Marcus opens District 5-6A play at unbeaten Lewisville on Friday, Sept. 25. The Marauders are spending the week making sure nobody forgets what's at stake.

The 41st Battle of the Axe kicks off at 7 p.m. at Lewisville, where Marcus (2-1) carries a 21-19 all-time series lead. The Farmers have won the last two meetings: 33-28 in 2025 and 27-21 in overtime in 2024.

Spirit week at Marcus started Monday, Sept. 21, with Monochromatic Monday, where students picked one color and wore it head to toe. The rest of the schedule, according to the school's Instagram account: Pajama Day on Tuesday, Workout Wednesday, Funky Farmer Thursday and Black Out Friday. A pep rally caps the week Friday, and the school's weekly newsletter asked families to purchase LED foam sticks to light up the gym.

On the field, the matchup pits a surging Marcus squad against one of the state's top-ranked teams.

Lewisville (3-0) opened the season with a 56-42 win over Highland Park, then routed Denton Ryan 49-17 on Sept. 11. Quarterback Laykon Brassfield threw for 330 yards and six touchdowns in that game, and receiver Landon Brazzell caught three of those scores for 170 yards, according to the Cross Timbers Gazette. The Farmers are ranked No. 5 by On3 and No. 14 in the Dave Campbell's Texas Football/AP poll.

Marcus opened the season with a 41-38 overtime win over Northwest on Aug. 28, then lost 22-17 at Martin on Sept. 4 before bouncing back with a 45-14 win over Richardson Pearce on Sept. 11. Quarterback Cash Davis connected with Caleb Steen on a 21-yard touchdown and hit Jameson Mayfield for a 3-yard score against Pearce. Running back Drew Emmert broke a 43-yard touchdown run, and Evan Sacks returned a fumble 10 yards for another score. The Marauders have outscored opponents 103-74 through three games, per MaxPreps.

The district opener carries extra weight. Both teams used a bye in Week 4 to prepare, and the winner grabs early positioning in a District 5-6A race that also includes Flower Mound, Hebron, Guyer, Wakeland, Braswell and Little Elm.

After Friday, Marcus hosts Hebron on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.