They say every cloud...

...has a silver lining. We'll see.

I had to cancel my trip to Michigan this weekend at the last minute. (It's a long story.) I had planned on meeting two of my brothers to see the Wolverines host Minnesota at the Big House. I guess I'll have to do it another time.

The good news, however (or silver lining), is that I'll get to see four -- count 'em -- four undefeated high school football teams (all ranked in the top ten in both Chicago papers).

On Friday I'll  be traveling to Bolingbrook (No. 10 in the Tribune, No. 8 in the Sun-Times) to see the Raiders host Lincoln-Way East (No. 6 in the Trib, No. 5 in the Times). And on Saturday, Loyola (No. 3 in the Trib, No. 6 in the Times) is at home against Mt. Carmel (No. 5 in the Trib, No. 3 in the Times).

Friday's game is between two teams I've never laid eyes on. (I'm not even sure where Bolingbrook is; thank God for mapquest.) I can just hear my brothers say, "Who in the heck is [fill in the blank with the name of either institution]?" So I asked my staff (Wikipedia) to do a little research on the two schools.

Bolingbrook was founded in 1974 and has no famous alums that I'm aware of. The football team hasn't had a losing season since 1981, though, and has appeared in the post-season in each of the last 19 years.

Lincoln-Way East was founded in 1977 and is named after a nearby highway. It also boasts of no notable graduates, but its football team has never missed the playoffs. Never.

Both teams play in the Southwest Suburban Conference (Blue), which is arguably on a par with the Catholic League Blue.

Let's have a look at each team's record so far. First, Bolingbrook (home team in CAPS):

Bolingbrook 40, PLAINFIELD SOUTH 16
Bolingbrook 39, BELLEVILLE EAST 13
BOLINGBROOK 60, Joliet Central 6
BOLINGBROOK 49, Joliet West 12
Bolingbrook 41, HOMEWOOD-FLOSSMOOR 28

Wow. The Raiders score a lot of points -- 229 of them. That's an average of almost 46 per game. Who's responsible for all that scoring? Well, junior quarterback Aaron Bailey, who can run and pass, and running back Omar Stover. The defense, meanwhile, is led by Florida-bound linebacker Antonio Morrison.

Lincoln-Way East's schedule:

Lincoln-Way East 45, EDWARDSVILLE 14
LINCOLN-WAY EAST 49, Dunbar 14
LINCOLN-WAY EAST 38, Lockport 7
Lincoln-Way East 38, HOMEWOOD-FLOSSMOOR 21
LINCOLN-WAY EAST 31, Sandburg 7

The Griffins have scored fewer points than Bolingbrook but have allowed fewer. Hmmm. Lincoln-Way East also has a stellar quarterback in Blake Winkler, who throws to wide receiver J. J. Robertson, an Illinois recruit. Running back Tyler Starke appears to be the go-to guy in the backfield.

So who wins? Their only common opponent was Homewood-Flossmoor, an excellent team that they both beat on the road by a comparable margin. I'd say it's a push, but I'll give the advantage to the home team.

BOWG prediction: Bolingbrook 32, Lincoln-Way East 28.

Next: Mt. Carmel at Loyola.