MHSAA Finals One Click Away on Xfinity
April 9, 2013
Single-event videos from winter MHSAA Championships in Individual Wrestling and Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving will become available soon on the MHSAA.tv website and for Comcast subscribers through Xfinity On Demand.
All of the individual events from the Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals, and the title match in each weight class from the Individual Wrestling Finals in March will be available on both platforms, allowing viewers to focus on their favorite team or individual. Among the highlights of those videos are:
- Adam Coon of Fowlerville of St. Johns won his fourth MHSAA Individual Wrestling title; and Ben Whitford of St. Johns captured a fourth straight state association championship with his second Michigan crown after winning Illinois honors as a freshman and sophomore.
- Hartland teammates Austin Eicher and Jacob Gorial squaring off in the 130-pound Division 1 championship match at the Individual Wrestling Finals.
- Brothers Kanen at 103 pounds and Zehlin Storr at 135 pounds of Leslie finishing their respective seasons undefeated with titles at the Division 3 Individual Wrestling Finals.
- Josh Ehrman of Saline setting all-division records at the Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals in the 200-Yard Individual Medley and the 100-Yard Breaststroke; and swimming a leg of a record-setting 200-Yard Medley Relay.
- A record-breaking photo finish victory for Holland over Ann Arbor Pioneer in the 200-Yard Medley Relay at the Division 2 Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals.
In addition to the latest VOD selections, Xfinity on Demand viewers can catch MHSAA action in Girls and Boys Basketball, Girls Competitive Cheer, Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming and Ice Hockey. Here’s the complete list of events available in April on Xfinity on Demand:
Available Through April 18
Girls Competitive Cheer Finals – Full-length coverage of all four divisions
Available Through April 21
Ice Hockey Finals – Highlights of championship games in all three divisions
Girls Basketball Semifinals – Highlights of all eight semifinal contests
Available Through April 25
Division 3 Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming Finals – All events
Available Through April 28
Division 2 Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming Finals – All events
Available Through April 30
Boys Basketball Semifinals – Highlights of all eight semifinal contests
Division 1 Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming Finals – All events
Available through May 8
Division 3 & 4 Individual Wrestling Finals – Championship match in each weight class
Available April 12 through May 13
Division 1 & 2 Individual Wrestling Finals – Championship match in each weight class
Division 7 Final: Blue Streak
November 29, 2011
DETROIT – Only a few drives into the MHSAA Division 7 Final, Bennett Lewis came to Saginaw Nouvel coach Mike Boyd with a request.
Give me the ball until Pewamo-Westphalia stops me.
Never happened. The senior running back ran for five touchdowns, and his Panthers scored 56 points – both to set or tie MHSAA Finals records.
And both were accomplished over just two quarters as Nouvel cruised to a 56-26 win and its third football championship.
“I can’t say enough how proud I am of my teammates, especially the offensive line. We’ve been playing together a long time and they really executed in the first half,” Lewis said. “Their defense is one of the defenses we can run our offense against really well. We just executed and made big plays. ”
This championship goes with Nouvel’s back-to-back Division 6 titles in 2006 and 2007, and the Panthers finished 13-0 to match their perfect record in 2006. Pewamo-Westphalia made its first appearance in an MHSAA Football Final and finished 13-1.
The Panthers had scored 63 and 62 points, respectively, during the first two rounds of the postseason. And as Boyd said after, he had an offense built for speedy strikes – especially at an inside venue like Ford Field.
Nouvel blew past the previous MHSAA Finals record of 42 points in one half set by both Farmington Hills Harrison in 2000 and Jackson Lumen Christi in 2001.
“Maybe our third drive, Bennett came off the field and came right up to me and said, ‘I want the football. Until they stop me, give me the football,’” Nouvel coach Mike Boyd said. “I said, ‘Absolutely.’
“Great competitors, great leaders. Just a great group.”
Lewis, the Associated Press’ Division 7-8 Player of the Year this fall, ran 15 times for 200 yards – all in the first half – to push his season rushing total to 2,077. The five touchdowns gave him 36 rushing for the fall. Senior quarterback Joseph Buchalski was 7 for 10 passing for 196 yards and three scores. He also ran five times for 50 yards – again, all in the first half.
“That’s the best team I’ve ever played. The fastest. (And) I don’t hesitate to say Bennett Lewis is the best player I’ve ever played,” P-W senior quarterback/cornerback Justin Thelen said. “We fought, and I’m proud of that. But they had us on our heels right away.”
Thelen was 10 for 21 passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns, and senior Alex Thelen ran 16 times for 77 yards and a score. It was a tough end to a courageous run by the Pirates, who suffered through the death of classmate and baseball teammate Brendon Nurenberg in a car crash earlier this month, but battled through with his memory an additional motivator.
“He was just a fun guy. The guys loved being around him. And the guys rallied around that,” P-W coach Brad Weber said. “They did it for Brendon for the most part. They knew he would have fun, so they did too.”