The fire in Sam Tumilty’s belly was there from the start.
It came out in his one-on-one battles with his brother Scott, older by a year.
“I would say we were extremely competitive,” Sam Tumilty said. “We had basketball practices where my dad had to make us go run because were were going at it with each other.
“He used to beat me a lot, but I started to find some ways to win. I won a few.”
Since he arrived at Willowbrook, Tumilty has won a lot. He started in the defensive backfield as a sophomore in 2017, when the Warriors went 10-2 and reached the Class 7A quarterfinals for the second straight year.
Tumilty added the starting quarterback role last season and has led the Warriors to a 22-2 record and two more deep playoff runs. Willowbrook went back to the quarterfinals last fall and this year has earned the program’s first semifinal berth since 1975.
Along the way, Tumilty has put up eye-popping numbers in an offense retooled to showcase his unique skills.
It’s the latest reinvention for the Warriors, who featured a pass-happy attack in 2013 when quarterback Brian Johnson threw for a state single-game record 675 yards against Lyons. The next offensive star to come through the Villa Park school was Jack Jessen, who wound up breaking the program’s career rushing record.
Now it’s Tumilty’s time to shine.
“Philosophically, we like tempo and then after that, it’s year to year,” Willowbrook coach Nick Hildreth said of the offensive tweaks. “You get what you get.”
With Tumilty, the Warriors (11-1) get a 5-foot-10, 170-pound dynamo who rarely leaves the field.
Tumilty’s defensive numbers are good — he has 76 tackles this season, 231 for his career — but his offensive stats are other-worldly.
Tumilty has completed 70 percent of his passes for 2,364 yards and 23 touchdowns with five interceptions this year. He’s also averaging 9.9 yards per carry, piling up 1,423 yards and running for 18 TDs. Oh, and he also had one catch for 65 yards and a score.
When Willowbrook hosts Mount Carmel (12-0) in a Class 7A semifinal on Saturday, Tumilty needs 61 passing yards to reach 5,000 for his career and 161 total yards to get to 8,000.
He has no interest in talking about any of those stats — or the fact that he ranks fourth in his class.
“I never even look at them,” Tumilty said of the numbers. “I try not to even worry about them because I’m more focused on the team and what we need to do to prepare for the next game...
“Whether it’s a win or a loss, how many touchdowns (you score) — overall it comes down to just being with your team out there trying to win, trying to show some pride for your town,” Tumilty said.
He’s also hoping to catch the eye of college recruiters. Also a three-year starter in baseball, Tumilty says playing football is his preference at the next level. Interest has come from Drake and some local Division III schools among others.
His size may not jump out at scouts, but he hopes his intangibles do.
“Motivation goes a long way, the mentality goes a long way,” Tumilty said. “Football is a game, you can be the smallest, the biggest — it comes down to who wants it more.”
As in those long-ago pickup games with his brother, Tumilty is always trying to show he wants it more than the next guy.
