Notre Dame QB commit Noah Grubbs leads epic comeback with four TD night

Doubt Notre Dame quarterback commit Noah Grubbs and his Lake Mary (Fla.) High squad at your own peril.

And to be honest, it would have been easy to do just that on Friday night.

Heading into their home matchup against Miami Norland — a South Florida powerhouse — Lake Mary was considered the clear underdog. And early on, the game played out that way.

Norland marched down the field to score the game’s first touchdown. On Lake Mary’s opening series, Grubbs was dropped on first down by an unblocked defensive end — the kind of pressure he’d face for much of the night.

Norland took a 13-0 lead, but Grubbs was able to connect with Florida International receiver commit Barrett Schulz for a second-quarter score to cut it to 13-7.

From there, it was all Norland. The visitors were up 19-7 before Grubbs threw a pick six, and Norland had a 29-7 lead going into halftime. The score held until the fourth, when Grubbs rolled right and hit Schulz again to make it 29-14 with eight minutes left.

The Lake Mary defense got the ball back to Grubbs, and the running game got going. Grubbs powered in a rushing score on a quarterback sneak, and the two-point conversion was good, making it a 29-22 ball game with 3:59 left.

The Rams’ defense delivered again, stuffing a fourth-down speed option and handing Grubbs the ball with a chance to finish the comeback.

A tunnel screen was executed to perfection, as Grubbs connected with receiver Anthony Totin for a major gain, putting Lake Mary inside the Norland 30-yard line. The drive was capped off with Grubbs connecting with Schulz for touchdown pass No. 3, cutting Norland’s lead to 29-28.

Lake Mary initially lined up for a field goal, but an offsides call on Norland changed the plan. Head coach Scott Perry and offensive coordinator Adam Donnelly kept the offense out, and running back O’Shea Faison muscled in the two-point try.

With just :44 left, Lake Mary took a 30-29 lead, but Norland drove into chip-shot field goal range, but the 27-yard attempt was blocked — sealing the upset.

The epic, season-opening comeback was completed. One for the ages.

“I feel that we just wanted it more,” Perry told Blue & Gold after the game. “We kept fighting and fighting. We weren’t able to move the ball on them in the first three quarters like we did in the fourth quarter. I don’t know if they got tired out or our heart and tenacity took over.”

For three quarters, it looked like one of the worst nights of Grubbs’ career — two interceptions and little rhythm on offense. But he flipped the script with clutch throws and runs.

“Things weren’t clicking in the beginning, and we had to rally the troops as a unit,” Grubbs said. “We got it together — things went north from there.”

Grubbs completed 12 of 24 attempts for 154 yards with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, plus 10 rushes for 41 important yards and a score on the ground.

“He owned his mistakes, said that he has to do better, then did better in the second half and stayed poised,” Donnelly said. “He hit Barrett for a couple touchdowns and that’s what you get out of a four-year starter — that leadership.”

“We were very mistake prone in the first half — offense, defense, special teams,” Perry added. “In the second half, we kept grinding. Noah and the team made plays when we had to.”

The 2024 Florida 7A state runner-ups scheduled a difficult start to the season with four non-conference games, and beating Norland will give Grubbs and Co. a ton of confidence moving forward.

“This win means everything,” Grubbs continued. “It shows Central Florida what we’re all about. Coming back from being down 29-7 in the middle of the fourth quarter is not easy, but it definitely shows people what Lake Mary is about.

“This is probably the best high school game I’ve been a part of. The community was here to support us. Down 29-7, they were still here for us. We’re striving to be 1-0 every week until we get to Week 15 and do it one more time.”

Grubbs ranks as the No. 257 overall player and No. 19 quarterback in America according to the 2026 Rivals Industry Ranking. He committed to the Irish in June 2024, picking Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, Florida, Miami, Michigan and many others.