Driscoll and Marian Central Catholic appear to be the front-runners with the Highlanders coming off a perfect 14-0 campaign that ended with their seventh consecutive state championship.

The Hurricanes were 10-3 a year ago, 5-2 in the SCC, and welcome back Division I quarterback recruit Jon Budmyar.

Driscoll returns nine starters but must replace offensive standouts David Schwabe and Tim Franken.

Montini looks to extend their postseason streak to 16 straight years but was hit hard by graduation, though starting QB Tom DiCristina is back.

Marmion also made the playoffs a year ago and should be in the mix again. St. Francis and Immaculate Conception look to rebound off subpar 3-6 campaigns while Aurora Central Catholic and St. Edward hope to slowly move up the ladder in what could be the best smaller school conference in the state.

Driscoll
NICKNAME Highlanders
COLORS Kelly Black and gold
STADIUM 555 Lombard Road, Addison
ENROLLMENT 376
CLASS 4A
COACH Brandon New
2007 RECORD 14-0
CONFERENCE FINISH 7-0, 1st

Aurora Central Catholic
NICKNAME Chargers
COLORS Blue and gold
STADIUM 1255 N. Edgelawn Drive, Aurora
ENROLLMENT 479
CLASS 4A
COACH Mike Curry
2007 RECORD 2-7
CONFERENCE FINISH 2-5, 5th

Marmion
NICKNAME Cadets
COLORS Red and blue
STADIUM 1000 Butterfield Road, Aurora
ENROLLMENT 1040
CLASS 6A
COACH Dan Thorpe
2007 RECORD 5-5
CONFERENCE FINISH 3-4, 4th

St. Edward
NICKNAME Green Wave
COLORS Green and gold
STADIUM 335 Locust St., Elgin
ENROLLMENT 421
CLASS 4A
COACH Mike Rolando
2007 RECORD 1-8
CONFERENCE FINISH 1-6, 8th

Immaculate Conception
NICKNAME Knights
COLORS Navy blue and white
STADIUM Jack Lewis Stadium at Plunkett Park, West Ave. in Elmhurst
ENROLLMENT 243
CLASS 2A
COACH Bill Schmidt
2007 RECORD 3-6
CONFERENCE FINISH 2-5, 5th

Montini
NICKNAME Broncos
COLORS Maroon and gold
STADIUM 19W070 16th Street, Lombard
ENROLLMENT 672
CLASS 5A
COACH Chris Andriano
2007 RECORD 9-2
CONFERNECE FINISH 6-1, 2nd

St. Francis
NICKNAME Spartans
COLORS Blue and white
STADIUM 2130 W. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton
ENROLLMENT 759
CLASS 5A
COACH Greg Purnell
2007 RECORD 3-6
CONFERENCE FINISH 2-5, 5th

Marian Central Catholic
NICKNAME Hurricanes
COLORS Cardinal red and Columbia blue
STADIUM 1001 McHenry Av., Woodstock
ENROLLMENT 778
CLASS 5A
COACH Ed Brucker
2007 RECORD 10-3
CONFERENCE 5-2, 3rd

Three games to watch
Marian Central at Montini, 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11
Marian Central at Driscoll, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17
Driscoll at Montini, 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25