Family ties, connections from ’92 championship team plentiful for Eatonville

In their current quest, the Eatonville Cruisers need look no further than their own sideline and the stands for inspiration from a successful past.

There are connections everywhere, starting on the field where a Cruisers core boasts several key contributors that are forever tied to Eatonville’s last football state championship. That title came 30 years ago, when Bobby Lucht quarterbacked Eatonville to the championship.

This fall, Lucht’s senior son Jakob is catching the passes as one of the star receivers for the unbeaten Cruisers, who will play Lynden Christian in a state Class 1A semifinal at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Art Crate Field on the Bethel High campus.

Dad is never far away, serving on head coach Gavin Kralik’s staff as quarterbacks coach. Kralik’s own son, Job, plays on the opposite side as Eatonville’s second starting receiver.

The ties don’t stop there, however. Others from that 1992 championship team remain familiar faces.

Lineman Kyle Cox is the son of Jim Cox, another member of that ’92 team. The big running back three decades ago was Brandon Jumper, whose son Caden just graduated a year ago and has been a cog in the building program. Jumper continues to help out, as well, even though Caden has moved on to the UW.

“We have coaches with kids that were on that team,” Kralik said. “We have other dads with kids that were on that team. Guys that are household names. Our families are extremely committed.”

Even the kicker from 1992, Tom Zurfluh, whose semifinal field goal kicked the Cruisers into the Kingdome title game, remains a face around the program.

But none are as close to the fire as the newer father-son combo of Gavin and Job Kralik, and the legacy that is the Luchts.

“It’s been fun to see this unfold in front of us,” coach Bobby Lucht said. “There must be 12-16 seniors on this team that have been playing together since the second grade. I coached them in Junior Cruisers.”

And to have his son as a part of this new journey?

“It’ll get me all choked up talking about it,” Lucht said. “It’s just pretty special.”

Jakob Lucht’s personal ties to the Eatonville program run much deeper. He’s actually the fourth generation to play for the Cruisers.

Lucht’s great-grandfather, Pat Daly, just missed seeing this year’s run. He passed away in June at the age of 91. Then there was his grandfather, Dennis Lucht, followed by the most accomplished of the group – dad and coach Bobby.

When he graduated from Eatonville in 1993, Bobby Lucht led the nation in touchdown passes for a high school career with 132. The records Bobby Lucht set and the accomplishments of those teams aren’t lost on Jakob.

“People come up to me all the time to talk about it,” said Jakob Lucht, whose 34 catches for 742 yards and 11 touchdowns this fall leads the team. “I just know he (Bobby) was a ‘Dude’ back in the day. I’ve seen film.”

The Eatonville resurgence really began, though, when Kralik arrived five years ago. He’d previously been at Bethel, in Texas and even spent a year at South Kitsap. The new coach immediately implemented a new weight training program.

And the Cruisers committed to it.

“Here’s an example,” Kralik said. “The ‘power clean’ is the major lift we measure to determine how kids are progressing. At South Kitsap, the largest school in the state, we had 15 kids who could power clean 220 pounds and one that could do 300. Here, at a tiny little 1A school, we have 32 at 220 and seven at 300.”

The Cruisers improvements in strength have resulted in a program that has won 16 straight games dating back to an early-season loss to 3A Yelm last spring. Eatonville is 12-0 this season, a far cry from Kralik’s first year.

“I just remember that first year, North Kitsap ran for nearly 400 yards on us,” Kralik said. “One kid went for over 300. We couldn’t stop the run.”

In 2021, the Cruisers have allowed more than 20 points only once all season, while averaging 42 a game themselves. Along with Lucht, Kralik’s junior son Job has added 30 catches for 700 yards and seven TDs, making this team a family affair.

“He’s a lot of fun to coach,” Kralik said. “Especially with him being my first-born (of six). The other thing that’s been a big help is my older brother (former Washington Husky receiver) Joe. Being his uncle, he’s very invested in him.”

Much like Eatonville is invested in this team as a whole.

“The community still holds that 1992 championship,” Bobby Lucht said. “It holds it up high.”

And now with that team’s help, the next generation is trying to add to the legacy.

This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.