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's finally moved 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, in After the Fall, it is discovered Luke is ineligible for West Dillion, as he is zoned for East Dillon. 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.
Season 5
In Season 5, Luke and the Lions begin the season by defeating the 8th ranked Croft Cowboys 29-28, scoring the game winning two-point conversion on a "Statue of Liberty Play". However, Luke is suspended for a game in the next episode for an "illegal hit" on Cowboys quarterback Cody Pearl which put Pearl in a sling. In reality, it was a message to East Dillon that they don't want the Lions beating their best teams. Luke gets invited to visit TMU in Keep Looking and brings Vince along with him. Luke finds out that TMU used him to get to Vince and that they weren't going to offer him a scholarship. Depressed by this news, Billy Riggins helps him realize that he plays football to have fun, not to get scholarships. As for Luke and Becky, they are flirty with each other but Luke is told by Billy that the way to win a girl over is to ignore her. So Luke thinks he is doing the right thing, but it's really just upsetting Becky. Becky soon confronts Luke about it and they say they both like one another and kiss. Later in the season, Luke discovers that he will only get an offer from a Division III school and struggles with the decision of going there or not. Luke takes over for Vince as QB1 for a game when Vince acts selfishly, skips practice and a film meeting with Luke. He leads them to a slim 19-17 win over the Fort Hood Cougars. He is moved back to running back for the playoffs and helps the team win State in Always, the series finale. Eight months later, he is seen kissing Becky and leaves on a bus wearing a U.S. military uniform.