Surprised how bad Lake Mary got crushed by a team they beat in regular season.

[Floridaatlantic1]

I thought this was the year Lake Mary went to the state championship game. I have no idea how they got beat so bad. Anyone at the game have some more details. How did they not score more point?

[Ray Icaza]

Based on the Orlando Sentinel reporting, it appears that RB Isaiah Thomas (1000+ yds) was a very important missing piece in their offensive attack.  He was their homerun hitter all year on the ground and got injured in the Boone game the previous week.  Combine that with the fact Mandarin was known for an excellent secondary all year and they forced two INT's, one which was returned for a TD.  Turns out Noah Grubbs was not enough by himself to carry them to victory simply relying on the aerial attack.  Losing "SPECIAL" players against top-flight teams is hard to overcome.  Did not watch the game, so hopefully someone that was there can provide you some additional insight. 

[shredstar]

Always read, seldom post, but I can offer some insight here.  My son and I drove down to first game and I watched the second game on feed.  The score of the first game was very misleading.  Simply put, Mandarin lost the first game because they had 5 turnovers, with one of them being a punt snapped into the end zone for a free LM score.  Even with all the turnovers, Mandarin was going in to score in the 4th qtr to bring the game within 2 or 3 points when they dropped a wide open TD on 4th down.  LM then took the next drive in for a score to get the final margin.  By no means did LM go up and down the field on them all game like they have on everyone else.  They did hit some longer runs, but only managed about 250 yards total.  The second game was very similar, but this time with fewer turnovers, I believe it ended up being a zero margin.  The consensus up here all last week was that if as long as Mandarin didn't turn the ball over a bunch they should handle them comfortably, which they obviously did.  You can see the talent there with Noah Grubbs.  Some similarities to Carson Beck, who we had up here a few years ago.  The first game against Mandarin he was a 6 of 18 for 108 yds.  Haven't seen any stats for this past game but they will likely be very similar.  It is not a coincidence that by far his worst two games this year were both against Mandarin.  There was not a lot he could do because his receivers were just not able to get open.  The Mandarin secondary is one of the best in the entire state, regardless of classification.  They will all be playing meaningful football on Saturdays in the future.

Mandarin is kind of an outlier in this region being up here in Jax but connected to a region with a lot of Metro Orlando schools.  They won a terrible district and had three losses, all because of the same thing....turnovers.  They do have some trouble with power running teams (i.e. Bartram and Bolles), but have shown improvement in that area throughout the year.  I really don't see any power running team like those aforementioned two in their path going forward.  The only receiver that has given them any trouble all year was Naeem Burroughs of Bolles and he is going to light up everyone he faces.   They have all kinds of talent on offense, the kind of players that if you do not come up with a plan to stop them individually they will torch you.  They have a talented QB who is a three year starter and two excellent backs who benefit from teams scared to death they are going to get beat deep by Jamie Ffrench, in which he usually does anyway.  Really, their only issue on offense has been turnovers in certain games.  If they limit those going forward they could very easily win out.  Top to bottom, they have more sheer talent than anyone left in their path.  In fact, this current team has more talent than their 2018 state title team.  Looking ahead, much of their talent will return so they are likely going to be as talented or even more so next year.

As for LM not having their back, yeah, I could see where that could make some difference, but even if he were playing, Mandarin was just the better team overall.  Having the threat of a decent back allows compensation for having average receivers, which ultimately was what ended up being the real problem for LM this year.  The kid can make all the throws, he just needs some quality receivers to throw to.  

 

[KeemD321]

4 hours ago, Floridaatlantic1 said:

I thought this was the year Lake Mary went to the state championship game. I have no idea how they got beat so bad. Anyone at the game have some more details. How did they not score more point?

I'm not sure what happened but after actually looking into the Mandarin game in the regular season and Mainland game. I had a strong feeling that Mandarin would win. When they played in the regular season they held Noah Grubbs to his lowest output but their defense and running backs stepped up in a major way. I just felt that they would keep him contained again and wouldn't make the mistakes they made the first go around. Plus alot of area coaches picked up on some of his tells when it comes to him being pressured. That came from Mainland and a possible opponent for next season

[Dan in Daytona]

14 hours ago, KeemD321 said:

I'm not sure what happened but after actually looking into the Mandarin game in the regular season and Mainland game. I had a strong feeling that Mandarin would win. When they played in the regular season they held Noah Grubbs to his lowest output but their defense and running backs stepped up in a major way. I just felt that they would keep him contained again and wouldn't make the mistakes they made the first go around. Plus alot of area coaches picked up on some of his tells when it comes to him being pressured. That came from Mainland and a possible opponent for next season

Nice analysis KeemD, I think you're spot on. Shout out to the young QB Grubbs. What potential, and he still has two more years of high school ball.

[nolebull813]

IMG might make a run at him 

[KeemD321]

11 hours ago, Dan in Daytona said:

Nice analysis KeemD, I think you're spot on. Shout out to the young QB Grubbs. What potential, and he still has two more years of high school ball.

Hopefully this rumored battle of the 2026 QBs happened next season with Noah Grubbs vs Brady Hart

[Ray Icaza]

6 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

IMG might make a run at him 

You reckon they would be the only one??

[DarterBlue2]

6 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

IMG might make a run at him 

 

41 minutes ago, Ray Icaza said:

You reckon they would be the only one??

He's not going anywhere. Family is well grounded in the Lake Mary community. What they need are three replacement receivers, a good backup running back and more strength in their secondary. If they get all or some of these, they will be a contender next year, too.

[Ray Icaza]

55 minutes ago, DarterBlue2 said:

 

He's not going anywhere. Family is well grounded in the Lake Mary community. What they need are three replacement receivers, a good backup running back and more strength in their secondary. If they get all or some of these, they will be a contender next year, too.

Glad to hear that as your view is solid, though it probably won't prevent some nearby school in need of a QB to try. 

[DarterBlue2]

1 hour ago, Ray Icaza said:

Glad to hear that as your view is solid, though it probably won't prevent some nearby school in need of a QB to try. 

Ray, If I had one iota of a chance, I would snap up Noah in a heartbeat. I am sure Seminole would like to. The sell would be a state championship. But I think that he won't budge as I believe he likes his current situation. 

[h8r]

not img, but 1st academy.  especially with the latest info out there about the "co" coaching situation there.  which is total BS, dude brings his whole staff with him, so now there are 2 headers and 2 coaches for all the spots.  either that wont work like thye planned or its a total farce to sell the kids their coaches aint leaving.

could easily see the allure of going to TFA for many kids, great facilities, some of the best recruited kids in the area, the real shot at winning  a state title.

[Dan in Daytona]

Another "opinion" on Lake Mary and it's very fine young quarterback Noah Grubbs after reading the excellent analysis from both "shedstar" and "KeenD321."  No way on earth did I believe Lake Mary would overwhelm my revered Mainland Buccaneers 33-0 in our house. Their defense dominated in all phases, nothing else to say. Their offense was a different story. Young Grubbs was continually harassed, 5-22, for 127yds with numerous "throw aways" to avoid a sack. But he also threw three perfect touchdown passes on well covered receivers that were a thing of beauty. The big kid (6'4-5") has a powerful arm with the finesse of a varsity veteran. Their running back killed us by being about to get outside which isn't  typical with our speedy defenders. He also was tough to bring down. He came out of the game a couple times after big hits. He was visibly limping in the 4th quarter. It's not hard to see how his absence greatly affected what they could do against a very good team like Mandarin..... Final thoughts on Noah Grubbs, tremendous upside, got the size, arm strength that was the gold standard for future college and NFL quarterback greats. But, both games are rapidly evolving. Speed Kills. Got to have movement to buy time, take less hits, and run for positive yardage when necessary. He didn't need his legs against my Bucs. At the next two levels it's beginning to be a "must have."  Defensive coordinators don't miss much or they aren't around very long. Best to the young man. Glad to get a chance to see him.