Dixon ready for season opener against Winnebago

To say this has been an offseason like no other for the Dixon High School football team would be an understatement.

Dave Smith resigned as head coach, and retired as a teacher, after 10 seasons with a record of 53-48 and seven consecutive playoff appearances. His replacement is Jared Shaner, the school’s Athletic Director. Shaner coached football at Stanford Olympia, Lincoln and Mount Vernon before coming to Dixon in 2017. He has coached in the Junior Dukes football program for three seasons, but this will be his first at the high school level in Dixon.

The current campaign has been a trying one. A scheduled game against Byron last week got canceled, as Dixon did not have enough eligible players to compete. COVID-19 has made its way into the school, either directly or through contact, and it affected the football team.

Shaner noted only 9 or 10 varsity players had enough practices in (10 for those who played basketball, 12 for non-basketball players) before last week’s scheduled game against Byron, causing the cancellation.

Heading into this week’s home game against Winnebago, however, the Dukes will have enough bodies to tangle with the Indians. Shaner is eager to see the group in action.

“It’s sort of like a traditional fall season where you go through two-a-days and then that week leading up,” Shaner said, “and by the end of it, the kids and the coaches are just ready to play a football game. That’s where we’re at right now. They’re tired of beating up on each other. They’re tired of coming out to practice every day. They want that payoff of a Friday night game.”

The 7 p.m. kickoff at A.C. Bowers Field will be the opener for Dixon, but Winnebago (0-1) has one game under its belt. The Indians fell 21-10 to a highly regarded Stillman Valley club last week in Mendota. Shaner watched that game a few times on tape.

“They are big up front, with a couple of linemen in the 290-pound range, and Coach [Mark] Helm has been there a long time,” Shaner said. “They’re well-coached, and they’re a good football program. They’re going to come out and play well.”

Dixon welcomes back its top two skill position players in Cal Kyker and Jacob Gaither. The 6-foot-3 Kyker is a rangy wide receiver. That description could also apply to the 6-3 Gaither, but he is being shifted to quarterback this season. He was a QB in junior high ball.

“I played quarterback earlier when I played football, then switched to wide receiver during high school,” Gaither said. “Now I’m back. I know what’s going on.”

Gaither is confident he’ll be able to guide the Dukes’ offense effectively.

“We slimmed down the playbook, so it will be easier to remember all of the plays,” Gaither said. “Just making the right reads, that will be big for us.”

Anchoring the defense will be returning first-team all-conference linebacker Jericho Kirby, one of four returning starters on that unit. The others are cornerback Jaylen Carr and linemen Quinn Staples and Justin Dallas.

The Dukes allowed 24.1 points per game a year ago, and Kirby is hopeful that number can drop.

“There were a lot of moving pieces and we implemented a new defense where everybody was trying to learn something new,” Kirby said. “This year, I think we’re settled in to we know what we’re going to do. We know every single time, OK, you have your job, I have my job, we go out and do it, and I think collectively, it’s going to work out for us.”

Flexibility and being open to change will be a key for all involved this season. Starters this week may not start next week against Rockford Lutheran, or they may be moved around.

“In general, COVID has taught us you better be flexible with things because what happens today doesn’t mean it’s going to happen tomorrow,” Shaner said. “We could get a call tomorrow that says a kid is quarantined because a parent tested positive. We’ll continue to be flexible. Kids will be in positions that in a normal year maybe they wouldn’t be in. That’s the beauty of this group. They’re willing to do whatever is for the good of the team.”

Preparation for this season began last June, and through all the uncertainty, Shaner noted this has been a group that has shown dedication.

“We didn’t know if there was going to be a fall season, and the kids still came and worked,” Shaner said. “We got to the fall and were told there was not going to be a season, and they still came in and worked, not knowing if there would be a winter or a spring season. The thing about this group is they’ve come and put in the work the entire time, and I’m excited for them.”