In looking at these two respective teams, I think Sherman and Denison might be more like each other than either side's fans would like to admit. Both teams enter the game at 8-1 overall and 6-0 in district. Both teams had the same non-district opponent in Little Elm and both losses are to teams with one-loss, Denison's to Big Spring and Sherman's to Lake Dallas.
Taking into account all games, Denison has outscored opponents 409-176 to Sherman's 388-205 but in district play the gap is much closer -- 298-119 for Denison and 273-114 for Sherman.
The Bearcats have the second-best defense among 9-4A teams at 348.4 yards while Denison is tops at 259.9. On offense, Denison has the second-best offense at 492.1 yards while Sherman is actually fifth at 404.4 yards per game.
Sherman's offense is led by senior quarterback Madison Carter, a second-year starter who also saw time as a sophomore, and junior running back Zac Whitfield.
Carter has completed 80-of-144 passes for 1,370 yards and 16 touchdowns, run for 614 yards and 10 touchdowns and didn't throw his first interception until last week against McKinney while Whitfield has 781 yards and 11 touchdowns on 74 carries (10.6 yards per carry). When the ball is near the end zone and J.J. Floyd is on the field expect him to get the ball since he has five carries for 13 yards and five touchdowns.
A quick aside to compare the numbers for Carter and Denison QB Jordan Taylor, keeping in mind that Taylor sat the first game with an injury:
Carter 80-of-144, 1,370 yards, 16 TD, 1 INT; 614 yards and 10 TDs on 90 carries
Taylor 86-of-138, 1,346 yards, 16 TD, 4 INT; 747 yards and 14 TDs on 74 carries
There is no one standout receiver for Sherman -- John Welborn is tops statistically with 320 yards and four touchdowns on 15 catches but Whitfield, Nathan James, Greg Jackson all have at least 15 catches and Geoff Hooker and Robert Fallon have at least three TD grabs.
Defensively Sherman is tied with Frisco Liberty at nine for the most interceptions among district teams (Denison and Wakeland are one INT behind) while Sherman has forced and recovered the most fumbles, 24-12. Hooker has three interceptions and Ben Pressley has two.
In the special teams department, Hooker is averaging 15.63 yards on punt returns and has brought one back for a score; James, Fallon and Welborn are averaging at least 22 yards on kick returns and Carter is also averaging 38.94 yards per punt.