Eatonville To Face A Once Familiar Foe In State Playoffs

Following their 24-18 victory over the Castle Rock Rockets, the Eatonville Cruisers clinched a berth into the state playoffs. The state seeding committee met on Sunday to seed the 16 qualified teams and the Cruisers were awarded the #4 seed by the committee.

The Cruisers will host the #13-seeded Zillah Leopards (7-3) from Zillah, WA. That game will be played at Art Crate Stadium at Bethel High School on Friday, November 11th at 4:00 pm.

The Eatonville Cruisers are primed and ready to make another deep run in the state playoffs. Photo: Trinity Potter

And it just so happens that three of Eatonville's coaches have a little bit of history with the Leopards.

Bobby Lucht, Bill Nation, and Tom Zurfluh were all members of Eatonville's 1992 state championship team that faced Zillah in the finals all those years ago and staged one of the biggest comebacks in state title history.

In the 1992 Kingbowl at the Kingdome in Seattle, the Cruisers were down, 23-0, to Zillah and they were depending on a sophomore quarterback who had just thrown an interception that was returned 70 yards for a touchdown to rally them.

That young quarterback was Bobby Lucht. With 8:45 to play in the third quarter, he scored on an eight-yard run. When the fourth quarter started, the Cruisers trailed by 16.

Lucht threw two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. With less than four minutes to play in the game, Eatonville forced Zillah to punt and Ben Zurlo partially blocked the kick. Eatonville got the ball at the Zillah 43 and that was all it needed.

Lucht passed the Cruisers inside the Zillah 10, and Joe Dorn scored the winning TD on a 3-yard run with 26 seconds left. Eatonville won, 26-23.

"1992 was a special time for our program and the community. That game reminds you that the game is 48 minutes long and to keep believing in what you do," said Eatonville's quarterback's coach Bobby Lucht.

"I'm excited for our kids to have an opportunity not only to play Zillah but to get back to the state tournament."

Lucht wanted to remind everyone that the 1992 Eatonville team would have never made it to the championship game if it wasn't for the leg of Tom Zurfluh. Zurfluh would kick the game-winning field goal in the semi-finals against Meridian to send the Cruisers to the title game.

"It was an amazing game. Two really good teams battling it out all in regulation and it continued into the 1st overtime. In the 2nd overtime, the crucial play of the game was the fumble by Meridian's quarterback. We knew we had one of the best kickers in the state and when Tommy hit that game-winner to send us to the title game our sideline exploded," Lucht shared.

The two teams will meet again for the first time in 30 years and Lucht and the rest of the Eatonville community hopes the outcome is the same.