LA CENTER — For the Elma Eagles, Friday’s 33-21 win over La Center in a 1A District IV Crossover playoff game was a bit of a palate-cleanser.

In a season where the Eagles were two plays from an undefeated record and a league championship, Elma (8-2 overall) entered the postseason as the 1A Evergreen league’s No. 3 seed, meaning the Eagles had to win a road playoff game if they wanted a spot in the state championship tournament.

For the second time this season, the ever-resilient Eagles turned the bitter taste of a previous loss into a resounding victory, controlling the ball late in the game with their punishing ground attack to defeat the La Center Wildcats 33-21 and secure a spot in the state championships.

“It was a tough, physical game and the kids played particularly well in the fourth quarter,” said Elma head coach Ron Clark, whose team scored the final 12 points of the game to triumph. “I give all the credit to the kids.”

Elma jumped out to a 14-0 lead and appeared to be cruising toward another blowout victory after scoring on two first-quarter touchdowns from running back Taitum Brumfield.

But the Elma special teams, which Clark acknowledged was an issue for the Eagles on Friday, gave up a 95-yard touchdown return from Wildcats’ Jeremy Humphrey to get La Center back in the game and swing momentum in their favor.

Elma got their second two-score lead of the evening when quarterback Cody Vollan hit receiver Tysen Richardson for a 14-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.

But La Center charged right back down the field on the ensuing possession and scored on a 5-yard run from Tom Lambert, making it a 21-14 score at the half.

The Wildcats then tied the game at 21-21 on another run from Lambert with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter.

Faced with the possibility that their season could end sooner than they had hoped for, the Eagles did what they do best: Run the football. Elma started feeding Brumfield and backfield teammate Brady Shriver a steady diet of running plays, and it worked.

The Eagles methodically powered their way downfield, taking the lead on a Vollan 4-yard TD run with 1:55 left in the third quarter.

They padded their lead when Brumfield capped another late-game drive with a 9-yard scoring scamper with just under four minutes left in the third quarter, giving Elma the 33-21 win.

“Taitum, Cody and all our guys on that O-line, they just chunked it down the field,” Clark said of his offense’s ability to control the ball and the clock late in the game. “They put an end to it. They were like a relief pitcher coming in and getting the save.”

But Clark’s praise didn’t stop with his backfield and offensive line, as he was quick to point out the play of his defense, which he said played “lights out” in holding La Center to just one touchdown after the half.

Brumfield finished with 159 rushing yards on 29 carries and three touchdowns.

Shriver had 68 yards on 12 carries.

Vollan was 4-for-8 passing for 83 yards and a touchdown.

With a state-tournament berth locked up, Elma waits to see where and what team they will be playing when the tournament brackets are announced on Sunday.

Clark hopes the WIAA seeding commission realizes that his team is better that their third-place finish in league may show.

“I don’t expect us to get a home game (as a higher seed) or anything like that,” he said. “But I’d like to see our RPI taken into account.”

One area of concern for Clark is the special teams, which in addition to giving up the long kickoff return for a score, also allowed for a blocked extra point in the game.

“Either our special teams improves or we are going home next week,” he said.

But for a team that finished 3-6 last season, and, according to Clark, hasn’t made a state tournament since winning it all in 2001, the Eagles are ecstatic to be there and look forward to playing another tough, physical game next week.

“All these (playoff) games from here on out are just wars,” he said. “From now on, it’s full bore.”

Elma 14 7 6 6 — 33

La Center 7 7 7 0 — 21

Leading Passer: Elma — Vollan (4-8-1, 83, TD); La Center — Lambert (7-18-1, 64)

Leading Rushers: Elma — Brumfield (29-159, 3 TD), Shriver (12-68), Vollan (9-13, TD); La Center — Lambert (20-123, 2 TD)

Leading Receivers: Elma — Richardson (3-57, TD), Carter Jacobson (1-26); La Center — Andrew Scott (5-63), Jayden Schmitz (2-26)