FIU signee involved in wild finish in Class 7A state championship game

In what might have been the most dramatic finish in state championship game history, Lake Mary saw its “Hail Mary” pass on the game’s final play answered as the Rams stunned Vero Beach 28-27 in the Class 7A state final at FIU’s Pitbull Stadium on Saturday night.

Trailing 27-21 with eight seconds left and on the Vero Beach 42-yard line, Lake Mary quarterback Noah Grubbs launched a high pass toward the goal line that Vero Beach defenders went to knock down. But they batted it right to FIU-bound receiver Barrett Schulz, who was on the 4-yard line.

As Vero Beach defenders tried to wrestle him to the ground, Schulz managed to lateral to teammate Tavarius Brundage who skirted around the left side and managed to find the end zone with Vero defensive back Jordan Crutchfield on his back. Lucas Parker cooly drilled the extra point to give the Rams, who were a state runner-up a year ago, their first state title in program history in stunning fashion.

Schulz, a 6-5, 190-pound three-star prospect who signed with FIU on Dec. 3, caught seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown.

Leading 27-19, the Indians (14-1) thought they had the game won, and state title secured when Crutchfield picked off a Grubbs pass at the Vero Beach 40 with 1:12 to play. It was here that Vero Beach coaches might have mismanaged the clock as Vero started trying to kneel the game out. But Lake Mary still had two timeouts and burned them both but there were still 22 seconds left when Vero faced a fourth-and-31 at their own 19.

Rather than punt it away, they had punter Efrem White run around to eat some clock up and run out of the end zone for a safety. But there were still 12 seconds left. Vero kicked off from its own 20 where Lake Mary’s Jahvon Robinson returned the kickoff 23 yards to the Vero 42 with 8 seconds left setting the stage for the dramatic final play.

At halftime it appeared the Indians were on their way to their second-ever state title, and first since 1981 when they took a 21-3 lead to the locker room.

But led by Grubbs, a Notre Dame commit who finished 25-of-48 for 333 yards, the Rams battled back. Trailing 27-11, they made it a one-possession game when Grubbs tossed a 7-yard touchdown to Gavin Isaacs early in the fourth quarter and converted the subsequent two point attempt.