Friday night's Lincoln-Way East...

...at Bolingbrook game will not feature Aaron Bailey (above) or Tom Fuessel or Blake Winkler or any of the other great quarterbacks I've seen in this rivalry over the years.

(Bailey, by the way, was quite possibly the best high school athlete I've ever seen. And, yes, I saw Laquon Treadwell play at Crete-Monee.)

But, according to Beth Long at the Sun-Times:

Raiders quarterback Anthony Vespo passed for 170 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-7 victory over Stagg in Week 3.

And from Mike Clark over at the Tribune, the Griffins' quarterback was one of last week's "key performers" in its 35-30 loss to Homewood-Flossmoor:

Jake Arthur, 13-18 passing, 148 yards, 2 TDs

So there may be two talented quarterbacks worth watching tomorrow night anyway.

Even though both schools are relatively new, this annual showdown of perennial Southwest Suburban Conference powers has become a Must-See for me every year. It's easily my Game of the Week. (And should be yours too.)

Both squads are 2-1 but the Griffins are ranked No. 5 in the Tribune, No. 7 in the Sun-Times and No. 16 in MaxPreps. The Raiders, meanwhile, aren't ranked at all in the Trib (not even On the Verge!), No. 10 in the Times and a positively nosebleed No. 36 in MaxPreps. No matter; this tilt will be well worth the drive down to Bolingbrook. Trust me.

(And, by the way, it's a great stadium -- plenty of parking and seating so you don't have to get there hours and hours before the kickoff. Although you may want to see the sophomore game and check out next year's talent.)

How have the two programs fared so far this year? Glad you asked (home team in CAPS):

Lincoln-Way East 49, SOUTH BEND ADAMS 12
Lincoln-Way East 35, Belleville West 0
Homewood-Flossmoor 35, LINCOLN-WAY EAST 30

Glenbard West 17, BOLINGBROOK 7
Bolingbrook 20, MCNAMARA 14 (OT)
Bolingbrook 55, STAGG 7

And how has this storied rivalry gone in recent years?

2015: Lincoln-Way East 28, BOLINGBROOK 0
2014: LINCOLN-WAY EAST 23, Bolingbrook 9
2013: BOLINGBROOK 12, Lincoln-Way East 3
2012: LINCOLN-WAY EAST 42, Bolingbrook 18
2011: Lincoln-Way East 20, BOLINGBROOK 14
2010: LINCOLN-WAY EAST 43, Bolingbrook 7
2009: BOLINGBROOK 46, Lincoln-Way East 24
2008: BOLINGBROOK 27, Lincoln-Way East 17
2007: BOLINGBROOK 19, Lincoln-Way East 7
2006: LINCOLN-WAY EAST 22, Bolingbrook 14
2005: LINCOLN-WAY EAST 38, Bolingbrook 15

As you can see, it's been mostly Lincoln-Way East; but Bolingbrook coach John Ivlow can never be taken lightly. Remember, it was the Raiders last year who were the only team to beat H-F in the regular season, 22-21, in a driving rainstorm on the road in Week Nine. You never want to play these guys.

Oh, and the Griffins have a pretty good coach, too, in Rob Zvonar. In eleven years at the helm, he's never missed the playoffs -- never.

See you at the game!