By Molly Campbell
Stampeders.com

Monday could end up being a showdown between two of the best quarterbacks to ever wear the Red and White of the Eastern Washington Eagles.

It’s still up in the air who the starting quarterback for the Eskimos will be when they roll into town on Monday to face the Stamps in the Labour Day Classic. Regular starter Mike Reilly suffered a hand injury in the first offensive series of last week’s game and Matt Nichols took over the reins and led his team to a 41-27 win over the Argos.

If Reilly it not able to go this week, Nichols will get his third CFL start and it will be against the guy who succeeded him in college.

Bo Levi Mitchell first met Nichols back in 2008 in the small town of Cheney, Wash., 17 miles southwest of Spokane.

A high school senior at the time, Mitchell was on a recruiting trip at Eastern Washington University and Nichols, the school’s quarterback, was his host.

“Matt and (Greg) Peach were the guys I hung out with,” remembers Mitchell of the trip. “They showed me a great time and showed me just how much those guys love football and how much they’re there to play football and not just make money and go to the NFL.”

The Katy, Tex., native opted to go to Southern Methodist to play for June Jones’ squad, but two years later — when Matt Nichols graduated — Mitchell transferred to Eastern to take over as the starting quarterback. And he had a lot to live up to.

Over a four-year career with the Eagles, Nichols broke 14 school records including six that topped the Big Sky Conference.

“Matt was a great quarterback,” says Mitchell. “Matt set a lot of records and set a precedent, really. It was big shoes to fill but, luckily, I had great teammates and receivers around me who made it easy on me to try to fill those.”

Mitchell led the Eagles to their first-ever national championship in his first season in 2010 and set four school records of his own over his two seasons at EWU.

Mitchell and Nichols work out together in Spokane in the off-season, along with fellow Eastern grads JC Sherritt, also of the Eskimos, and Peach, now with the Blue Bombers.

Asked if he hopes it’s Nichols in at quarterback Monday, Mitchell admits it would be fun.

“I’m sure for the school, it would be cool,” he says. “To be able to say ‘we’ve got two guys out there in the league and they’re playing each other.’ I would love it, obviously, playing Matt. Matt’s a great quarterback. I modeled myself after him when I transferred to Eastern Washington, so I learned a lot of things from him. Matt, Greg Peach, JC Sherritt were all big reasons I went to Eastern Washington.”

But he says the Stampeders will be ready for Monday’s game no matter who lines up behind centre for the Green and Gold.

“Hopefully, everybody is healthy and good to go. I never wish long-term injuries on anybody,” Mitchell says of Reilly.  “So whoever they put in at quarterback we’ll be ready to go and it will be a good game.”