Lake Mary Dominates Seminole to Make History with First-Ever State Semifinal Berth

Notre Dame Commit Noah Grubbs and a Stifling Defense Lead the Rams to a 42-3 Victory in Class 7A Region 1 Championship

The Lake Mary football team made history on Friday, defeating Seminole, 42-3, to capture the school's first-ever state semifinal appearance. / Lake Mary Football

The Lake Mary-Seminole High rivalry has morphed into one of Florida high school football’s biggest over the past several decades. And this year's game was no different.

With a state semifinal berth on the line, Lake Mary got three touchdown passes from Notre Dame commit Noah Grubbs and three forced turnovers from a tenacious defense on the way to a 42-3 home field victory in the FHSAA Class 7A, Region 1 championship game against the Seminoles on Friday night.

It was the Rams’ third win in four outings against Seminole, and second straight this season. But this latest victory was historic as it sent Lake Mary to the state semifinals for the first time in school history.

Lake Mary advanced to play Dr. Phillips on Friday, Dec. 6, in a state semifinal. The winner plays either Venice or Miami Columbus the following week for the state championship.

“It was an amazing game,” Lake Mary coach Scott Perry told Lake Mary Media Group after the game. “Offense, defense, special teams.”

Here are five takeaways from the Class 7A, Region 1 championship:

Big plays proved huge for Lake Mary

The Rams’ penchant for making big plays in big games continued against Seminole. First, senior linebacker Luke Prieto batted down a Michael Clayton pass that fell into his arms and he raced 26 yards for a TD on the game’s opening series.

After Seminole got a 37-yard field goal from Liam Allen, the Rams needed just two plays to find the end zone again; this time on a pass from Grubbs to Carson Friedman, who scored on a 65-yard catch-and-run for a 14-3 lead in the first quarter.

On Lake Mary’s very next series, Grubbs connected with Friedman again on a 41-yard pass on a third-down play. Five plays later, Chase Hinshaw caught a 20-yard TD pass from Grubbs. And the rout was on.

Defense was Ram tough all night

Lake Mary’s defense rose to the occasion all night against a balanced Seminole team that had entered the game with a 10-1 record.

The Rams intercepted three passes, with one producing a pick-6 by Prieto. Brad Billups intercepted a pass around midfield and raced 51 yards to the Seminole 3-yard line. Jaysen Soto scored on the very next play to give the Rams a 28-3 lead with 8 minutes, 27 seconds in the second quarter.

Late in the third quarter, TJ Clayton picked off a pass that helped set up another Lake Mary touchdown: a 32-yard pass from Grubbs to Hinshaw.

Seminole had the ball in Lake Mary territory four times, but got inside the red zone only once as Prieto, Jack Lorenz, Rodney Joyner and others brought the heat for the Rams.

Injury could prove costly for Lake Mary

Lake Mary’s victory was dampened somewhat by the injury of star senior running back Isaiah Thomas, who went down with an apparent leg injury early in the second quarter.

Thomas came into the game with more than 1,000 yards rushing and 15 TDs.

But the Rams answered the challenge when Soto and Parker Perales, a former Lake Brantley quarterback, took snaps in the backfield and proved effective. Parker, a quick-twitch back with great acceleration, was the most successful, gaining almost 100 yards and scoring a TD.

"Big win for the guys," Perales said. "Definitely came out there with a goal and that goal was to know that we're better than them while not underestimating Seminole as a team because they are a well-rounded group. We just got to go out there with a chip on our shoulder and play two more games this season.

"I mean, we've prepared for them all season," Perales said of Seminole. "Yes, we played other teams, but we already had a thought in our mind we were going to meet up with Seminole again; this time, something much bigger to play for. Big win for us a team and excited to move onto the next round. Head is down and still grinding. Onto to the next!"

Offense continues to soar for Lake Mary

In stretching their win streak to nine games, the Rams scored 31 or more points eight times during that stretch, and 42 or more points six times.

Lake Mary has outscored the opposition by 31.3 points per game during the playoffs.

Seminole’s ball-control offense didn’t work

The Seminoles came in with a clear strategy of driving the ball down the field, taking time off the clock and scoring. But that plan of attack quickly changed when Prieto scored on a pick-6 and Grubbs threw a TD pass to Friedman, giving Lake Mary an early 14-3 lead.

Forced to throw the ball in a catch-up game, Clayton got sacked by Prieto on third down on Seminole’s next series and then threw an interception on their ensuing possession to set up another score.

Still, Seminole’s Rodney Grant III, De’shawn Watkins and Anthony Gay III helped the team rush for more than 100 yards.

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-- Jeff Gardenour | jgardenour1962@gmail.com