Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Canfield’s Danny Inglis, left, and Broc Lowry, right, celebrate after Lowry scored a touchdown against the Poland Bulldogs earlier this season.

CANFIELD — It’s not about how teams start the season, but how they finish.

Despite a midseason loss to regional opponent Chaney, the No. 2 Canfield Cardinals are ready to roll. After cruising through their schedule, scoring an average of 32.7 points per game, while only allowing 10.3 points per game, the Cardinals (8-1) are entering the postseason on the right foot.

But, they are still staying in the present heading into Friday’s matchup against New Philadelphia.

“We’ve had a really good regular season and our guys have worked hard, they are confident in their abilities and they are just looking forward to their first playoff game,” Canfield head coach Mike Pavlansky said. “We’ve told them, though, if you look down the bracket, you’re going to be turning your equipment in on Monday because everyone in the playoffs in Division III, Region 9, they are legit.”

It’s been a journey for the Cardinals.

They started off the season with a crucial 4-point victory over Division VI, Region 13 top-seed West Branch and won their next three games by a combined score of 101-19. That offensive effort was led by the talents of Indiana University commit Broc Lowry. But, the important part of this season has been the growth of the skill players around him.

Guys like junior running back Danny Inglis, wide receivers Gavin Ramun, Ryan Schneider and Scottie Eaton have all filled big roles for the Cardinals after the graduation of a key group of seniors. While he’s seen improvement from them across the board, Pavlanksy said their production has come from focusing on the smaller things.

“From the skill position perspective, it’s better route running, getting the proper depths of routes, and then Danny Inglis started as a full back and is now our tailback,” Pavlansky said. “He’s just seeing holes better that the offensive line is opening for them. It’s all the small things. I think we’ve really gotten better at the little things that allow you to be successful.”

With their growth though comes adversity, and the Cardinals went through a two-week stretch in the middle of the year with games against Chaney and Dover.

They suffered their only loss of the season against the Cowboys on Sept. 16, in what was a back-and-forth game that came down to the wire. A week later, the Cardinals pulled out a victory over a strong Dover team, which Pavlansky thought showed a lot about what his team was made of.

“Coming back from a loss to Chaney, the way our kids fought, the way our kids executed, and the character of our kids showed through,” Pavlansky said. “There’s no doubt about that because if you’re not going to be a tough football team, you’re not going to go down to Dover and be successful.”

Those two games kick-started the Cardinals into the second half of the season as they won their next three games by a combined score of 126-13. The defense played a big role in Canfield’s success and has allowed them to enter the playoffs on a strong note.

“Walley Hurdley, our defensive coordinator, and his staff have done a tremendous job all year long in bringing our guys along slowly,” Pavlansky said. “We have a bunch of guys over there, we don’t just play 11, we play probably about 15 guys per game on that side of the ball and they understand where they fit into the team scheme of the defense and they carry out their jobs at a high level. Like any good defense, you are going to be attuned to film study, scouting reports and knowing what you need to do on a Friday night. We are real pleased with how our guys have played throughout the year.”

Now the Cardinals enter their second season with a matchup against New Philadelphia, who finished the regular season with an overall record of 6-4 and finished off their regular season with an exciting overtime win over Dover.

Pavlansky believes that they present a challenge.

All of their wins have come in low-scoring situations, and their highest-scoring output came against Mt. Vernon in a 44-6 victory. But, they also have a very strong defense. Without their 60-7 loss to West Holmes included, they are only giving up 10.4 points per game.

“We are going to have a hungry and experienced football team coming into Bob Dove Field on Friday,” Pavlansky said.

The two teams are somewhat familiar with each other and have played each other twice in the past two seasons. Two years ago, Canfield earned a 31-24 victory and then pitched a shutout last season in a 35-0 win on the road.

The two teams kickoff at 7 p.m. on Friday.