It's my birthday today, and while that might not mean a whole lot to you, I bring it up for a reason (and it's not to get anonymous well-wishers in blog comments, I assure you).

My birthday, to me, in the past few years has meant less about me getting a year older (I'm 24, if you care) and more about the calendar. July 29 is my unofficial start to football season.

So with that in mind, let's spring into preseason team previews of each of the 33 teams in Kern County. We'll be doing two or three a day here in the start with some of the smaller schools and then break down into one larger preview a day for the larger Kern schools.

Today we start with the smallest schools of all — Lighthouse Christian in Bakersfield, Immanuel Christian in Ridgecrest and Maricopa in ... Maricopa.

LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN GUARDIANS

Coach: Nick Park (second year)

2007 record: 8-1 (4-0 Central Valley Small Schools, 5-0 home)
Average points: 39.9
Average points allowed: 17.2
Average rush yards: 237.2
Average rush yards allowed: N/A
Average pass yards: 82.0
Average pass yards allowed: N/A
Best win: Lighthouse Christian 30, Riverdale Christian 20
Worst loss: Cuyama Valley 70, Lighthouse Christian 20

Key players: Michael Stemen, sr, OL/DT; Zack Icenhower, jr, K/OL/DL; Julian Garza, soph, RB/LB; Justin Newton, jr, QB/DB.

Key losses: Justin Trammell, RB/LB; Spencer Kennedy, DE/WR; Jason Franklin, FB/LB; Elijah Palmer, WR/LB.

Outlook: With all the talk about Kern County, the home of four of the five Central Section champions, Bakersfield, Tehachapi, Taft and Bakersfield Christian aren't the only schools that deserve credit. Bakersfield's Lighthouse Christian also won a Valley title in 8-man football, winning the section's only league. Sound cheap? Well, it's not going to be easy to do it again. The Guardians lost their top quarterback, running back and wide receiver from last year, and 8-man often is all about the skill positions. Lighthouse coach Nick Park still thinks his team can do it, but they'll do so with a rebuilt roster that has only one key senior, Stemen. Others of importance, like Garza and Newton, saw time last year on Lighthouse's brand-new JV team. They'll be the key to another league (section ) title.

Quotable: "I'm sort of looking at this year as a team of role players. I don’t do anything real fancy anyway, so we'll work on nothing but basics and focus on what we do well." — coach Nick Park

MARICOPA INDIANS

Coach: Al Allen (third year consecutively, 16th year overall)

2007 record: 4-5 (2-2 Coast Valley League (Southern Section), 3-3 home)
Average points: 23.2
Average points allowed: 25.7
Average rush yards: U/A
Average rush yards allowed: U/A
Average pass yards: U/A
Average pass yards allowed: U/A
Best win: Maricopa 38, Los Olivos-Dunn 14
Worst loss: Los Angeles Lutheran 28, Maricopa 0

Key players: Unavailable

Key losses: Joel Robles, QB; Matt Owens, RB/DB; Samuel Robles, OL/DL; Joel Medina, WR/DB

Outlook: The Indians' biggest problem, this year and probably every year, lies over the mountain and a few miles to the west in Cuyama Valley. That, ladies and gentlemen, is an 8-man powerhouse. The Bears reached the third round of the Southern Section playoffs last year and lost in a shootout. But for teams in their own league, they don't lose much. Maricopa was no exception; the Indians were mashed 56-6 at home last year. So don't expect a league title, not with a trip westward in stow. But Maricopa is on the way back up with Allen back at the helm.

IMMANUEL CHRISTIAN CRUSADERS

Coach: David Fowler

2007 record: 2-6 (2-2 Hi-Lo League, 1-2 home)
Average points: 24.8
Average points allowed: 48.3
Average rush yards: 104.1
Average rush yards allowed: 263.8
Average pass yards: 116.4
Average pass yards allowed: 85.0
Best win: Immanuel Christian 50, Baker 24
Worst loss: Big Pine 70, Immanuel Christian 22

Key players: William Mills, sr, RB/DB; Neil Shotwell, sr, RB/LB; Trevor Logan, soph, WR/LB; Justin Smith, jr, QB; Caleb Meyer, soph, OL/DL; John Mondragon, sr, WR/DL.

Key losses: Francis Maikai, WR/DB; Terrance Nash, WR/LB.

Outlook: Look, it's no secret that 8-man football is an offensive game. More space to roam means bigger plays, and fewer defenders turns big plays into scoring plays. But for Immanuel to be successful, the key, looking at the above numbers, obviously is going to be bearing down on D. You can't allow 48 points a game and be successful at any level. But the good news is that the team's leading passer, rusher, receiver and tackler are all returning. A veteran team might mean more D — and more wins — in 2008.

TOMORROW: Boron, Burroughs