At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Lincoln-Way Central’s Luke Tingley is basically built like the high school version of Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet, a St. Viator graduate.
But Tingley, a junior wide receiver, focuses on a certain speedster when he watches Bears games.
“I like DJ Moore,” Tingley said. “I play the same position as him, and I feel like I can watch him and emulate stuff that he does, although he probably has a little bit of speed on me.”
Oh, and as of late, Tingley also has found himself in the backfield for the Knights as a running back, so he probably should be taking a closer look at D’Andre Swift while he’s at it.
Although Tingley missed the first two games of the regular season with a knee injury, he was slowly working his way back into the lineup for Lincoln-Way Central. And then came Friday night.
Tingley was given the green light to open things up running the ball, and he responded with 123 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown in a 28-27 loss to visiting Sandburg in New Lenox.
He added a 38-yard catch for the Knights (3-3, 2-0) in the Southwest Valley Conference crossover.
“He came into his own,” Lincoln-Way Central coach David Woodburn said of Tingley’s Friday night performance. “It was the first game he was really healthy, and he did a great job.
“He played on the varsity as a sophomore and we didn’t throw the ball much last year, so we moved him all around this year. He can really do it all.”
One of Tingley’s best runs Friday came in the second quarter with the Knights holding a 7-0 lead.
The defense had stopped Sandburg (5-1) on the 2-yard line, but Lincoln-Way Central was looking for a little breathing room as well as trying to avoid a safety. And Tingley delivered.
On the first play of the drive, Tingley unleashed a 35-yard run to keep the Knights out of harm’s way in getting away from their own end zone. It was only his second carry of the game.
It provided the spark for an 11-play, 98-yard drive that gave Lincoln-Way Central a 14-0 lead. His catch in the third quarter, followed by runs of 21 and 17 yards in the fourth, showed his speed.
“Once he gets going, he really gets going,” Woodburn said of Tingley. “He can turn the edge and gets by people. I don’t get to see him as much on offense because I’m working with the defense, but he can really do a lot of things. He’s a hell of an athlete.”
Here’s the scary part for opponents.
While Tingley was on the mend and coming back, senior running back Tyler Tulk put up some strong numbers, including 211 yards in the season opener against St. Charles East and 241 yards on 34 carries in a Sept. 27 win over previously unbeaten Bradley-Bourbonnais.
Tulk contributed with 132 yards against Sandburg, including a 79-yard run that led to the first TD.
So, now that’s two runners who can gain huge chunks of yardage for the Knights, who are trying for their second straight playoff bid after missing the postseason from 2019 to 2022.
Getting five wins is never a given, but playing Sandburg nearly even on the scoreboard offers optimism as the Knights finish with Stagg (2-4), Waubonsie Valley (3-3) and Rich Township (3-3).
Likewise, having two weapons the caliber of this T-n-T combo could put them over the top.
Tingley, a three-sport athlete, also plays basketball and baseball for Lincoln-Way Central. He’s starting to hear from colleges in both football and baseball.
He said his favorite sport is whatever season he is playing in. Which means, for now, it’s football.
“I love the games and the atmosphere and playing on Friday night,” he said.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
