High-School Football / Road To Gridiron Classic -- Lucey's Legend Grows At Curtis -- Longtime Coach Goes For Fourth AAA Title

UNIVERSITY PLACE - Mention Lucy and football, and one image comes to mind: A mischievous character yanking one away just as Charlie Brown tries to kick it, landing lovable Chuck on his keister.

Mention Lucey and football, and another picture takes focus: a masterful coach molding another championship contender at Curtis High School.

Bob Lucey produces laudable clubs about as consistently as Charles Schulz pens laughable cartoons. When the Vikings beat Kamiakin last season in the Gridiron Classic to cap a 13-1 campaign, Lucey became the first coach to collect three Class AAA state championships. Curtis claimed back-to-back crowns in 1989 and '90.

For Lucey to earn a chance at No. 4, the eighth-ranked Vikings (11-1) must beat top-rated Tumwater (11-0) tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals at the Tacoma Dome. The Class AAA final is Dec. 7 in Tacoma.

Win or lose, Bob Lucey's legend is growing. He is a rarity not because of his victories, but because he is so well-liked by his players and so well-respected by his peers.

"There is a core of coaches in the state of Washington I have a deep respect for, and Bob is in that core," said Dave Lutes, the former Kentwood coach who lost to Lucey in the '89 title game. "He's just consistently produced excellent football teams. But, beyond that, he's carried himself well in all other areas."

Indeed, coaching is only a part of the Lucey legacy. He is president of the Washington State Football Coaches Association and the author of a proposal to expand the playoffs to 32 teams. He loves the game, he loves kids and he loves Curtis, where he has spent his 26-year coaching career, the past 21 as head coach.

Lucey's overall record is impressive enough - 140 wins, 71 losses (66.4 percent) - but he especially has been successful the past 15 seasons - 118-39 (75.2 percent), including seven playoff appearances.

"People talk about the talent he's had," Lutes said, "but Bob develops that talent, organizes it and gets them to perform."

Remember the Cougar Connection? From 1988 to '92, Curtis sent five talented players to WSU - receivers C.J. Davis (1988 Curtis graduate), Deron Pointer ('90) and Jay Dumas ('92) and defensive backs Torey Hunter ('90) and Singor Mobley ('91).

Lucey and Cougar Coach Mike Price played football together at the University of Puget Sound in the late 1960s, becoming close friends. They drove to the campus together nearly every day.

Lucey, a 1966 Bellarmine graduate, was an all-conference nose tackle with little size: 5 feet 9, 195 pounds. It was during a redshirt season at UPS, when he was sidelined with a knee injury, that he realized he wanted to teach and coach.

"I enjoyed playing when I was playing," Lucey said, "but I enjoy coaching a lot more."

He is no more imposing now than then. Pointer and Hunter, who keyed Curtis' first championship season, have fond memories of Lucey as a players' coach. Both are home this week from WSU, where they are finishing their degrees and plan to attend tomorrow's game.

"He really understands the fundamentals of the game and what it takes to win," said Hunter, a third-round draft pick of the Houston Oilers in 1994 who is sidelined with a knee injury. "He's a very old-school coach and a very emotional coach."

And a sensitive one. Hunter recalls a sophomore teammate who lost both parents within a year. "Coach Lucey's not only a coach, he really felt for this kid, and it was genuine," Hunter said.

Pointer, who's been in a half-dozen pro camps, calls Lucey "an exceptional defensive coach" who related well to his players.

Elija Baker, a running back and defensive back considered the most talented player on this year's team, likes the confidence Lucey shows in his players.

Case in point: Lucey called a safety blitz that led to a key sack by Baker in a playoff victory over Enumclaw. "He has lots of faith in us and has made lots of gutsy calls," Baker said.

Lucey prides himself most on being a quality teacher - both in the classroom (he's chairman of the physical-education department) and on the football field.

"It goes beyond the X's and the O's," he said, "and has to do with the total person."

The kind of person Lucey, 48, admits he wasn't right out of college.

"You have to have balance in your life," Lucey said. "I used to be driven. There wasn't balance in my life my first year as head coach. I'd bring everything home."

Lucey and his wife of 26 years, Chris, have two sons. Mike split time at quarterback last season and is playing baseball at Pierce College. Nick, a sophomore, was Curtis' junior varsity quarterback this fall and could be a starter next year.

Lucey has never coached anywhere else - other than for his two sons in Little League - and likely never will.

"I see myself finishing off here," he said, adding he could even see himself as a Curtis assistant someday. For now, though, there are more games and championships to be won. Not that it's why Lucey keeps coaching.

"We're so much better than we were five weeks ago," he said. "For me to see that development and be a part of it and what that brings, that's what I enjoy."

And what he's done as well as any high-school coach in the state.