St. Charles East would love to repeat in this conference, which was a balanced, deep group of teams (seven finished .500 or better in the UEC). And while the Saints return all-UEC members Wes Allen (1,380 rushing yards, 17 TDs) and LB Pat Friel (121 tackles, 6-1/2 sacks), among others, they will be hard-pressed to stay on top.

Though Neuqua Valley graduated standout RB Anton Wilkins and six other offensive starters, the Wildcats return QB Alex Lincoln, are always tough and look for revenge after winning the previous three UEC titles.

Waubonsie Valley’s three losses were by a total of 13 points and its lone UEC loss was a 14-13 affair at home to the Saints. The Warriors graduated seven first-team all-UEC selections but return standout defensive lineman Sherrod Stancil from the league’s top scoring defense.

Bartlett, which returns prolific QB Josh Hasenberg and MLB Kyle Zelinsky (99 tackles) has made the playoffs for eight straight years but also looks to make the quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

St. Charles North, which has never won the outright UEC title (tied in 2004), graduated a lot of linemen but returns several skill position players and has a sense of unfinished business from last year.

Last year’s youth at Lake Park is now 18 returning players who started at some time. That group includes all-UEC defensive stalwarts Nick Wiley and Chris Buonovolanto and looks for redemption after a rough 2007.

South Elgin brings back its spread offense and head coach Dale Schabert for a third varsity season. Of the eight players who earned some kind of UEC honors last year, Larkin graduated seven, including QB and league offensive MVP Cam Kinley. The trio of Elgin, Streamwood and East Aurora has won a total of four games each of the last four years.

East Aurora
NICKNAME Tomcats
COLORS Red and black
STADIUM Roy Davis Field, 500 Tomcat Lane, Aurora
ENROLLMENT 2,893
CLASS 8A
COACH Bill Bryant
2007 RECORD 0-9
CONFERENCE FINISH 0-6 (11th)

Waubonsie Valley
NICKNAME Warriors
COLORS Green, gold and white
STADIUM Dick Kerner Field, 2590 Ogden Ave., Aurora
ENROLLMENT 3,720
CLASS 8A
COACH Paul Murphy
2007 RECORD 7-3
CONFERENCE FINISH 5-1 (2nd)

Bartlett
NICKNAME Hawks
COLORS Dark green, navy blue and white
STADIUM Millennium Field, 701 W. Schaumburg Road, Streamwood
ENROLLMENT 2,712
CLASS 8A
COACH Tom Meaney
2007 RECORD 6-4
CONFERENCE FINISH 4-2 (T-4th)

Elgin
NICKNAME Maroons
COLORS Maroon and cream
STADIUM Memorial Field, 1200 Maroon Drive, Elgin
ENROLLMENT 2,111
CLASS 7A
COACH Dave Bierman
2007 RECORD 3-6
CONFERENCE FINISH 1-5 (9th)

Larkin
NICKNAME Royals
COLORS Royal blue and white
STADIUM Memorial Field, 1200 Maroon Drive, Elgin
ENROLLMENT 2,194
CLASS 7A
COACH Matt Gehrig
2007 RECORD 4-5
CONFERENCE FINISH 4-3 (6th)

Neuqua Valley
NICKNAME Wildcats
COLORS Navy and gold
STADIUM 2360 95th St., Naperville
ENROLLMENT 4,520
CLASS 8A
COACH Bryan Wells
2007 RECORD 6-5
CONFERENCE FINISH 5-2 (3rd)

Lake Park
NICKNAME Lancers
COLORS Navy blue and white
STADIUM West Campus stadium, 500 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Roselle
ENROLLMENT 3,075
CLASS 8A
COACH Andy Livingston
2007 RECORD 4-5
CONFERENCE FINISH 3-4 (8th)

South Elgin
NICKNAME Storm
COLORS Red, navy and silver
STADIUM Millennium Field, 701 W. Schaumburg Road, Streamwood
ENROLLMENT 2,177
CLASS 7A
COACH Dale Schabert
2007 RECORD 3-6
CONFERENCE FINISH 3-3 (7th)

St. Charles East
NICKNAME Fighting Saints
COLORS Orange and black
STADIUM Norris Stadium, 1020 Dunham Road, St. Charles
ENROLLMENT 2,122
CLASS 7A
COACH Ted Monken
2007 RECORD 8-3
CONFERENCE FINISH 5-1 (1st)

St. Charles North
NICKNAME North Stars
COLORS Royal blue and black
STADIUM St. Charles North Stadium, 255 Red Gate Road, St. Charles
ENROLLMENT 2,175
CLASS 7A
COACH Mark Gould
2007 RECORD 5-5
CONFERENCE FINISH 4-2 (T-4th)

Streamwood
NICKNAME Sabres
COLORS Black and gold
STADIUM Millennium Field, 701 W. Schaumburg Road, Streamwood
ENROLLMENT 2,383
CLASS 7A
COACH Cal Cummins
2007 RECORD 1-8
CONFERENCE FINISH 1-6 (10th)

3 games to watch
Waubonsie Valley at St. Charles East, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12
Waubonsie Valley at Neuqua Valley (@ North Central College), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19
St. Charles East at St. Charles North, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17