BOLINGBROOK -- One is a freshman, the other has huge cast on his left arm to protect a broken thumb.
Together, Bolingbrook High School wide receivers Aaron Bailey and Chris Williams combined to break the hearts of the Lincoln-Way East Griffins.
The pair combined to catch 7 passes for 268 yards from senior quarterback Brad Geever as the Raiders stunned East 46-24 to upset the apple cart in the Southwest Suburban Blue.
The Griffins (6-1, 4-1) appeared well on their way to the conference title after dominating their first six opponents. But the Raiders (6-1, 4-1), who have beaten East three straight years, played like they had something to prove.
In the passing game, and defensively.
Geever, an outstanding quarterback the last two seasons, enjoyed one of his best nights, and his timing was impeccable. He riddled the East secondary with big pass after big pass, completing 12-of-19 passes for 303 yards and 4 touchdowns. For good measure, he ran for 2 more scores, one from 12 yards and one on a sneak.
"This was a great game by Brad," Bolingbrook coach John Ivlow said as he flashed a wide smile.
And by his receivers.
The freshman Bailey, a quarterback by trade, caught 4 passes for 147 yards, including 76- and 28-yard touchdown receptions. The latter was one of those one-handed gems on a fly pattern down the sideline that you see maybe once a year in the NFL.
Not to be outdone, Williams caught 3 for 121 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown late in the first half that gave the Raiders a 19-7 lead at the break.
"We came in thinking we had to run the ball, and this is the best we've run against these guys in years," said Ivlow, whose team rushed for 105 yards. "Our passing game, though, did loosen them up a bit.
"Aaron (Bailey) did a nice job, and Chris (Williams) making those catches with that big cast on his arm, that was funny."
Williams also is the Raiders' punter, so there was the matter of handling the snaps from center. He did that without incident as well.
Bolingbrook tailback Jamel Martin opened the scoring with a 26-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. He cut right, left and back right to reach the end zone and give the Raiders a 6-0 lead.
The next dagger came from the Geever-to-Bailey combination, a 76-yard bomb down the right sideline.
East senior quarterback Ryne Van Gennep, who completed 15-of-34 for 228 yards and was under a heavy rush from the Bolingbrook defensive front, hit Matt Hartmann on a 39-yard pass-and-run play to get the Griffins within 12-7, but Williams touchdown catch made it 19-7 at half.
East used the 48-yard run of Kevin Starke (17 carries, 169 yards) to get in position to score on the first possession of the second half, but the Raiders' defense held and forced Kyle Moore's 24-yard field goal, making it 19-10.
A 45-yard Geever-to-Williams pass on the next drive, however, set up Geever's 12-yard TD run to make it 25-10. Bolingbrook's Marcus Lee recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Bailey made his one-handed touchdown grab on a pass from Geever to make it 33-10, and from that point, East never could mount a serious threat.
Maurice Armstead's interception on a halfback option pass early in the fourth quarter helped put it away.
"This was one of those good old-fashioned out to the woodshed beatings," East coach Rob Zvonar said. "Congratulations to John Ivlow and Bolingbrook. They outplayed us and outcoached us.
"We play a lot of eight-man fronts, and we shut down their run at first. But they have an excellent quarterback and talented receivers. They made great plays and we had breakdowns. Maybe we were reading too many of our press clippings. I hope we are stronger because of this adversity."
East, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 7A, finished with a misleading statistical advantage. The Griffins had 423 total yards and 21 first downs to the Raiders' 408 yards and 17 first downs. But when the big plays had to be made, the Raiders were first in line. They committed no turnovers and forced three, and that passing game delivered time after time.
"We needed this after that Lockport loss," Ivlow said.
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