On its first offensive possession, the Cordova High School football team was forced to punt against Foothill.

But after that drive in a Sept. 23rd non-league game at the Mustangs’ field, the game belonged to the Lancers.

Cordova scored on every offensive possession in the first half. That led to a huge halftime lead and a 56-14 victory over the Mustangs. The win concludes the pre-season for the Lancers with a 3-2 record.

“They played us that was favorable to our run game,” said Cordova head coach Darren Nill, whose squad led 37-14 at halftime. “We did whatever we wanted to do on the ground.”

The numbers support the Lancers’ dominance on the ground. Cordova racked up 386 yards, led by running back Deante McCullough, who had 11 carries for 104 yards. Lancer quarterback Xavier Johnson followed in the rushing department with 10 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Kelechi Njoku, a junior running back, had three carries for 60 yards.

“I thought we had a real good game plan,” said Nill, whose game plan was to keep the ball on the ground against the Mustangs’ defense. “I think it was just some player jitters on that first drive (that led to the punt). We knew we had a good game plan.”

The ground game also saw running back Kenneth Haney score two touchdowns in the game. He finished with seven carries for 42 yards. Raymond Flite touched the ball seven times for 47 yards.

In the air, Johnson completed 8-of-16 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. He accounted for a combined four TDs for Lancers and 253 combined yards against Foothill (1-4).

“It was a lot of passing,” Nill said.

At the end of Johnson’s passes was wide receiver Calvin Augusta, who pulled in six receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. Alvin Banks, another wide out, accounted for another Lancer touchdown.

On defense, Lancer linebacker Yusef Pugh and Haney had eight tackles each. Defensive back Terrell Johnson and Njoku had five each. Haney and Njoku also had a quarterback sack each.

At the end of the game, the Lancers’ defense corralled the Mustangs to a combined 310 yards, with 228 coming on the ground.

In the frosh/soph game, Cordova lost a close 26-12 contest to Foothill.

Cordova has the bye this week. Next Friday, the Lancers begin Sierra Valley Conference action with their homecoming game against Galt. Cordova will play two of its five SVC games at Lancers Stadium.