The Greatest Rivalries in Texas High School Football

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Every Texas town has a game circled on the calendar. For a week the hallways fill with signs, the band practices a little louder, and grandparents who played in the same game 50 years ago start telling stories. These are the greatest rivalries in Texas high school football, from century-old feuds between neighboring towns to modern heavyweight fights with state titles on the line.

Denison vs. Sherman: the Battle of the Ax

This is the one Texans point to when they talk about the oldest rivalry in the state. Denison and Sherman, two Grayson County towns about 10 miles apart near the Oklahoma line, first played in 1901, and the winner takes home a trophy ax. KXII calls it the longest-running high school football rivalry game in Texas. The game is played at Denison’s Munson Stadium or at Sherman’s home stadium, and the whole county shows up.

Odessa Permian vs. Midland Legacy (formerly Midland Lee)

The Permian Basin’s oil towns of Odessa and Midland are about 20 miles apart and have competed over everything for a century, from oil money to airport traffic. On the football field that means Permian against Midland Lee, renamed Midland Legacy in 2021. Permian’s loss to Lee in 1988 is one of the key moments in Friday Night Lights. The Dallas Morning News calls it possibly the bitterest rivalry in the state.

Duncanville vs. DeSoto

This is the modern heavyweight rivalry. The two southern Dallas County schools are about 9 miles apart, both are among the best programs in the country, and both have recent 6A state titles. As of 2024, DeSoto led the all-time series 17–16 over 33 games dating to 1972, about as even as a rivalry gets. Duncanville and DeSoto are both one-high-school towns, so the whole community puts everything into one team, and the game often decides the district title and a top playoff seed.

Lincoln vs. Madison: the South Dallas Super Bowl

Dallas Lincoln and Dallas Madison sit about 2 miles apart in South Dallas, and their annual game is known as the South Dallas Super Bowl. It’s about neighborhood pride, family bragging rights and some of the best athletes in the city.

Austin Westlake vs. Lake Travis

Two of the most successful programs of the 21st century sit on the west side of Austin. Both have won multiple state championships and sent quarterbacks to college and the NFL. When they meet, it often decides who goes on to make a deep playoff run.

Longview vs. Marshall

An East Texas rivalry between two towns about 25 miles apart along Interstate 20. The Piney Woods take this game seriously, and Longview’s Lobo Stadium is packed when Marshall comes to town.

El Campo vs. Bay City and El Campo vs. Wharton

El Campo’s rivalries with its Gulf Coast neighbors are among the most-played in the state. According to the Dallas Morning News, El Campo and Bay City have played nearly four times as often as Duncanville and DeSoto. El Campo–Wharton is listed among the state’s oldest rivalries.

More old rivalries worth knowing

• Groesbeck vs. Mexia: Central Texas neighbors with one of the oldest series in the state.
• Ennis vs. Waxahachie: an Ellis County feud between two towns just south of Dallas.
• Marshall vs. Tyler: one of the oldest East Texas matchups.
• Cameron vs. Rockdale: Milam County neighbors who have met nearly 100 times.
• DeSoto vs. Cedar Hill: the “Battle of the Belt Line,” DeSoto’s biggest rivalry before Duncanville.

How to experience rivalry week

1. Get tickets early. Rivalry games sell out, especially when they are also homecoming.
2. Arrive for pregame. The band entrance, the run-through banner and the student section are half the show.
3. Wear the colors. Pick a side and dress for it. Nobody sits on the 50-yard line as a neutral in Texas.
4. Stay for the trophy. Games like the Battle of the Ax end with the winners carrying the trophy across the field.

Show your colors

• Custom team spirit shirts in your school colors.
• Cowbells and noisemakers for the student section (check your stadium’s rules first).
• Face paint sticks in team colors.
• A bleacher seat with a back for those long rivalry nights.

What’s the biggest rivalry in your town? Tell us on the Texas Journeys Facebook page and we’ll add the best ones to this list.

Read next: A Fan’s Guide to a Texas Friday Night.