Canfield Uses Big 2nd Half to Claim First State Title with Win Over Bloom-Carroll

Photo courtesy of Billy Kosco

CANTON, OH – The second game on Friday featured the Canfield Cardinals and the Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs. Both teams came into the D3 Championship having just 1 loss on the season. Canfield is led by Indiana commit Broc Lowry at quarterback. Canfield opened the playoffs as the #3 ranked team in the AP for Division 3. Meanwhile, Bloom-Carroll is led by their tough hardnosed defense. The Bulldogs gave up an average of just 10 points per game throughout the regular season and playoffs. Both schools came in looking for their first State Title in their programs’ history.

Canfield Controls the Tempo

Early in the game, there was a sense that Canfield was going to control the tempo. The Cardinal defense quickly forced a Bloom-Carroll punt on their first possession. It was the offense’s turn to show what it had. Canfield’s offense played their first drive methodically. They went on a 12-play 57-yard drive to start off the game’s scoring. Quarterback Broc Lowry finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown run. The drive took the clock down to 4:18 left in the 1st quarter. At the end of the 1st quarter, the Cardinals were driving again with a 7-0 lead.

Division III State Championship 🏆

1Q | 4:18
Canfield – 7
Bloom-Carroll – 0

A 1-yard keeper by Indiana commit Broc Lowry gets Canfield on the board first.#OHSAAChampionships 🏈 pic.twitter.com/wqXYvB1c6a

— NEO Zone HS Sports (@NEOZoneHS) December 2, 2022

Bloom-Carroll Keeps Things Close

On the first play of the 2nd quarter, Bloom-Carroll showed why they are so tough on defense. Bulldogs DB Carter Cornelius picked off Broc Lowry deep in Bloom-Carroll territory. While they did not score off the turnover, it seemed to give Bloom-Carroll more confidence. Later in the quarter, Canfield went on another long drive. They went 74 yards in 14 plays to extend their lead to 14-0. Bloom-Carroll was not rolling over though. On their final drive of the half, they went 64 yards in 12 plays. The drive was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Thanthanavong to Brodyn Bishop. At the half, Canfield was clinging to a 14-7 lead.

Division III State Championship 🏆

*Halftime*
Canfield – 14
Bloom-Carroll – 7

On the final play of the half, Ethan Thanthanavong throws a 3-yard TD to Brodyn Bishop.

Canfield still holds a touchdown lead behind 113 yards and 2 TD from Broc Lowry.#OHSAAChampionships 🏈 pic.twitter.com/HPAzbP5Cno

— NEO Zone HS Sports (@NEOZoneHS) December 2, 2022

Canfield’s Big 2nd Half

After a disappointing first drive, Canfield came back firing. They forced the Bulldogs to quickly punt the ball away on their first possession of the half. On the ensuing Cardinal drive, they went on an 8-play 51-yard push to the end zone. Broc Lowry found pay dirt for the 3rd time in the game with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Canfield defense continued to stand tall against Bloom-Carroll. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Canfield held a 21-7 lead.

The 4th quarter started off great for Canfield. On the first play of the quarter, quarterback Paul Bindas found fellow quarterback Broc Lowry for a 69-yard touchdown pass. On Bloom-Carroll’s next drive, Ethan Thanthanavong had the Bulldog offense driving. However, after back-to-back sacks, Thanthanavong threw an interception. Canfield DB Caden Kohout returned the interception to the Bloom-Carroll 30 yard line. This put the Cardinal offense in great position. On the final play of the drive, Broc Lowry completed the trifecta. He found FB Dom Marzano in the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown pass. This gave Lowry his 5th total touchdown of the game. He had 3 rushing, 1 receiving, and now 1 passing touchdown. Bloom-Carroll would find their way back to the end zone late in the quarter on a Chase Plantz 1-yard touchdown run. When the final whistle blew, the final score saw Canfield on top 35-14. This gave Canfield their first ever State Championship.

Division III State Championship 🏆

4Q | 11:45
Canfield – 28
Bloom-Carroll – 7

Dual-threat? More like triple-threat!

Quarterback Broc Lowry catches a short pass and takes it 69 yards to the house!#OHSAAChampionships 🏈 pic.twitter.com/fe85ZOIsrW

— NEO Zone HS Sports (@NEOZoneHS) December 2, 2022

Key Players:

Canfield Cardinals:

QB Broc Lowry: 10/17 passing, 95 yards, 1 TD; 24 rushes for 121 yards, 3 TDs; 1 rec. 69 yards, 1 TD; 5 total TDs

RB Danny Inglis: 14 rushes for 63 yards, 4 rec. 43 yards

Bloom-Carroll:

QB Ethan Thanthanavong: 15/24 passing, 154 yards, 1 TD

RB Dylan Armentrout: 16 rushes for 61 yards; 2 rec. 30 yards