OUTLOOK
The Metro Suburban may have small membership with just four schools that face each other twice each season, but the league should feature a free-for-all in the race for the conference title.
Riverside Brookfield won the league championship by two games last year, despite going 0-4 in nonconference play and being outscored by 85 points overall. This year the Bulldogs and their wide-open passing offense should battle Fenton for the top spot in what could be a very top-heavy Metro Suburban.
 

The Bison have a strong number of returnees, while Ridgewood (which tied Fenton for second at 3-3 last year) was hit hard by the graduation of 16 starters. Last year’s fourth-place finisher Elmwood Park (outscored 224-101 last year) will look for improvement under a new head coach.
R-B and Fenton (which each have nearly 500 more students than their next biggest conference school) split last year’s season series.

Elmwood Park
Nickname Tigers
Colors Black and gold
Stadium 8201 W. Fullerton, Elmwood Park
Enrollment 1,087
Class 3A
Coach Luis Arroyo
2007 record 3-6
Conference 1-5 (4th)

Fenton
Nickname Bison
Colors Orange and blue
Stadium 1000 W. Green St., Bensenville
Enrollment 1,517
Class 5A
Coach Mark Farrell
2007 record 4-5
Conference 3-3 (T-2nd)

Ridgewood
Nickname Rebels
Colors White and green
Stadium 7500 W. Montrose Ave., Norridge
Enrollment 910
Class 3A
Coach Chris Zack
2007 record 4-5
Conference 3-3 (T-2nd)

Riverside Brookfield
Nickname Bulldogs
Colors Blue and white
Stadium 160 Ridgewood Road, Brookfield
Enrollment 1,509
Class 5A
Coach Otto Zeman
2007 record 5-5
Conference 5-1 (1st)

3 GAMES TO WATCH
Fenton at Riverside Brookfield, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 Showdown No. 1 between the typically two top teams in the conference. R-B should be well prepared after consecutive road games against Nazareth and Robeson.
Riverside Brookfield at Ridgewood, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 Space-age football vs. old fashioned smash-mouth style although Ridgewood must have put the pieces together by this midseason matchup after being decimated by graduation.
Riverside Brookfield at Fenton, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 Fenton handed defending champion its lone league loss last year. This Week 7 battle should be entertaining (R-B’s offense always is worth the ticket price), and almost surely will determine the league outright or co-champion.