Scott Winslow knows which of his players have made the All-Capital Valley Conference football team.
But the Dixon High School coach hasn't told them yet, and he wouldn't tell this reporter, either.
"I actually like that we are a fly-under-the-radar team," Winslow said. "If we start talking about individual awards, then the whole team concept breaks down."
This has been a breakthrough season for the Rams - they play host to Placer in Friday's Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV semifinal - and Winslow says its largely because his players have bought into the "system."
"We have no stars, but we're blessed with a lot of good athletes," Winslow said.
Dixon hasn't been to the playoffs since 1999 and hasn't been in a section final since 1974, so these are big doings around the campus.
Winslow remembers different times.
In three previous seasons, the Rams had losing records and weren't a factor in the Capital Valley Conference.
"We had some real low points," Winslow said. "Players were literally teased by their classmates. They'd hear on the radio that they were in the bottom 10 in the Sacramento Valley."
But Winslow sensed a change was coming last season when a dedicated group of then juniors and sophomores maintained their resolve through a 3-7 campaign.
This year he has 44 players, two years after a highly publicized hazing incident left him with 19.
It didn't hurt that Dixon students are now in the second year on a new campus, thanks to a bond measure approved by the community. The new football stadium was utilized for the first time this season.
"I think everyone feels like we've got a fresh start," Winslow said. "The whole community is getting involved. There is a lot of excitement and a lot of energy."
