Trent Grotjan accounts for four touchdowns in Lake Wales' homecoming victory

Quarterback's 88-yard scoring run to start the third quarter sparks a big victory over Lake Gibson

LAKE WALES, Fla. – Trent Grotjan had a split second to decide between two opportunities. He opted for door number one and it paid off big time.

The Lake Wales senior quarterback bolted 88 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to start the third quarter while leading the Highlanders to a pivotal 34-14 homecoming win over Lake Gibson, Friday at Legion Field.

“That play right after halftime was a run-pass option,” Grotjan said. “I saw the defensive end come down, I was going to pass it, but I saw a lane and I took it.”

Lake Wales senior quarterback Trent Grotjan hands the ball off to Highlanders sophomore running back Jordan Henderson against Lake Gibson on Friday at Legion Field. Lake Wales won 34-14 / Photo by Bill Kemp

It was the second of four touchdowns – one rushing and three passing – Grotjan accounted for on the night. He threw touchdown strikes of 53 and 10 yards to Xavier Marlow and an 84-yarder to Carlos Mitchell.

“It was fun,” Grotjan said. “It’s been rough trying to find trust in myself and my teammates, and I think tonight I found it. It started clicking, everything started clicking. I found my reads were easier. I was just patient and relaxed in the pocket.”

After a nip-and-tuck first half, the Highlanders were clinging to a 7-0 lead heading into the third quarter. That’s when Grotjan called an RPO from the 12-yard line, kept the ball running around left end and took off down home sidelines for the 88-yard touchdown.

“We knew it was there. We knew it was in him because we’ve seen him do that in practice. It was just a matter of finding it,” Lake Wales head coach Tavaris Johnson said. “The best is yet to come. You haven’t seen what that kid is made of. He found it, he found himself tonight.”

It gave the Highlanders a 14-0 lead and a lot of second-half momentum.

“That was huge. We spoke at halftime and said, ‘Hey, on the first drive, we gotta score. We are not accepting anything less than that. And he comes out on the first play and does it. I’m like, ‘Wow,’” Johnson said.

Lake Wales (5-0) opened the scoring with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter when Grotjan connected with Marlow on the 53-yard touchdown pass.

Following the 88-yard touchdown run, he hooked up with Mitchell on an 84-yard touchdown pass to put the Highlanders up 21-0 in the third quarter with 5:51 left.

Lake Wales senior quarterback Trent Grotjan fires a pass against Lake Gibson on Friday at Legion Field. He threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in a 34-14 win / Photo by Bill Kemp

Lake Gibson answered seconds later when senior quarterback Jackson Akins hit Kordell Lewis with a 61-yard touchdown pass to narrow the lead to 21-7.

But Lake Wales struck again with 2:30 remaining in the third when Jordan Henderson scored on an 11-yard run to push the lead to 28-7.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the fourth. Lake Gibson scored on a 4-yard run by Anthony Petersen with 10:30 left, and Lake Wales capped the night with a Grotjan to Marlow 10-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left in the game.

Lake Wales hosts Davenport Monday evening in a 3S District 8 makeup game while Lake Gibson hosts crosstown rival Kathleen Friday in a 4S District 7 showdown.

“We are humbly undefeated,” Johnson said. “Our defensive line is one of the best in the nation. I stand behind that. Other teams have stars but we have the numbers to prove it. The team is violent and hungry. Our theme is: 'Taking an ax to the mosquito.'”

Lake Gibson has lost five consecutive games but has also played the toughest schedule in the county this season, which included games against top 10 ranked teams both nationally and statewide.

“We have two more district games and then two others. We have a very good strength of schedule, but 4-6 is pretty hard to make the playoffs. It doesn’t happen very often,” Lake Gibson head coach Rich Pringle said.