Winters, a town of just under 8,000 in Winters, is starting off their year as state champions as their high school football team celebrated with a parade Sunday afternoon.
"It's an amazing experience," Michael Felsen, the father of senior wide receiver Luke, said. "You can't really put words to it. I'm just so proud of him and my other kids, I mean and the coaches, they just do an amazing job with these young men. It is a special community."
It was their high school's first-ever CIF state championship and the coach who led them was a Winters alumnus who has been at the helm for 19 years.
"This is the ultimate pinnacle," Daniel Ward, Winter Football head coach, said. "I was a graduate of this high school, bleed the red and white, but this program means the world to me, and so, to bring it home, the winners, is special."
Winters filled the downtown streets, celebrating that state title brought back to the same school its head coach graduated from. Ward said their school has 450 students and that the team they played in the championship game in Los Angeles has 1,700 students.
"We used the quote before the game, 'God only puts Goliath in your life to bring out a David in you,' which we thought was pretty cool," Ward said. "...You got to play for more than just yourself and, in our situation, you got to play for even more than just your teammates. We play for our family, our loved ones, and the entire community of Winters and it just meant more to us."
The Garcia brothers, sophomore offensive and defensive lineman Anthony and senior linebacker and running back Ricky, contributed to the team on both sides of the ball. Ricky enjoyed running behind his brother, who blocked up front for him. They attribute the success to hard work, pushing themselves and others, and to keep practicing.
"It was pretty crazy to win a state championship with my brother," Anthony said. "Yeah, I don't even think it's real."
Luke Felsen is a senior wide receiver whose playing style, he said, is to throw him the ball and he'll go up and grab it. Luke's father, Michael, who is in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, said soccer helped him with his footwork and basketball with his jumping. He remembers early on going to an NFL game against the Bills in Oakland, seeing his son's catching athletic ability in the parking lot. The championship is a reminder of the hard work it takes, both on the field and inside a family's home.
"Yeah, it's a grind, you gotta' grind every single day," Michael Felsen said. "It's the most important thing, is being around them and the greatest blessing in my life is being a father to them. So, it's a grind, you gotta' work hard."
Felsen's brothers joined their state champ brother for the interview with CBS Sacramento. In order, older brother Jack, who's a freshman biochemical engineering major at UC Davis, and little brothers Ryan, aka Big Dog, and Matthew.
Ryan joked that he still beats his older brother in the Madden and college football video games.
"No, it's nothing really much, it's what we'd expect from the big guy," Ryan said. "But, just want to let everyone know he still cannot beat me in college football or Madden."
Luke's response?
"Wow," Luke said. "I mean, that's not true, that's just like, I always beat him."
When it comes to Sunday's parade.
"Feels pretty cool. See all the community come out here and support us, it's really amazing," Luke said.
Winters @wintersfootball brought home the school’s first-ever CIF State Championship ?– and, for head coach Daniel Ward, who’s an alumnus of the school and been at the helm for 19 years – it was all about the selflessness of the team, playing for each other, their families, and… pic.twitter.com/QcUvGHta02
— Charlie Lapastora (@charlielastory) January 5, 2026That community included a support system of the marching band, cheerleaders, and parents who traveled with the team.
"It's amazing," Peytyn De Leon, bass drum marching band member, said on how it feels to be a state champion. "It was so fun traveling with them this year. It was really just amazing. Yes, it was cramped and all but it was so fun, it was so worth it."
"I think it was all of their hard work," Camila Martinez, a Winters cheerleader, said on what contributed to the championship. "I think it was the community being so close and everybody just contributing to cheering them on."
Mateo Martinez is Camila's little brother and said this feels "great."
"I kept praying and they made it to the final and won," Mateo said.
Sophomore Isaiah Redmond, who contributed on defense, said "it feels unreal" but they put in the hard work and executed.
"Believe in God, just believe in Him, because He's Almighty, our faith is what helped us, kept us through," Redmond said.
Including winning a state title. In a day and age where there is divisiveness in certain pockets, what would the team say society can learn from them?
"Teamwork makes the dream work," Jayden Blackburn, senior offensive and defensive lineman, said. "That's real."
One of the keys the team told CBS Sacramento was the "greatest team chemistry ever" that they've had as the senior class, who've been playing together for a decade.
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