Sherman Heads to Joshua After Battle of the Ax Loss

Sherman will try to steady its season Friday night at Joshua after opening with a 50-19 Battle of the Ax loss to Denison, according to UIL-MaxPreps results and school schedule records. The Bearcats and Owls are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. CDT September 4 at Owl Stadium, according to Sherman ISD and Joshua High School ticketing information.

For Gainesville and Cooke County readers who follow North Texas and Texoma football, the game is an early look at how Sherman responds after one of the area’s long-running rivalry weeks. UIL-MaxPreps lists Sherman at 0-1 after Denison won the August 28 opener. Sherman ISD’s schedule announcement lists that game as the Battle of the Ax and says it was played at Munson Stadium.

KTEN, in a first-party social media post from Sherman, Texas, framed the Joshua week around Sherman’s effort to come back from the BOTA loss. Sherman ISD identifies Efrain Ramos as Sherman’s head football coach and men’s athletics coordinator.

The Joshua game is outside district play under the UIL’s 2026-28 alignment. UIL records place Sherman in Conference 5A Division I District 3 with Azle, Denton, Denton Ryan, Fort Worth Chisholm Trail, Keller Fossil Ridge and Saginaw. UIL records list Joshua in Conference 5A Division II District 7 with Arlington Seguin, Burleson, Corsicana, Ennis, Everman, Mansfield Timberview and Midlothian Heritage.

The UIL’s conference cutoff chart separates the two 5A divisions by enrollment, with Division I covering larger schools than Division II for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 cycle. In its 2026 realignment packet, the UIL said schools could begin discussing possible games February 2, 2026, but could not sign contracts until February 24, after realignment appeals were resolved.

Friday’s trip also comes before Sherman’s first 2026 home game in its new stadium. Sherman ISD says the Bearcats are scheduled to play four home games there this season, beginning September 18 against The Colony.

Sherman ISD says the new multipurpose stadium will open in September 2026 and seat about 8,000 spectators. District bond records say the stadium is part of a $540 million bond program approved by voters in May 2023 and that the stadium is opening three years earlier than the 2029 date shared before the bond election.

The game lands in a sport that remains the largest boys high school sport by participation nationally. The National Federation of State High School Associations reported that U.S. high school sports participation reached a record level in 2024-25 and said 11-player football had more than one million boys participants.