Turnovers plagued the third-seeded Cardinals in their Division III, Region 9 championship game as they fell to top-seeded host Chardon 38-6.

It marked the third time in the past four seasons the Cardinals reached a regional final only to be denied their first trip to the final four since 2005.

“Three times in four years, sooner or later we’re going to get one of these,” said Canfield coach Mike Pavlansky, whose team finished 9-1. “It was a great year for us with all the (COVID-19) adversity starting back in the spring time and not knowing if we were even going to play. For us to get back to the regional final, we’re just so proud of them.”

The Hilltoppers moved to 10-0 and will play in their first state semifinal since 2003.

Correspondent photo / Michael Taylor Canfield's Broc Lowry (12) is tackled by Chardon's Cade Mcdevitt (7) during a Division III regional final Friday in Chardon.

Chardon scored twice in the first 3 minutes of the contest for a 14-0 lead to put the Cardinals on their heels.

On the first snap of the game, Chardon quarterback Drew Fetchik tossed a flair to his left sideline to 6-foot-4 receiver Nathaniel Sulka, who raced 52 yards to the Canfield 13. Three plays later, James Pettyjohn scored on a 1-yard run.

Sulka made big plays the entire first half to leave Canfield sulking.

The Cardinals’ first possession started at their own 19 before a motion penalty cost them 5 yards. There were three consecutive pass plays from sophomore quarterback Broc Lowry. The third was intercepted by Vince Ferrante, who returned it to Canfield’s 17. Three plays later, Trey Liebhardt scored from 1 yard out.

“Any game where you turn the ball over as many times as we did tonight and shoot yourself in the foot, you’re going to lose, let alone in a regional final game against a tremendous, tremendous football team,” Pavlansky said. “You just can’t spot a team that many points — it’s as simple as that.”

Correspondent photo / Michael Taylor Canfield head coach Mike Pavlansky talks to Canfiled's Jake Petro(18) during the Cardinals' 38-6 loss to Chardon.

Canfield twice tried to gain some momentum. On their following possession, the Cardinals drove to the Chardon 30, but a holding penalty resulted in a 15-yard loss because it was a spot foul. Canfield punted.

After forcing Chardon’s lone punt of the game, Canfield marched back down the field to the Chardon 16 and had a first down. But a nice run by Lowry down inside the 10 ended with a fumble, and the Hilltoppers’ Sulka scooped the ball and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0 with 8:51 left in the first half.

“Turnovers are always killers, but tonight our turnovers led directly to points,” Pavlanskly said. “We gave them a short field and then that fumble really changed things.”

Canfield followed with a 10-play drive to reach Chardon’s 22, but Lowry was victimized by Sulka, who intercepted and returned it near midfield with 38 seconds left before intermission.

Pettyjohn, who finished with 129 yards rushing on 17 carries, burst loose for a 44-yard gain to set up a 24-yard field goal from Nathan Tager, as the score reached 24-0 at intermission.

Correspondent photo / Michael Taylor After catching a pass, Canfield's Logan Torok (29) runs up field against Chardon on Friday.

The Cardinals showed some life in the second half, moving 64 yards in nine plays with Lowry scoring on a 1-yard run. The two-point conversion pass attempt failed, making it 24-6.

However, Chardon matched that time-consuming drive with its own, going 90 yards in 13 plays, capped by Fetchik’s 3-yard keeper to assume a 31-6 lead late in the third quarter.

Two penalties and a shanked punt set the hosts up on Canfield’s 35, and a 1-yard run by Pettyjohn accounted for the game’s final points and produced a running clock with 7:30 left.

“We tried to recover from that rough start and just couldn’t, and they wouldn’t allow us to recover,” Pavlansky said. “They’re a great team, and we aided them when they didn’t need any help from us.”