When I first got serious...

Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar has never missed the playoffs. Never.

...about high school football back in the fall of 2011 I drove down to Bolingbrook to see the Raiders host a team called Lincoln-Way East. All I really knew was that both schools were undefeated in the Southwest Suburban Blue Conference (whatever that was); the names of their quarterbacks, Aaron Bailey* and Blake Winkler; and that it was a long, long way from my house.

It turned out to be a great game, though. The Griffins won, 20-14, despite two really exciting touchdown runs by Bailey. And it also ended up being the only loss on the year for Bolingbrook; the Raiders went on to defeat Loyola, 21-17, in the 8A championship.

But since that night, Lincoln-Way East has won four out of the last five meetings with Bolingbrook. Here's their entire history going back to 2005. (Home team in CAPS.)

2016: Lincoln-Way East 41, BOLINGBROOK 23
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

Tomorrow night Bolingbrook (7-1) hosts Lincoln-Way East (8-0) in what will surely be the Game of the Week.

The visiting Griffins are ranked No. 1 in all three polls I follow. Wow. Below is their 2017 schedule so far. As you can see, they've defeated four teams with 7-1 records and one that's 6-2. Double wow.

LINCOLN-WAY EAST 27, Crete-Monee (7-1) 7
Lincoln-Way East 28, MAINE SOUTH (7-1) 26
Lincoln-Way East 42, ANDREW (6-2) 2
LINCOLN-WAY EAST 46, Sandburg (3-5) 7
Lincoln-Way East 28, LINCOLN-WAY CENTRAL (7-1) 14
Lincoln-Way East 29, HOMEWOOD-FLOSSMOOR (7-1) 7
LINCOLN-WAY EAST 49, Lockport (1-7) 6
LINCOLN-WAY EAST 49, Thornwood (0-8) 6

Bolingbrook coach John Ivlow. They both look like football coaches, don't they?

The Raiders, for their part, aren't ranked in the Sun-Times, but are rated No. 18 in the Tribune and No. 23 in MaxPreps. Bolingbrook split with the two teams it faced with 7-1 records but hasn't beaten another winning program all year.

Bolingbrook 35, DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH (4-4) 10
Bolingbrook 28, ST. CHARLES NORTH  (7-1) 20
Bolingbrook 52, SANDBURG (3-5) 7
HOMEWOOD-FLOSSMOOR (7-1) 20, BOLINGBROOK 48
BOLINGBROOK 48, Bradley-Bourbonnais (2-6) 24
BOLINGBROOK 42, Lockport (1-7) 21
BOLINGBROOK 45, Thornridge (3-5) 8
Bolingbrook 22, THORNTON  (4-4) 6

The key game for me was that 48-20 loss at Homewood-Flossmoor in Week Four. Lincoln-Way East also played the Vikings on the road two weeks later but defeated them, 29-7. If you're a bookmaker you have to make the Griffins a big favorite tomorrow night. But who knows? Maybe Raider coach John Ivlow can pull a rabbit out of his hat. Stranger things have happened.

* Bailey may still be the best high school football player I've ever seen.