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Sean Taylor had no trouble finding the word that most aptly describes the rivalry between the Quincy High School and East Moline boys basketball teams.

Nasty.

The seventh-year QHS coach has been through enough battles with East Moline -- the two teams meet for the 17th time during Taylor's tenure at 7:30 tonight in the Class 4A East Moline Regional championship -- to know nothing comes easy and toughness is at a premium.

The amount of blood spilled is proof of that.

Twice in the last three years, players have had to go to the locker room for stitches or at least to have cuts or gashes checked by a doctor.

None was worse than East Moline standout Kannon Burrage's fall in 2008. Burrage was attempting to block a shot by Quincy's Zach Forbes when he elevated and tumbled over the top of Forbes, crashing headfirst to the floor. After laying motionless for several minutes, Burrage was helped from the floor by a trainer and needed at least seven staples to close a gash on the left side of his head.

It's not the only time one of the league's best has hit the deck in this rivalry.

Back in January, when Quincy beat East Moline 71-56 at home, Forbes looked to provide an exclamation point on the victory with a breakaway dunk with just 20 seconds left. However, the Panthers' Shaq Lowery wouldn't let him have it so easy.

Lowery clotheslined Forbes on his way to the basket, knocking the Western Big Six Conference's leading scorer hard to the floor. Forbes popped right up without incident and it resulted in an intentional foul on Lowery, but it also sent a message.

No one gets anything easy.

That is clearly the case.

During the 2006-07 season, the Blue Devils push for a WB6 championship got off to humbling start when a 12-point lead in the third quarter evaporated and the Panthers picked up a 49-38 victory in overtime at the Panther Den.

It's one of four games a technical foul in the eight games coached at the Panther Den by Taylor. Last year, the QHS bench picked up three technicals, sending Taylor and assistant coach Tom Lepper to the locker room early.

They missed a heck of an individual performance.

Burrage, who led the WB6 in scoring last year, scored a career-high 41 points in the 18-point East Moline victory. That included hitting 18 of 18 free throws, which is the fifth most free throws made consecutively in Illinois High School Association history.

His performance is just one of several dazzling moments.

In January 2003, after missing practice because of the flu on the Wednesday and Thursday leading up to a road trip to East Moline, Quincy's Marcus Medsker didn't expect to play. Well, he played and scored 32 points -- his most ever in a WB6 game to help the Blue Devils earn a 68-61 overtime victory.

Only two moments come close to topping those.

In 1999, with the WB6 conference title on the line, East Moline's Demitrius Hunter put back an airball with four-tenths of a second left to give the Panthers a 48-46 victory and ultimately a WB6 championship.

Not to be outdone, Quincy's Alex Miklius added his own buzzer-beater last Friday, hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key with three seconds left that gave the Blue Devils a 71-68 victory and a share of the league title.

It also set the stage for tonight's rematch, which has the earmarks of a classic confrontation and the potential to live up to a nasty reputation.

— mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366