One of the best parts about slaving away on The Californian's high school football preseason sections (and there's really no other way to put it; this sucker is a TON of work, though I'm sure everyone will really enjoy the finished product) is discovering smaller schools: Where they're located, who some of the principal figures in sports are there, and so on. During the rest of the year, it seems like I only have time for the biggest and best in every sport most of the time. It's nice to give a shout-out to the little guys, who are often just as good and almost always more enthusiastic.

With that in mind, let's get to our Central Section small-school preview, in the same format as we did yesterday for the big schools.

(Quickly, before the preview, I need to amend a note from yesterday: Bakersfield Christian checked in at 509 students in the enrollment figures the CIF released Tuesday, nine too many to be considered for the "Small School" division of the state bowl championships. But the CIF sent out another e-mail today saying there were "inconsistencies' in those numbers that they wanted to iron out before making them final. I have no reason to believe that pertains to BCHS' situation, but don't take the 509 number as set in stone just yet.)

DIVISION IV TEAMS

Overview: Taft brings back enough talent that there's a considerable gap between the Wildcats and the rest of D-IV, especially with Corcoran moving down to Division V. Chowchilla and Kingsburg might rise up to fill the gap, though you might also see the biggest D-IV schools — Arvin and Fresno-Washington Union — make some playoff noise.

Where Kern County fits in: At the top, for sure, because Taft is a clear-cut favorite here. Whether Arvin, Shafter or Wasco are capable of making noise depends on how well they survive their rugged league.

Surefire championship contenders: Taft, Chowchilla, Kingsburg

A break or two away: Selma, Arvin, Fresno-Washington Union, Exeter, Central Valley Christian

Maybe next year: Kerman, Coalinga, Dos Palos, Porterville-Granite Hills, Fresno-Roosevelt, Wasco, Reedley-Immanuel, Tollhouse-Sierra, Fresno-McLane

Key games: Arvin at Foothill, Sept. 12; Taft at Exeter, Sept. 19; Washington at Kingsburg, Sept. 19; Taft at Arvin, Oct. 17; Chowchilla at CVC, Oct. 17; CVC at Kingsburg, Oct. 24; Tehachapi at Taft, Oct. 31; Chowchilla at Washington, Oct. 31; Bakersfield Christian at Taft, Nov. 14; Arvin at Tehachapi, Nov. 14; Selma at Kingsburg, Nov. 14

DIVISION V TEAMS

Overview: After rolling through the first two rounds of playoffs, Bakersfield Christian and Fowler played an all-timer of a championship game last year, with BCHS erasing a three-touchdown deficit at halftime to win 35-34 in overitme. Both schools bring back a big portion of starters, so we could be looking at the same story in 2008. The arrival of Derek Carr makes me thinks the Eagles will be top dog, but it might be close again. Corcoran, moving down from D-IV, where it was a finalist last year, could also be in the mix.

Where Kern County fits in: Aside from BCHS, it doesn't. I'm a bit confused, because the Central Section Web site lists six divisions this year, but it includes schools like McFarland in the bottom one with 8-man schools. Not sure how that works, but I'll track down an answer. For now, we'll stick with D-V talk.

Surefire championship contenders: Bakersfield Christian, Fowler, Corcoran

A break or two away: Madera-Liberty

Maybe next year: Parlier, Firebaugh, Caruthers, Riverdale, Cambra-Coast Union, SLO-Mission Prep, Woodlake, Lindsay, Orosi, Fresno Christian

HS FOOTBALL PREVIEW INDEX
July 29: Lighthouse Christian, Immanuel Christian, Maricopa
July 30: Boron, Burroughs
July 31: Desert, Rosamond
Aug. 1: Frazier Mountain, Kern Valley
Aug. 2: Mojave, McFarland
Aug. 3: César Chávez
Aug. 4: Delano
Aug. 5: New schools: Independence, Mira Monte, RFK
Aug. 6: Shafter
Aug. 7: Wasco
Aug. 8: Arvin
Aug. 9: Taft
Aug. 10: Bakersfield Christian
Aug. 11: Tehachapi
Aug. 12: Ridgeview
Aug. 13: Frontier
Aug. 14: Stockdale
Aug. 15: South
Aug. 16: North
Aug. 17: West
Aug. 18: Centennial
Aug. 19: Golden Valley
Aug. 20: East
Aug. 21: Garces
Aug. 22: Highland
Aug. 23: Foothill
Aug. 24: Liberty
Aug. 25: Bakersfield
Aug. 26: Central Section big schools

TOMORROW: For once, nothing. Sorry! But we'll take a look at the rest of the state and maybe some other fall sports over the weekend.

A break or two away: