Notre Dame Commit Noah Grubbs Shines as Lake Mary Stuns Florida's Defending 7A State Champs

The Rams star QB passes for 313 yards, two touchdowns as Lake Mary dethrones Venice

Lake Mary football coach Scott Perry, center standing, applauds his team after the Rams beat defending Class 7A state champ Venice, 31-26, in a state semifinal on Friday, Dec. 5. / Jeff Gardenour

In a game of numerous big plays, it was a third-down run and a nifty 22-yard pass completion by Lake Mary’s Noah Grubbs that stood out the most on Friday night when the Rams hosted Venice in a Florida Class 7A state semifinal.

With the clock ticking down and Lake Mary holding onto a slim 31-26 lead against the defending state champs, Grubbs came up clutch when he scrambled 11 yards on a 3rd-down play for a first down, and then four plays later tossed a 22-yard pass to O’Shea Faison on 4th-and-10 for another first down to ice the victory.

After taking a knee on the final play, Grubbs and his teammates and coaches erupted with joy and rushed the field. The victory propelled the Rams (11-3) into the Class 7A state championship for the second straight year.

Lake Mary to face unbeaten Vero Beach for Class 7A state title on Dec. 13

This time, Lake Mary will face off against unbeaten Vero Beach (14-0) on Saturday, Dec. 13, at South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. Vero Beach beat Miami Palmetto, 45-44, in the other semifinal.

“It’s surreal,” said an elated Lake Mary coach Scott Perry. “It hasn’t sunk in, yet. That’s a heckuva team (in Venice). That coach does a great job.

“I’m just proud of our guys,” Perry said. “They just kept fighting and fighting and really made big plays when we had to.”

Lake Mary's pass-catch duo of Noah Grubbs-Barrett Schulz was unstoppable

Nowhere was that more evident than the pass-catch duo of Grubbs and senior wide receiver Barrett Schulz, a 6-foot-6 transfer from University High (Orange City) who has made the most of his final season.

Grubbs, a Notre Dame commit, completed 22 of 31 passes for 313 yards and two TDs – both to a leaping Schulz in the left corner of the end zone – that left players and fans bedazzled. Schulz’s first TD catch – a 16-yarder – was an incredible one-handed snag that capped an impressive 15-play, 80-yard game-opening drive with 6 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first quarter. That gave Lake Mary an early 7-0 lead and seemed to give the Rams the confidence they needed to go on and win the game.

Schulz, a Florida International University signee, later caught a 24-yard TD pass from Grubbs that gave Lake Mary the lead for good, 24-20, with 2:55 left in the third quarter.

But for all of his heroics, Schulz is keeping himself grounded as he knows there is still one game to go.

“We’re actually not finished,” said Schulz, who finished with nine catches for a whopping 135 yards and was virtually unstoppable all night. “We got a lot to accomplish. We got a big week in front of us.”

Venice featured one game-breaking play after another in hard battle

Lake Mary needed every big play they could muster against Venice, a team that featured a huge offensive line and game-breaking skill players.

After Lake Mary’s first score, the Indians drove to the Rams’ 14-yard line before fumbling the ball away. Following a Lake Mary punt, Venice put together an impressive 75-yard drive that culminated with a 17-yard TD run by Tyree Mannings, a blistering fast sophomore wide receiver who made one big play after another on this night.

With the score tied at 7-7, Lake Mary responded with another 80-yard drive capped by a 1-yard TD run by Gavin Isaacs with 4:39 left in the first half. That score was set up by an 18-yard highlight-reel sideline catch by Schulz.

Venice needed just 16 seconds to tie it. A long kickoff return set up Mannings’ 30-yard TD run, and just like that it was 14-14.

Lake Mary took 17-14 halftime lead on 24-yard field goal by Lucas Parker

But Lake Mary never panicked. On their ensuing possession, the Rams picked up 43 yards on the first play when Grubbs connected with Faison. Nine plays later, Lucas Parker made a 24-yard field goal to give Lake Mary a 17-14 halftime lead.

Dorian Jones' 5-yard touchdown in 3rd quarter gave Venice its only lead

Venice took its only lead of the game, 20-17, on the first series of the second half when Dorian Jones scooted in for a 5-yard TD. The Indians missed the extra-point kick. A big 23-yard run by quarterback Darryon Jones and a 50-yard scamper by Mannings set up the score.

Schulz's second touchdown catch gave the Rams the lead for good

After a Lake Mary punt, the Rams forced the Indians to turn the ball over on downs near midfield. Lake Mary then went up 24-20 on Schulz’s TD catch.

Venice punted on its next series, and then the Rams drove 72 yards in 13 plays – capped by Grubbs’ 1-yard keeper – to take a 31-20 lead with 5:12 left.

Venice closed Lake Mary lead to five points but could get no closer

But the Indians refused to quit, getting a 2-yard TD run by Dorian Jones on their ensuing possession to cut Lake Mary’s lead to five, 31-26, with 4:16 remaining. Venice fumbled the two-point conversion and failed to convert.

After Venice’s onside kick failed, Lake Mary and Grubbs picked up two critical first downs and ran out the clock to win it.

“Every has team has its own destiny,” Grubbs said. “Last year, we definitely were different than this year. Right now, we’re clicking and this is the best time.”

Statistically for Lake Mary, Isaacs finished with 52 yards rushing, and Faison caught five passes for 99 yards and ran the ball 13 times for 45 yards.

Mannings had a big night for Venice, rushing seven times for 96 yards and two TDs and catching five passes for 128 yards. Dorian Jones ran 18 times for 91 yards and two scores.

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Jeff Gardenour can be reached via email at jgardenour1962@gmail.com or X @JMarkG1962