Friday Night Lights Open Thread: St. John Bosco vs. Bishop Gorman

I noted in the comments section of last night's game thread that I don't like when we play on Thursday night. Mostly, it's personal. I'm an early riser and the game just goes on past my bed time. (I'm also old. Don't laugh, you'll be old one day, too. Hopefully.)

But it also ruins the ritual of Saturday. There's no game to plan around Saturday. No point where I can put down the hedge clippers and let my honey know that I'm going to take a break to watch the Bruins on TV or head off to the Rose Bowl. On the other hand, it's very comforting to know that we've already notched a win this week, so I won't wake up tomorrow with a nervous knot in my stomach.

Speaking of ritual, Friday night is high school football night. All across the country, in cities and in towns, communities will gather to watch the local high school teams square off. It's a tradition that's uniquely American.

High school football, of course, is now pretty big time. Teams are featured in "Hard Knocks"-type reality shows. Covering recruiting is a multi-million dollar industry. And the big games between the top teams get televised.

For UCLA fans, tonight's nationally televised game (ESPN, 6pm Pacific Time) between St. John Bosco and Bishop Gorman should be a lot of fun. By now you all should know that Bosco (from Bellflower, California) is led by the nation's top prep quarterback Josh Rosen. As reported here earlier in the month, Rosen has already signed his papers to attend UCLA, will graduate from high school early and will enroll at UCLA in time to participate in spring practice. If you take the time to look at some of Rosen's high school film from his junior year, you'll notice him throwing to a kid wearing number 2. That's current Bruin safety Jaleel Wadood. Want to know how big the game is? The World Wide Leader originally planned to air the contest on ESPNU, but changed their minds and moved it to ESPN.

Las Vegas Bishop Gorman's top player is Alize Jones, the second best prep tight end in the country. Jones is a five star player and was the first to commit to the Bruins from the Class of 2015. He's listed at 6-5, 220 and runs a sub 4.7 40 yard dash. Just thinking about Rosen throwing to Jones for the next four years gives me chills. Just thinking about putting Jones. Thomas Duarte and El Massington on the field at the same time must give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares.

I think this is also a good night for the Mora era at UCLA. The story line on this game is, yes, a battle between two top high school teams. But the subtext is that this is a showcase for two of the countries best players and they are both heading to Westwood. I bet if you played a drinking game and did a shot every time UCLA, the Bruins, Jim Mora or the fact that Rosen and Jones are future teammates -- you'd be drunk by halftime. This is a showcase for the future of UCLA football and honestly we have nothing to lose.

if you'd like more details on the game itself, the Las Vegas Sun as a comprehensive story by Ray Brewer.

There's also a couple of college games tonight, both of them actually kick off before the Bosco Gorman game. Fresno State kicked off at  New Mexico at 5 pm on ESPN2 and Middle Tennessee State started at Old Dominion on Fox Sports One, also at 5.

Consider this your Friday Night Lights open thread. Get started early commenting on the two college games, then we can all click over to ESPN to watch St. John Bosco take on Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. Feel free to talk about last night's game as well, if you've got something to share.