Father Gabriel Richard coach Brian Lemons said early in the week he didn’t expect his team’s defense to maintain its 13.2 point scoring average against a high-powered Stockbridge team in the Division 5, District 2 title game.

He was right.

The Irish completely shut the Panthers down in a 28-0 win that gave Gabriel Richard its first district championship in school history.

It was a game that most expected to come down to the play of the team’s quarterbacks. Stockbridge’s Jeff O’Brian had thrown 25 touchdown passes and ran for 11 more while Gabriel Richard’s Don Eaton had 11 in the air and nine rushing.

The Irish defense locked in on O’Brien all day, blitzing from every side of the field and forcing him into his worst game of the season. The senior was just 8-21 through the air for 55 yards with 38 yards rushing on 14 carries. They also sacked him twice and forced a fumble.

“We threw some new things at him today,” Lemons said. “We wanted to confuse him a bit, and bring pressure from different areas and I think we did that. Our offense was the sideshow today, our kids played some great defense.”

“During the week we were putting in all this new stuff and I was worried it might get a bit confusing,” junior linebacker Nick Pauze said. “But I think everyone was really focused the whole week and practiced hard and it really paid off today.”

More Coverage at MLive.com: Rest of the Story | Boxscore | District Bracket