools run the same way. Gainesville Junior High says home athletic tickets have to be bought online, and Gainesville ISD senior passes admit people 60 and older free to home events, except playoffs and tournaments.

Texas led every state in high school sports participation in 2025-26, with roughly 911,000 students, NFHS reported. The federation counted a fifth straight year of growth in high school sports nationally, with 11-player football still the most popular sport for boys or girls.