Four wins, a coaching change, and the Ax stayed here

The last Denison team under Brent Whitson finished 4–5. It started the way Jacket seasons are supposed to start: a 28–16 win over Sherman in the Battle of the Ax. A week later they were shut out at Decatur, 13–0.

The wins after that were loud. Independence, 69–16. Memorial, 41–23. Liberty, 47–17. The losses at the end of the year were louder. Anna 49–17. Lovejoy 35–28. Melissa 50–9 in the finale.

Whitson, hired in 2021 after Chad Rogers, left in February 2026 to become athletic director at Celina ISD. The Jackets went 7–4, 7–4, 5–5, 6–4, 2–8, and 4–5 across his six seasons, counting 2020. Playoffs were not a stranger to this program — 30 appearances, a 1984 state title — but they have been a stranger lately.

Lilly’s job is not to give a eulogy for 2025. It is to take the Ax tonight and then find out, in a new district, whether four wins was a floor or a ceiling. The file is closed. The lights are not.