DALLAS, Texas — History is staring South Oak Cliff High School's football team in the face as the team takes on Lubbock Cooper in the state's semifinal 5A Division II matchup in Abilene.
It's the school's first semifinals appearance since 1970. If they win, the Golden Bears will make a state championship appearance for the first time.
As for the Dallas Independent School District? Well, it’s the district’s first team to make it this far since 2014.
So it's safe to say -- a lot of pressure is on all sides of the team.
But winning on Friday night isn't just about history for three starting defensive players; it's also about honoring a legacy.
Malik Muhammad II, Abdul Muhammad III, and Billy Walton share the same grandfather/great grandfather: Abdul Muhammad Sr.
Muhammad died in 1990 and never met the three boys, but the teens are learning that they have a lot in common, especially during this season of their lives.
In 1958, before Muhammad changed his name after converting to Islam, he was Jeff Staples and played defensive tackle for Booker T. Washington High School.
That year, a segregated Booker T. Washington won a state title when the Prairie View Interscholastic League existed before integration.
It was the last state title a Dallas ISD school won. The last time a school within the district won a UIL state title was in 1950.
Nissa Muhammad, 81, remembers that moment well. She's Abdul's widow.
"Abdul was excited, and I was excited too because I was his girlfriend," Nissa said with a laugh. "It was such a great accomplishment for the City of Dallas."
The couple created a bloodline that screams athleticism, especially amongst their grandchildren.
EJ Muhammad and Khairi Muhammad graduated from DeSoto. EJ went on to play for the University of Nevada, and Khairi played for the University of North Texas.
AJ Green (not the receiver) also graduated from DeSoto High School, played for Oklahoma State University, and is now part of the Cleveland Browns' roster.
Jabbar Muhammad? He's another DeSoto High School graduate currently starting as a cornerback for Oklahoma State.
So Abdul, Malik, and Billy all know -- they're playing a game that's been very generous to their family and will likely be generous to them once they graduate.
But to be able to honor the patriarch of a family by doing something he did decades ago, but no one else in Dallas ISD has ever done since? That makes this playoff run even sweeter.
"It means a lot to me, just our bloodline going back that far," Abdul Muhammad III said. "I just found out about it not too long ago, and it's pretty big for me," Malik Muhammad II added.
For Walton, he told WFAA he could feel his grandfather in his bones and when he's on the field.
"This whole season, I've felt like there was someone behind me, someone driving me," Walton said. "I feel like us three came together as a family, and that's really where our success comes."
The parents of the three couldn't be more excited.
"This is our history right now, it's happening in front of us right now," Abdul's father Elijah said. "It's no longer stories we get to hear about while getting ice cream with our dad, they get to see where all this talent comes from."
"My granddad was always about family and football, and our family is still the same," mother Najmah Walton said.
"He was always about passing something on to his kids, so that they could pass it on to the next generation," Malik Muhammad Sr. said.
Nissa told WFAA that she won't be traveling for the game -- that she's done her duty watching football already in life.
However, she will be watching at home, and has some advice for her grandchildren.
"I told them not to stop playing until you see double zeroes on the clock," Nissa said.
"I know that their grandfather is so proud of them, and that he's going to be pushing them all the way."
Quincy Wright, who plays for Duncanville and has committed to Oregon State, is also one of Muhammad's grandchildren.
Amina Muhammad, a granddaughter who plays basketball for DeSoto High School, has committed to playing for Texas University.