Sacred Heart ends Nouvel Catholic Central’s three-game winning streak with a 34-15 win Thursday night

SAGINAW, Mich. — Sacred Heart Academy beat Nouvel Catholic Central 34-15 in a nonleague game in Mount Pleasant on Thursday night, ending the Panthers’ three-game winning streak, according to MaxPreps and the Associated Press. The win lifted the Irish above .500 with one regular-season game left.

The game kicked off at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15. MaxPreps listed Sacred Heart Academy as the host; Nouvel’s athletics calendar placed the game at Mount Pleasant Community Memorial Stadium, 1300 E. Bellows St.

Nouvel (4-3 going in) opened Tri-Valley Conference Blue play with losses at Ithaca, 63-7, and at home to Valley Lutheran, 31-28. The Panthers have won every game since: 22-21 at Michigan Lutheran Seminary on Sept. 25, then 51-8 over Carrollton and 44-7 over Hemlock at home. That left them 3-2 in the league, MaxPreps shows.

Sacred Heart (4-3 going in) plays an independent schedule. The Irish had won two straight, 43-36 at Quincy on Oct. 2 and 49-14 over Houghton Lake at home last Friday. Their losses include a 42-14 home defeat against Traverse City St. Francis on Sept. 25, according to MaxPreps.

The teams share one opponent, and it beat both badly. Ithaca topped Sacred Heart 48-6 in the season opener and beat Nouvel by 56 points two weeks later.

The season totals were close going in, too. Nouvel had scored 184 points and allowed 192; Sacred Heart had scored 182 and allowed 208. After Thursday, MaxPreps lists Sacred Heart at 216 points scored and 223 allowed, and Nouvel at 199 and 226.

Both teams finish the regular season Oct. 23. Nouvel plays at Melvindale Academy for Business and Tech at 4 p.m., and Sacred Heart hosts Flint Beecher at 7 p.m., MaxPreps shows.

Updated Oct. 16, 2026: Added the final score, Sacred Heart 34, Nouvel Catholic Central 15, from MaxPreps and an Associated Press scores list, and updated records and next games. This preview’s headline, summary and game-day language are now in the past tense. Nouvel’s athletics calendar listed the game at Mount Pleasant Community Memorial Stadium.

Sources:
MaxPreps, Nouvel Catholic Central Panthers football schedule, accessed Oct. 15 and 16, 2026, https://www.maxpreps.com/mi/saginaw/nouvel-catholic-central-panthers/football/schedule/
MaxPreps, Sacred Heart Academy Fighting Irish football schedule, accessed Oct. 15 and 16, 2026, https://www.maxpreps.com/mi/mt-pleasant/sacred-heart-academy-fighting-irish/football/schedule/
The Associated Press, “Thursday’s Scores,” via WJFW, Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.wjfw.com/sports/regional/thursdays-scores/article_06fd5758-96c1-5a77-963c-cb596d2df345.html
Nouvel Catholic Central Athletics, “Sacred Heart Academy High School - Nouvel Catholic Central,” varsity football event listing and result, accessed Oct. 16, 2026, https://websites.eventlink.com/s/nouvel-catholic-central-high-school/Event/9fed12ac-7f28-401c-9ae3-7dad97101832
Photo: Michael Barera, “Lone Oak vs. Commerce football 2017 18 (Commerce on offense).jpg,” Sept. 1, 2017, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lone_Oak_vs._Commerce_football_2017_18_(Commerce_on_offense).jpg

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Tags: Saginaw · Sports · High School Football · Nouvel Catholic Central · Sacred Heart Academy · Mount Pleasant