At one point in the fourth quarter of last Friday’s non-league road game, the Cordova High School football team held a sizable lead over host Chavez.

Then the Titans threw a scare into the Lancers.

Leading 34-6, Cordova survived the Titans’ potential come-from-behind aspirations by posting a 34-32 victory on Chavez’s field in Stockton.

“We had some secondary breakdowns,” said Cordova head coach Darren Nill. “That momentum thing is either a great friend or a great enemy, and it was a great enemy to us.”

Cordova survived three turnovers in the fourth quarter after building its big lead. Chavez had two successful onside kicks, plus an interception that lead to touchdowns. The Lancers had the ball on only one offensive possession in the final 12 minutes of the game.

“They just kept coming down and scoring,” Nill said. “We just had to hang on for dear life. Other than (the fourth quarter), defense was absolute dominate.”

The Lancers scored four touchdowns in the third quarter that led to their 34-6 lead. The rushing game was paced by running backs Deante McCullough and Calvin Augusta, both of whom scored two touchdowns each in the game. McCullough was the Lancers’ leading ball career with 17 carries for 111 yards.

In the first half, Cordova was inside the Titans’ red zone six times, but only coming out with one touchdown that led to a 6-6 halftime score. Nill feels if the Lancers had scored more than one touchdown, the final score would’ve been not as close.

“Drives were killed by a penalty, or a fumble or an interception,” Nill said. “It could’ve been 63-0. Our guys have to learn to keep their foot to the throat of the opponent. It’s something to learn from.”

In the air, Cordova quarterback Xavier Johnson completed 17-of-35 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns but three interceptions. Augusta was double threat for the Lancers; he hauled in seven receptions for 106 yards.

On defense, Lancer defensive tackle Kelechi Njoku had 11 tackles and two fumble recoveries. A bigger impressive number for the junior is six quarterback sacks for a loss of 55 yards, and batted down two passes.

“That kid was the difference in us winning the game,” said Nill of Njoku. “He came up big every time on defense.”

Cordova linebacker Jason Johnson had 14 tackles in the game. Middle linebacker Kenny Haney followed with nine and defensive tackle Fidel Romero eight.

In the frosh/soph contest, Chavez posted a 34-15 win over Cordova (0-2).

Tonight, Friday, Cordova plays the first of back-to-back home games at Lancers Stadium, as Rio Linda (1-1) pays a visit. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

“We expect to see 85 percent runs,” said Nill of the Knights, who run the Wing-T offense but with a player in motion on almost every play.

Next Friday, Cordova will host Vista del Lago of Folsom.