The tweets and the forum blogs will be filled with insights and insults.

And some novice gym rats will actually describe it as the biggest game of the year.

Now don’t get this corner wrong. I’ve seen and reported on more Saint Ignatius-St. Edward encounters in all sports than the government has excuses for the current debt.

And yes, many of them were classics, especially in football and basketball.

The biggest high school basketball games of the year, however, will still be played in Columbus in late March. No matter what happens in the Eagles Nest on Friday night.

But hey, Cleveland and all of Ohio are special that way. The high school fans in this great city, like others around the state, can’t get enough of those traditional regular-season tilts, match ups that provide something to debate and second guess while keeping warm in the local watering holes and restaurants.

As someone who started following high school sports in this area in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, I can still picture those Plain Dealer and Cleveland Press headlines whenever East Tech and East High got together, or when West Tech would take on the West High Cowboys, the Rhodes Rams or the Lawyers from John Marshall.

In the late 1970s, it didn’t get any more intense than St. Joseph vs. Cathedral Latin and current students at Saint Ignatius only need to ask Mr. Larry Arthur and Mr. Sean O’Toole ‘87 to appreciate what those St. Joe Vikings versus Wildcats games of the mid-to-late 1980s were all about.

And let’s not forget the rivalry of the late ‘80s and the 1990s – Cleveland Heights vs. Shaker Heights, "Cap" and the late Bob Wonson with those star-laden lineups from Cedar and Lee and Aldersyde Drive.

It’s now 2012, however, and to many who will take in Friday night’s game between Coach Sean O’Toole’s Saint Ignatius Wildcats (7-1) and Coach Eric Flannery’s St. Edward Eagles (6-4), the above-mentioned rivalries took place “100 years ago.”

Yes, the players who will take the floor for the 7:30 varsity tipoff at St. Edward weren’t even born when Coach Arthur was reminding Coach O’Toole that he was a power forward, and not a point guard, during those days when Sean was playing for Coach Arthur at Saint Ignatius. Heck, some of the parents and teachers who will be in attendance weren’t old enough to drive when yours truly was covering Coach Arthur’s teams.

No, they didn’t tweet in those days, when the “Dandy Tandy,” batteries-only computers were the rage. They passed notes. And the only facebook pictures that existed back then were accompanied by an undesirable file or case number. You know, face right, face left and now straight ahead.

Oh well, you get the picture. And I didn’t even make you go on facebook or your multi-purpose cell phone to see it.

So here is Coach O’Toole’s outlook on what is sure to be another memorable chapter in what is today’s storied rivalry in area high school athletics – the ‘Cats, ranked 10th in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county Top 25 poll, versus the fifth-ranked Eagles.

“It’s your typical St. Eds team," said Coach O’Toole. “They’re playing fast, they’re playing tough, they share the ball and they have a lot of weapons. It’s a very well-coached team that mixes up its defenses and mixes up its pressure.

“The bottom line is that they come at you and try to speed you up and create turnovers,” Coach O’Toole continued. “So we’re going to have to handle their pressure.”

Offensively, as Coach O’Toole pointed out, the Wildcats and the Eagles run similar stuff. But, as Sean said, a lot of the Eagles’ offense is created by their defense.

“No one is fooled by their record (6-4),” O’Toole said. “I know they have a few losses, but they have a very challenging schedule and had a great win last weekend in Toledo, beating Central Catholic, who had just defeated Toledo Whitmer.”

As for the players who fuel Coach Flannery’s pressure-to-points attack, Coach O’Toole can’t say enough good things about Eagles multi-skilled senior guard/forward Myles Hamilton.

“I’m very impressed with Myles Hamilton,” Sean said. “He’s one of those guys that when you’re scouting them you actually get caught up watching him. He’s fun to watch. He has this high energy and is a great leader with a ton of emotion and a ton of effort.”

Coach O’Toole emphasized that the 6-2 Hamilton has “improved a ton offensively” and is a game-changer, especially defensively.

Hamilton has always had an uncanny ability to get to the rim and has added a much-improved complementary jump shot.

“He’s so good at creating pressure, grabbing rebounds and taking off,” said O’Toole of Hamilton. “When you talk about St. Eds you start with Myles. He’s having a great year.”

Hamilton is complemented by three-year starting point guard Mike Newton; 6-4 senior guard Mark Murray, who is providing offense with his perimeter game and strong moves to the rim; 6-7 senior post Michael Mason; 6-3 sophomore guard/wing Tony Vuyancih, who possesses a very good catch-and-shoot jump shot; and 6-4 sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton, Myles brother.

“The pleasing part for me is that we’re 7-1 and by no means have we played our best basketball,’ said Coach O’Toole. “It’s not like we’re peaking. We have work to do. But we’re finding a way to win games, to answer and come back (from deficits). We’re defining our rotations and roles.

“Every game is a learning experience and this is just one game. If we bring the effort, keep the game simple, handle the pressure and defend in the half court, we have a shot.”

COMING ALONG: Wildcats standout senior point guard Jack Tupa, who missed most of the preseason and the first four games of the regular season because of a foot injury, totaled 17 points and 17 assists in the victories over Lorain and Huber Heights Wayne last weekend. Jack dished out 10 of those assists in the 73-60 victory over Lorain in Sullivan Gymnasium.

AIR WAVES: Saint Ignatius’ Student Broadcasting Network will provide live audio coverage from the Eagles Nest, with John Fanta ’13 and Paddy White ’14 bringing you the JV game at 6 p.m., and Lewis Backus ’12 and Greg Ziton ’13 providing the call on varsity encounter.