3 Takeaways from Lake Mary’s Class 7A state semifinal win against Dr. Phillips

Parker Perales, defense step up for the Rams in historic 24-13 victory

Lake Mary's Parker Perales (5) looks for running room against Dr. Phillips on Friday night in the Class 7A state semifinal. The Rams won 24-13. / gtsmedia

The Lake Mary Rams are making the most of their charges this high school football season.

Making its first-ever state semifinal appearance against an opponent that has been here many times before, Lake Mary used a 14-0 fourth-quarter surge to pull past Dr. Phillips, 24-13, in a Class 7A state semifinal on Friday night.

The victory pushed the Rams (12-2) into the state championship game against longtime power Venice (13-1) on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Florida International University in Miami.

Here are three takeaways from Lake Mary’s latest historic win:

Lake Mary star goes down, but next man steps up

If Lake Mary fans were concerned about their postseason chances when star running back Isaiah Thomas went down to injury last week in a 42-3 win against Seminole, they need not have worried.

Senior Parker Perales, a multi-sport star who transferred from Lake Brantley this year, stepped into the running back rotation with unrivaled determination and rushed for two touchdowns (18 and 2 yards) in a pivotal fourth-quarter comeback.

Lake Mary trailed 13-10 with 2 minutes, 58 seconds left before Perales took over in the fourth quarter. Also, a standout lacrosse player, he used great acceleration and some nifty moves to make things difficult for DP’s defense.

Lake Mary defense proves Ram tough

Much has been made about Lake Mary’s offense this season with the likes of quarterback Noah Grubbs, a Notre Dame commit, and a fleet of wide receivers that would scare most defensive coordinators.

But the Rams can play defense, too, as evidenced by their showing against DP.

Led by Rodney Joyner and Luke Prieto, Lake Mary chased DP star quarterback Stanley Anderson-Lofton, a Middle Tennessee signee, most of the night.

Although Anderson-Lofton did make some big plays – most notably a pass to Mykel Calixte that went for a 78-yard catch-and-run for a TD in the second quarter – he was hurried, pressured and even sacked by a tenacious Rams’ defense.

The final numbers were staggering. DP punted five times, turned the ball over on downs, and threw an interception.

Lake Mary QB Noah Grubbs goes on the run

Lake Mary’s star quarterback has been a prolific passer all season, throwing for 2,554 yards and a whopping 34 TDs with 10 interceptions and rushing for four TDs coming into the DP game.

But with Thomas out with an injury and the Rams reworking their running back rotation, Lake Mary’s offensive coaches threw DP’s defense a curveball with designed QB runs by Grubbs. The lanky signal-caller proved he was up to the challenge, too, running with big strides and picking up big chunks of yardage.

He picked up close to 40 yards in the first half, alone, including a 1-yard keeper for Lake Mary’s first touchdown with 6:13 left in the first quarter.

When DP started figuring out Grubbs on the run, the star quarterback mostly went with the pass in the second half and helped secure the win. Teammate Carson Friedman proved to be lethal down the stretch, catching passes for 21, 27 and 11 yards, the final catch setting up Perales’ 2-yard TD run with 2:30 left.

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Follow Jeff Gardenour on Twitter @JMarkG1962 or email him at jgardenour1962@gmail.com