Adlai Stevenson, governor...

...of Illinois, Democratic nominee for president in 1952 and 1956, and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, lived in this house in Libertyville.

So it's fitting that the two schools, Stevenson and Libertyville, are rivals in football. They'll meet this Friday night in Lincolnshire for my Game of the Week.

The visiting Wildcats (4-0) are ranked No. 4 in the Sun-Times, No. 9 in the Tribune and No. 15 in MaxPreps.

The big news in Libertyville, of course, is their quarterback, Riley Lees, who's already committed to Northwestern (as an athlete, not necessarily a quarterback). As you can see below, Lees is directing an offense that is averaging 46.5 points a game. Wow.

On the other side of the ball is Ben Kimpler, a defensive end and Miami of Ohio recruit. 

Here's the Wildcats' 2015 schedule so far (with home team in CAPS):

LIBERTYVILLE 55, Elk Grove Village 28
Libertyville 48, LAKE FOREST ACADEMY 0
Libertyville 41, ZION-BENTION 0
LIBERTYVILLE 42, Lake Forest 7

The Patriots (3-1), meanwhile, the defending 8A champs, are ranked No. 8 in the Trib, No. 12 in the Times and No. 22 in MaxPreps.

The big name up in Lincolnshire is Jack Sorenson, who has also committed to Miami of Ohio (as a receiver). I'm a little unclear, to be honest, whether Sorenson is the Patriots' quarterback, or wide receiver, or if he's even healthy enough to play. (Didn't he get injured in that Homewood-Flossmoor game?) I'll find that all out on Friday. 

In the meantime, here's Stevenson's results so far: 

Stevenson 26, PALATINE 24
Homewood-Flossmoor 43, STEVENSON 29
STEVENSON 38, Lake Zurich 35
STEVENSON 20, Wauconda 7 OT

Looks a little shaky, doesn't it? Narrow wins over Palatine (3-1) and Lake Zurich (1-3) and an overtime victory against Wauconda (1-3). (They scored twice in OT?) And then there was that shellacking at the hands of H-F. In fairness, everyone's been shellacked by the Vikings. (Will they meet up with Loyola in the 8A final? That's the subject of another post.)

Even though it may be pointless to look at past meetups, it's interesting (to me, at least) to see that Libertyville hasn't gotten the better of Stevenson since 2008, when this year's seniors were in fifth grade:

2014: Stevenson 34, LIBERTYVILLE 14
2013: STEVENSON 49, Libertyville 0
2012: Stevenson 14, LIBERTYVILLE 9
2011: STEVENSON 13, Libertyville 0
2010: Stevenson 35, LIBERTYVILLE 21
2009: STEVENSON 36, Libertyville 22
2008: LIBERTYVILLE 28, Stevenson 21
2007: STEVENSON 24, Libertyville 21
2006: LIBERTYVILLE 21, Stevenson 12
2005: STEVENSON 31, Libertyville 0
2004: LIBERTYVILLE 34, Stevenson 12

Even though Libertyville looks like the favorite on paper, I'm going to go with the home team on Friday. (Although I'll be quietly rooting for the Wildcats.) Stevenson often starts the season slowly (do their systems take more time to learn?) but usually finishes strong. And they're not about to let some upstart unseat them from the North Suburban Lake crown. I say you have to beat the champ in the ring and I just don't think Libertyville is up to it.

You can follow the action with me on Friday night @BoringOldWhtGuy.