The Battle of Brothers

Anyone who visits the scene of a rivalry can sense the animosity. There’s a tinge of hatred in the air. Trash is talked and gauntlets are thrown.


Throw an ax into the mix and you’ve got one heck of a ball game on an October night in Texas.

This past Friday, the Sherman Bearcats and the Denison Yellow Jackets football teams took the field for a Texas record 113^th time in the Battle of the Ax, according to a local news station. Talk about ancient history. This rivalry has been played since before the Titanic sank. 

Until last week I had only heard of the passion these schools have about this game. 

The annual t-shirt made for the 
rivalry game between Sherman and Denison.
(Photo: Courtesy of Denison Yellow 
Jackets Football Facebook page)

I assumed it would be a similar experience to my own high school's rivalry game each year.

I had my doubts that it could be any different than all the other tons of high pressure games I had attended.

Boy was I wrong.

From kickoff to the final buzzer the heart that each side played with was clearly evident. Even with a slightly lopsided score, both teams fought hard until the very end. As it should be in a game this important to both communities.

"Battle of the Ax is the biggest game of the year," said Denison senior cheerleader Tara Will. "Everyone always comes out for that game. It's the game that has the most importance on it just because of the title. No matter what the teams records have been during the season you can't predict the outcome, because it's where miracles happen."

Rivalries are products of proximity. Ask the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels. As in that rivalry, Sherman and Denison are a short 8 miles apart, causing some friction between the two sides.

The famous "Ax" trophy given
 to the Battle of the Ax winner.
(Photo: Courtesy of Denison Yellow
 Jackets Football Facebook page)

Everyone knows everyone in towns as close as these, and many people have relatives between the two towns since the school districts lie back to back according to the Texas Education Agency’s website.

“Most of the kids have known each other for years,” Sherman coach Drew Young said in an interview with Texas Football's Travis Stewart. “Some of the kids from Denison wind up going to Sherman, some of the kids from Sherman wind up going to Denison.” But all other loyalties are thrown out the window in this classic. School spirit is king the week of the Battle of the Ax.

““Every day it builds up, the intensity and getting ready, and the support from our school,” Sherman senior quarterback Gus Daniel said in a Herald Democrat news article. “You know as a player what you’re going into and what the game’s going to be like. You have a little more pep in your step going into a game like this.”

To anyone looking for that perfect taste of a Friday night under the lights in Texas, I recommend this game. Although I have been to some that have meant more to me, nothing personifies Texas High School Football spirit like the Battle of the Ax.

This match-up gave even the Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry a run for its money. And that’s saying something in my book.