The district-opening victory against Denison on homecoming night gave the Leopards (3-1 overall, 1-0 in district) their first step toward becoming district champions. The Leopards now have to face Denison’s sibling city Sherman High School at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, on the road.

“Sherman is a heavy run football team so we’ve put a big emphasis on stopping the particular run plays,” head coach Ryan Cox said. “One of the other things we went back and did is we looked at where we were not really effective on Friday nights.”

The Leopards defeated the Denison Yellow Jackets (2-2, 0-1), 45-34, despite a close call in the fourth quarter. Denison took the lead, 34-31 with 3:15 left, but two touchdowns in the final 1:11, a run by Bowman Sells and a 29-yard pass from Sells to Aaron Fuller, sealed the win for the Leopards.

Sells finished with 341 yards passing and six total touchdowns to earn the Built Ford Tough 5A Texas High School Player of the Week for week 5.

“It’s pretty cool being named player of the week,” Sells said. “But it’s nothing special to me cause I don’t play to get awards.”

Cox called the award “well-deserved for Sells.”

“The thing about that is that it’s not just an award that is an honor for him,” Cox said. “But the rest of the guys, all the offensive guys, all the offensive lineman that are a part of that award as well.”

Sherman (0-4, 0-1) lost its first district game to Prosper (3-2, 0-1) last week, 47-15. Sherman ended up with only 157 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Colton Dale threw for 52 yards and one score. Running back Chadd Perry rushed for 56 yards and ran in for one touchdown. Sherman ended up with 183 punting yards, 26 more than the yards the team gained by receiving and rushing.

“Our game this week is another test for us and we’re ready to get another win,” Sells said.

The Leopards put up big numbers against Denison last Friday. Fuller had a strong game with 122 yards receiving and two scores; one in the first quarter, and one in the fourth. The Leopards finished with 183 rushing yards and 341 passing. The two teams also combined for 37 penalties, with the Leopards owning 18 and Denison with 19.