The second day of the MHSAA Football Finals got underway with the Division 7 finals between the Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Panthers and the Pewamo-Westphalia Pirates.

Saginaw Nouvel, behind the legs of running back Bennett Lewis defeated Pewamo-Westphalia 56-26.

Lewis got the Panthers on the board first with a 16-yard touchdown run 1:29 into the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Pirates fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Panthers' Daniel McConnell at the 12-yard line. One play later Bennett Lewis punched it in again from 12 yards out to put the Panthers ahead 14-0.

With 5:09 remaining in the first quarter, the Pirates had the ball at their own 18-yard line hoping to get something started on offense. Instead, the Panthers defense was able to sack Justin Thelen for a safety to extend their lead to 16-0 and the rout was on.

"What an experience. We didn't get off on the right foot right from the beginning, a couple bad bounces," Pewamo-Westphalia coach Brad Weber said. "That's one heck of a football game we just faced. We were a little starry-eyed at the beginning."

After two more Bennett Lewis rushing touchdowns and a Joe Buchalski 57-yard touchdown pass to Josh Buchalski, Saginaw Nouvel was ahead 36-6 with 5:57 remaining in the first half.

"By far the best team we've ever played. I don't hesitate to say that Bennett Lewis is the best player we've ever played," Justin Thelen said. "Their physical, their fast, and they had us on our heels from the start. We fought and I'm proud of that."

In the first half, Lewis had 15 rushes for 200 yards and 5 touchdowns. Lewis' five touchdowns tied him with Alex Niznak for the most rushing touchdowns in finals history.

Quarterback Josh Buchalski was efficient through the air completing 7 of 10 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns.

"I can't say enough how proud I am of all my teammates, especially that offensive line. We've been playing together for a long time and they really executed in the first half," Bennett said.

As a team, the Panthers also broke another state finals history for most points scored in a game. The record was previously held by East Grand Rapids with 55 points but Saginaw Nouvel was able to put up 56 points, all in the first half.

At halftime, the Panthers led 56-12 to put the running clock into affect at the start of the third quarter.

The Pirates were lead by quarterback Justin Thelen and running back Alex Thelen. Justin finished with 176 yards through the air with two touchdowns and one interception while Alex gained 77 rushing yards with one touchdown.

In the second half, the Pirates were able to put 14 points on the board and come within 30 points, but they were unable to climb out of the deep hole they dug themselves.

"There's a lot of pride in that program, that's why their where they're at. Very well coached and they came back, Saginaw Nouvel coach Michael Boyd said of Pewamo-Westphalia. "If not for a couple of turnovers there in the first half, it could have been a much closer game without the turnovers."

With the victory, Saginaw Nouvel finished the season with a perfect 13-0 record and won their first state championship since 2007.