By Isabella Volmert
In 2020, a Dallas ISD school had not won a state football championship in more than 60 years. On Saturday morning, the city celebrated its second title in two years thanks to the South Oak Cliff High School Golden Bears.
South Oak Cliff proved its dominance last month by winning the 5A Division II state title game for the second year in a row, becoming the first Dallas ISD school to win back-to-back championships. The two-peat was celebrated with a hometown parade attended by prominent community members, decades of alumni and an entire neighborhood overflowing with pride.
Angela Cole, Class of ‘77, was at the parade with many friends from her years at South Oak Cliff. She described the high school’s alumni, neighborhood and football fans as supportive, strong and involved.
“When everyone comes together, this is what you come out with: legendary,” she said.
Tony Mumphrey, Class of ‘82, was ready for the parade early.
“Been a Bear all my life,” he said while waiting for the festivities to begin, just a few streets away from where he grew up. “I hope they can do it again next year.”
Hundreds of people lined the street near South Oak Cliff High School on the cool, sunny morning. The crowd played music and danced as a parade of Corvettes, neighboring sports teams, cheer-leaders and horseback riders passed.
Former cheerleading captain Alexis Ivey, who graduated in 2017 and attended the two championship games, yelled as the parade went by: “It’s a good day to be a Bear!”
The crowd chanted with pride when the team crested the hill on Marsalis Street. The players carried their trophies and wore 2022 state championship medals — some sported last year’s medal too, with the two clanking together as they walked.
‘Ain’t finished yet’
The championship is about more than sports for South Oak Cliff, which was highlighted during a ceremony on the school’s football field after the parade.
Students walked out of school in 2015 to call on Dallas ISD to overhaul their ruNdown campus. The district completed a $52 million renovation, including a new football field in January 2020, and the team brought home a championship two seasons later.
“This is what equity looks like,” parade marshal and 1977 alumnus Rev. Horace Bradshaw said during the ceremony. “Our kids deserve nothing less than the best.”
Bradshaw highlighted a history and tradition of athletic prowess at South Oak Cliff, and he praised the students who led the walkout to demand equal opportunity for their school.
The team and coaching staff gathered on the stage behind head coach Jason Todd, who thanked the players’ parents, their teachers and the coaching staff by name for the history-making season. He lauded his players’ academics and character.
“This is something a lot of people said we couldn’t do,” said Todd, who has been head coach since 2015. “Like I said last year, we ain’t finished yet.”
Todd became the first Black coach in state history to win two titles at the same school — and the third to win two titles overall.
“When I was coming down Marsalis in that parade, ain’t no amount of money could ever make me feel the way that made me feel right there,” he said. “You really know the people and the people know you.”
At the end of his speech, Todd asked the crowd, “Y’all want a three-peat?” Met with cheers and shouts of “We want three,” he said, “We’re gonna get your three-peat then.”
‘Always the goal’
Quarterback and offensive MVP of the title game William Little said the players had their eye on the prize from the beginning of the season.
“This was always the goal,” he said. “To make it back to the state championship, that’s our end goal every year.” The rising senior said the team is ready for a three-peat.
Little’s mother, Shannon Little, said when she watched the team win at AT&T Stadium, she was excited to watch her son be a part of history.
“He got the opportunity to do what he loves to do and lead his team, he’s a humble gentleman on and off the field,” she said. “So I’m very proud of him.”
As school principal Willie Johnson Jr. delivered remarks, someone in the crowd shouted out, asking if the team would win next season’s title.
“Save the date,” he said.
Photos: South Oak Cliff celebrates back-to-back football state titles
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas' communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
