Sandburg’s Lucas Matykiewicz hasn’t been playing football for that long.
The progress he has made, however, has been substantial.
In the visiting Eagles’ 20-9 Southwest Suburban victory over Lincoln-Way West on Oct. 2, Matykiewicz finished with eight catches for 116 yards and three TDs.
He scored on passes of 11, 13 and 21 yards from quarterback Sean Ruisz (16 of 25, 175 yards). Ruisz did not throw an interception.
“What’s Lucas doing very well? Everything,” Sandburg coach Sheamus Murphy said. “He’s taken off. I always say that he’s just scratching the surface. This is only his fourth year playing football.
“He just started playing as a freshman. But Lucas is a great athlete, a great leader and a great kid. You know you can’t teach 6-5 and 220 (pounds) and a 4.5 (seconds) in the 40 (-yard dash).”
Matykiewicz is a three-year starter for Sandburg and as a result of all his hard work and success, he’s headed to Northern Illinois on scholarship to play football.
“Lucas is a gladiator right now out there,” Murphy said. “And you know the football side of things are really starting to hit a stride, so he’s been a leading player for us.
“I’m really proud of him because he’s put in the work. To watch and see this growth and to watch the senior year success he’s had has been a treat. We throw him everywhere. You’ll see him out on the edge and you’ll see him in the slot. You’ll see him at wing and at tight end. We have gotten much more versatile within this year.”
Matykiewicz and Ruisz anchoring the offense against Lincoln-Way West (4-3, 1-3) with contributions from a running game that amassed 150 yards on 29 carries.
The Sandburg defense also turned in an impressive performance against the Warriors, limiting them to just one rushing touchdown.
The Eagles trailed 9-7 at halftime.
“Our second-half effort was our best 24 minutes of football since Week 2 when we beat Montini,” Murphy said. “We played well in all three phases with our offense, defense and special teams. We won the second half (13)-0.
“In the first half, we kind of stalled out a little bit and we were shooting ourselves in the foot with some things. But credit to all our coaching staff. We made some great adjustments at halftime. Credit to our coaching staff and our kids for coming out and playing with some fire in their belly.”