The Lakeshore Gators were back to the drawing board in practice this week as Kyle Frasier (left) blocks Peyton Bell during drills.

The Lakeshore Gators hadn't lost a game since 2005, until last Thursday.

In a defensive game, the Gators lost 15-8 to the Saint Paul Patriots in their third week of Premier Division high school football.

"We made some great plays on defence by getting the ball back. Our offence struggled and we did score two touchdowns," said Patriots coach Rick Oreskovich. "I thought our kids rose to the occasion. I think their defence played very well, because we had a tough time moving the ball."

It was the first time the Patriots have ever beaten the Gators in Port Colborne, according to Oreskovich.

The Gators opened the scoring on a quarterback sneak by Gary Snyder in the first quarter, but the offence would spin and Snyder threw four interceptions.

"The effort just wasn't there, we had problems executing. I wasn't happy overall," said Gators coach Rocky DiPietro. "We haven't been on track all year, one of these games we're hoping to put it together."

The last time Lakeshore lost was against Saint Paul, three years ago.

"It's always tough to lose, everybody always talks about our record," said DiPietro. "But it really doesn't matter to me, because this team has nothing to compare themselves to. They're their own identity."

The Patriots tied the game when quarterback Nick Oreskovich snuck into the end zone to end the first half. In the fourth quarter, Patriots Matt McInnis ran the ball for a major score.

"It's great to beat them on their home turf, but great to beat them in general," said Oreskovich. "No matter where it's played. They're a good team year in and year out, it's difficult to compete with them."

The Gators will head back to the drawing board.

"I said my two cents to the team after the game, but we'll see if it sunk in this week, but we were very undiscplined and we made a lot of mistakes," said DiPietro. "I thought we would have had a better show than that, especially against a good team like Saint Paul, but we came up flat and they deserve to win."

Saint Paul lost to Lakeshore in the 2007 championship final with two minutes left to go in the game.

"I'm not a big fan of saying winning and losing, because winning is only a result of what you do," said Oreskovich. "So you don't go into the game with the goal of winning, because that's the result of what you do on every single play."