Dixon defenders (from left) Josh Byington, Casey Myers, Josh Chamblee and Jordan Lowe have a swarming crew. (Joel Rosenbaum / The Reporter)

Star power ... as far as Scott Winslow is concerned, who needs it?

 

Don't get Winslow wrong. He would love to have another Dave Ball. Instead, Dixon High School's head football coach has a bunch of solid athletes who take turns playing star for a night.

 

"I think it's kind of cool," Winslow admitted. "If you're the other team, you don't look at our stats and say, 'This is the guy we have to stop.' We've got five or six guys who can hurt you."

 

This week, the "other team" is Placer. At stake is a berth in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship game.

 

Kickoff in the semifinal matchup is set for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Dixon.

 

"Obviously, it's a dream come true for most of these players," Winslow said. "It's certainly not usual for us to be playing football in December. But I think we'll be ready."

 

The Rams (9-2) will have to stop a Placer team that has scored 35 points per game. The Hillmen (7-4) have gained 2,506 yards on the ground, and another 1,435 through the air.

 

That kind of balance requires a balanced defensive attack. Jason Harvey (120 tackles) and Austin Alvarado (94) are the leaders, but Winslow also relies on the play of defensive ends Casey Myers and Austin Knapp.

 

Willie Soares is an undersized defensive tackle who plays much bigger than his 5-foot-5, 165-pound dimensions.

 

Linebackers Michael Hendrix and Sam Welch also have been hits, so to speak. Defensive backs Jesse Stewart, Josh Chamblee and Rhiley Norton have combined for 10 interceptions.

 

Combined with others, the group has allowed just 10 points per game.

 

On offense, quarterback Jeffrey Anderson has thrown for 1,053 yards. His 11 scoring passes have gone to seven different receivers.

 

Hendrix leads the ground game with 542 yards. But Mike Mercado (349 yards), Josh Byington (329) and Harvey (322) also get plenty of carries, and LaRoy Jones leads the team with five rushing touchdowns.

 

All told, nine Rams have at least two rushing scores each.

 

Part of the success can be traced to the fact that Dixon has 44 varsity players in uniform.

 

"It's definitely the most since I've been here," Winslow said.

 

There also is talent, borne at least in part out of adversity. Many of the players were part of last year's

3-7 team.

 

"The kids showed character ... they did not quit," Winslow said. "We thought this year was going to be better, but you don't really know until someone goes out and proves it."