Luke Cafferty (portrayed by Matt Lauria) is a main character in the last two seasons of the television series Friday Night Lights. He is the son of Tom Cafferty and Margaret Cafferty. He attends East Dillon High School and plays for the Lions. He is hardworking and responsible.
Personality and Traits[]
Luke is similar in many ways to both Matt Saracen and Eric Taylor. Like Matt, Luke is kind, levelheaded, and humble, and like Coach Taylor he has a strong moral code and personal drive. Luke is introduced as a friend of J.D. McCoy but is distinguished immediately by his visible discomfort with J.D.'s arrogance and callousness, ultimately leading to Luke ending his friendship with J.D. when J.D. shoots Matt with a paintball gun and then subtly mocks Luke for attending Dillon East.
Luke is very passionate about football and sometimes clashes with people like Coach Taylor and Vince when they cross him. While Luke is evidently a very talented player and receives lots of praise, he never lets it go to his head and remains humble and friendly. Luke is also often willing to bury the hatchet with people he previously had problems with like J.D. and Vince.
Appearance[]
Relationships[]
Tom Cafferty (Father)[]
Margaret Cafferty (Mother)[]
Appearances[]
Season 4 | |
East of Dillon | Debut |
After the Fall | Appears |
In the Skin of a Lion | Appears |
A Sort of Homecoming | Appears |
The Son | Appears |
Stay | Appears |
In the Bag | Appears |
Toilet Bowl | Appears |
The Lights in Carroll Park | Appears |
I Can't | Appears |
Injury List | Appears |
Laboring | Appears |
Thanksgiving | Appears |
Season 5 | |
Expectations | Appears |
On the Outside Looking In | Appears |
The Right Hand of the Father | Appears |
Keep Looking | Appears |
Kingdom | Appears |
Swerve | Appears |
Perfect Record | Appears |
Fracture | Appears |
Gut Check | Appears |
Don't Go | Appears |
The March | Appears |
Texas Whatever | Appears |
Always | Final |
Quotes[]
- (to) "'" (East of Dillon - First Line)
- (to): "'" (Always - Final Line)
Season 4[]
Luke Cafferty, is the only child of God-fearing, non-football parents, Luke sees the game as his one and only way out of Dillon and the grueling life of a cattle rancher. After training all summer, he finally moves up from JV to varsity as a full-fledged Dillon Panther and he's already shown himself to be a star complement to J.D. McCoy's amazing throwing arm.
However, it is discovered Luke is actually zoned for East Dillon, and thus ineligible to play for West Dillion (After the Fall). Luke unwillingly joins the East Dillon Lions. He is frustrated at first because he is on a bad team and is forced to play defense. He also feels that, unlike in West Dillon, Coach Taylor is treating him like just another player. He also feuds early on with Vince Howard. Vince steals his wallet In The Skin of a Lion, which leads to multiple fights, one of which gets the two arrested. At the end of the episode, though, the two have seemed to settle their differences, and Vince gives Luke his wallet back. He also sees Becky Sproles and immediately develops a crush for her. He gets Becky pregnant and Becky gets an abortion, which infuriates Luke's mother and gets Tami Taylor fired because of her involvement in the case. Becky then remains cautious of Luke but he wins her over in his senior year with the help from Billy and Mindy. The team improves as Luke becomes a star player on both offense and defense for the Lions, but hurts himself working on his farm. He doesn't tell anyone, and keeps receiving painkillers. It is discovered by Coach Taylor weeks later in Laboring, and tells Luke he won't be able to play the West Dillon game on Thanksgiving. In the second half of the game, however, Coach Taylor decides to put Luke in the game, and helps the team win a thrilling 25-24 victory capped of by a 46 yard Landry Clarke field goal.