LAKE MARY — With a last-minute, fourth-down conversion, Lake Mary had its revenge and ended Venice’s hopes to repeat as FHSAA Class 7A football champion.
Notre Dame signee Noah Grubbs converted a fourth-and-10 with a swing pass to running back O’Shea Faison, sealing the Rams’ 31-26 victory over Venice in front of a packed crowd at Don T. Reynolds Stadium.
Lake Mary (11-3) advances to face undefeated Vero Beach (14-0), a double-overtime winner over Miami Palmetto, at Florida International’s Pitbull Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13. The Rams seek their first state title in program history, while Vero Beach tries to end a 44-year drought of its own. The win also avenged last season’s state title game as Venice defeated the Rams 52-19 for the Class 7A championship.
Four-time state champion Venice finishes the year with a 9-4 record despite three rushing touchdowns for Dorien Jones. It battered the Rams 52-19 last December as Jamarice Wilder and Winston Watkins Jr. combined for five rushing touchdowns.
“I’m kind of lost for words,” Venice coach John Peacock said. “I thought we played much better. They had a great game plan. We did a phenomenal job, but just came up short on a couple things. We had opportunities.”
Grubbs, sacked just once on the night, completed 22 of 31 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns — both to senior Barrett Schulz (nine receptions, 135 yards), who will close his high school career at his future college home.
“Really excited about that. I’ve been telling everyone that the job’s still not finished,” said Schulz, committed to FIU since July 1. “We’ve got a long way to go. It’s going to be a big game.”
Venice will feel, perhaps justly, that the outcome of the night could have gone much differently if not for a pair of onside kick rulings.
Venice stormed down the field out of halftime with a pair of long runs from Darryon Jones and Tyree Mannings Jr. Dorien Jones capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to put his team ahead 20-17.
Peacock attempted to keep momentum on Venice’s side, calling for an onside kick. James Reynolds dribbled it, but officials ruled the ball touched a Venice player prior to it traveling 10 yards. Both teams stalled out in plus territory on their next drives, and Lake Mary regained the lead when Grubbs hit Schulz on a 24-yard post-corner late in the third quarter.
Following a Venice punt, Lake Mary methodically marched down the field to establish a two-score lead. Grubbs surged ahead on a 1-yard sneak, ending an eight-minute possession and putting the Rams in front 31-20.
Venice provided an instant response as Darryon Jones ripped a pair of long throws along the left sideline, the latter to Mannings all the way down to Lake Mary’s 2-yard line. Dorien Jones did the rest, but the Rams denied Venice’s two-point conversion bid.
Reynolds again tried an onside kick, and Venice appeared to recover near midfield. Officials gathered and, following a fairly lengthy discussion, awarded the ball to the Rams.
“It didn’t go 10 yards because their guy came up and touched it,” Peacock said. “That could have been a huge play in the game.”
Venice had just one timeout remaining as Lake Mary faced the challenge of burning the game’s final four minutes. Grubbs extended the drive with his legs on third down and hit Faison for the sealing completion with 39 seconds left.
“Our run game was different tonight,” Grubbs said. “Our O-line got body on body. They moved (Venice). They were violent, they were physical, and they got the movement we needed. If we could run the ball, I told them we were winning this game.”
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Lake Mary ends Venice’s state champion run in Class 7A semifinal
Reporting by Chris Boyle, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
