Luke Alwin finds himself in good company these days for Batavia, part of an occasional story line in what has become the storied tradition of the school’s football program.
Alwin pulls double duty for coach Dennis Piron, who tries to limit two-way starters if he can.
A 6-foot, 170-pound senior, Alwin has emerged as a force this season at wide receiver. And lately, he’s been more of a factor on defense, moving into a starting role at cornerback.
“You know me,” Piron said. “We have a guy like that every few years. (Michael) Moffatt was that guy and then Tommy Stuttle. I’m always wondering, ‘Who’s my next Tommy?’
“Luke’s the guy. He’s handled it pretty well.”
So well that Alwin has caught 29 passes for 524 yards with a team-best eight receiving touchdowns from North Dakota State quarterback recruit Ryan Boe for the Batavia (9-1), which hosts Lincoln-Way Central (9-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday in a Class 7A second-round playoff game.
Moffatt, meanwhile, was the lone two-way starter on Batavia’s 2006 team that finished second in the state. Stuttle was a starter at those positions for the Bulldogs’ 2017 state championship team.
“Luke played (cornerback) against Geneva at times, more lately,” Batavia defensive coordinator Matt Holm said. “When you get to the playoffs and don’t want to give up an ‘oops,’ you may do it.”
Alwin didn’t come in cold, however, having played defense on the lower levels and getting called up to practice with the varsity for its playoff run as a sophomore.
“I would get some first-team reps in practice and learned a lot,” Alwin said. “I didn’t play any defense at all last season but came back this year and did a good job of getting in as many reps as I could in practice.
“I know what I’m doing, know the coverages. It’s not as hard as if I had been strictly an offensive player.”
Backing up Drew Gerke, who was limited last season on offense by a hand injury, Alwin caught 23 passes for 229 yards and one TD.
“I looked up to him a lot, learned from him and tried to implement it into my game this year,” Alwin said. “Drew was really fast, a little faster than I was, than I am, but I do have good breakaway speed. Gerke was a different level.”
After averaging 10 yards a catch a year ago, Alwin is up to 18.1 this season.
“I’d describe myself as dynamic just because I can play both ways,” said Alwin, who was voted co-captain by his teammates.
He disdains the term possession receiver.
“I can break one,” he said. “If I get any open field, the (defensive back) is in trouble. If there’s space left, right, I’ll try and get around him and make a play happen. I consider myself hard to be taken down, too.”
Alwin was last week.
On first down following a short punt, Boe hooked up down the left sideline with Alwin, who spun out of a tackle and went the distance for a 33-yard TD.
“Boe is awesome to work with,” Alwin said. “He’s been my quarterback since eighth grade. He’s a leader on and off the field, has fun, but when it’s time to get serious, he will tell us. He gets the job done.”
As does Alwin, according to assistant coach Jason Toth, another double-duty guy of sorts for Piron.
Toth coaches the varsity receivers, then goes to the open field outside the Bulldogs’ stadium to serve as head coach for Batavia’s youth program.
“Even when he was behind (Gerke) and overshadowed a bit, I always knew we had something with Luke,” Toth said. “I’ve known him since having him as a receiver in eighth grade. He has breakaway speed, great hands and is a great leader.
“I think he could definitely be an all-state receiver. He’s that quality, but we have so many options when it comes to receivers, it may hurt his numbers. But when it’s his number called, he’s gonna catch it.”