Sherman preparing to host hottest Battle of the Ax of all time

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - Sherman ISD Athletic Director Jeff Cordell has been working to make sure accommodations have been made to keep everyone safe.

“We’ve been very proactive in making sure that we take care of not only our student athletes, but our community members as well,” Wade said.

The high on gameday is expected to reach 106 degrees, just 7 degrees under the hottest recorded temperature of all time in North Texas.

Without proper precautions, this extreme heat puts players, gameday staff and even spectators in danger.

“We will also have extra EMS on site in case anything were to go down,” Wade said. “We have cooling stations down on the field as well, too.”

Head athletic trainer Katie Wade says that hydration is the players’ main key to beating the heat.

“Our coaches and myself and our other athletic trainer have been pushing to the kids that you have to hydrate, and we’ve been pushing that since this summer,” Wade said.

If players are still cramping even though they’ve hydrated, Wade has an interesting solution.

“We will also have mustard packets, which sounds weird, but if they start cramping or we start having electrolyte issues on the field, we will give them mustard packets to help with the cramps,” Wade said.

For cheering fans, canopies will be set up to provide a place to escape the sun.

Cordell says the biggest decision made when considering how to battle the heat was to push back the start time to 8.

“I drove by Bearcat Stadium last night, about 8:05 p.m.,” Wade said. “The sun was pretty much down and away from the heat that we would normally experience at a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.”

Copyright 2023 KXII. All rights reserved.