Say goodbye to July, which means August — and football season — are right around the corner. Kern High School District teams can begin practice with footballs and helmets Monday. Today, we continue our preview trek through the Southern Section and into the High Desert League.

Countdown to Week 0: 36 days

DESERT SCORPIONS

Coach: Chris Hinton (fifth year)

2007 record: 9-2 (5-0 High Desert, 5-1 home)
Average points: 32.4
Average points allowed: 22.5
Average rush yards: 291.7
Average rush yards allowed: 190.6
Average pass yards: 91.2
Average pass yards allowed: 102.3
Best win: Desert 20, Boron 19
Worst loss: Riverside-Notre Dame 54, Desert 36

Key players: Terrance Wells, sr, QB/RB; A.J. Hall, sr, K; Dorian Smith, sr, WR/LB; Steven Ronseldt, sr, OL/DL; Josh Villalobos, sr, OL/LB

Key losses: Phillip Pleasant, RB/LB; Michael Bushrod, WR/DB; Brandon Lowe, RB/LB; Alex Heaton, WR/LB; Justin Heaton, TE/DL; Frank Gutierrez, DB.

Outlook: The times, they are a-changin' down at Edwards Air Force Base, and with more civilians and fewer military personnel living on base, families are sticking around Edwards for longer periods. If you're Hinton, that's a good thing. No longer does he have to teach his shotgun, triple-option attack to five or seven new military kids each year because he lost that many. Instead, he said, it's more like one or two. And with Wells back behind center for his senior year, expectations are high at Desert once again. The Scorpions turned around a 3-7, fifth-place season in 2006 into a 9-2, league championship one last fall. With Wells and most of the team's linemen returning, they could be even better in '08.

Quotable: "When you have a kid at quarterback who can get loose, (the triple option) can be awesome."
— coach Chris Hinton on Desert QB Terrance Wells

ROSAMOND ROADRUNNERS

Coach: Doug South (first year)

2007 record: 1-9 (0-5 High Desert, 1-4 home)
Average points: 4.9
Average points allowed: 29.3
Average rush yards: N/A
Average rush yards allowed: 195.2
Average pass yards: N/A
Average pass yards allowed: 133.9
Best win: Rosamond 16, Acton-Vasquez 12
Worst loss: Mojave 30, Rosamond 0

Key players: Matt Sanchez, sr, QB/DB

Key losses: Josh McClain, RB/DB; James Thomas, RB/DB; Jose Aceves, FB/LB; Jerime Gorse, OL/LB; Courtney Quinton, OL/DL.

Outlook: Here's what I know about the Roadrunners' 2008 campaign (and I'll be the first to admit, it ain't a whole lot): They have a new coach for the second time in three years, a guy named Doug South from Lucerne Valley. South replaces Len Boyett, a former Antelope Valley College coach who lasted two years in Rosamond, going 8-4 the first and plummeting to 1-9 the next. South apparently will run a 3-5-3 defense at Rosamond and, from the photos, seemed to have a pretty good turnout at summer practices (though that story doesn't tell you much else). Other than that, it looks like most of the key players from last year are gone. It looks like somebody will have to step up if South will improve the team in his first go-round.

PREVIEWS INDEX
July 29: Lighthouse Christian, Immanuel Christian, Maricopa
July 30: Boron, Burroughs

TOMORROW: Frazier Mountain, Kern Valley