Senior defensive tackle Emilio Abilez brings down the Rio ball carrier from behind.

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - The Cordova Lancers know that everything they do starts and stops with their defense. 

So when Cordova was clinging onto a six-point lead with just over two minutes left on the road against Rio Americano at El Camino High School last Friday Sept. 18, there was no panic. After all, the Lancers had held the Raiders scoreless in the second half after the two teams went into halftime tied at 21-21. Lancers' senior tailback Zachary McIntire scored from two yards out early in the fourth quarter to put Cordova ahead, but when the extra point was missed it left the door open for the Raiders to pillage the win. 

Freshman Elijah Rice latches on to the Raiders ball carrier for a short gain.

With a fresh set of downs on their own 32-yard line, Raiders' sophomore quarterback James McCormac would be sacked by Cordova senior Omari Harrell, putting Rio Americano behind the sticks and backed up near their own endzone. The Lancers would suffocate the Raiders from there on out, as three consecutive incompletions against a stifling Lancers' secondary put the game on ice, with Cordova snagging an impressive 27-21 win to remain undefeated at 3-0. 

"Our heartbeat is really our defense," Lancers Head Coach JP Dolliver said postgame. "We play with that chip on our shoulder. They practice like that, they play like that. For me it's kind of about balancing that and I don't ever want to change that character about them, but when you play a tough school like (Rio Americano) where the game got a little chippy, you have to manage that aggression and physicality. We did a really good job of that."

Senior quarterback Terryn “TK” King runs around the end for the first of his two touchdowns.

Coming off of their bye week from the week prior, the Lancers (3-0 overall) took time to get going against the Raiders (2-2 overall), who jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with short touchdown runs from junior Joeli Karavaki and senior Niko Chatzis. The Raiders came out running an uptempo offensive attack led by their ground game that appeared to catch the Lancers off guard early. By the second quarter however, Lancers' senior quarterback Terryn "TK" King had seen enough and decided to put the Lancers on his back. 

In the second quarter, King accounted for all three of the Lancers' touchdowns in an explosive barrage of points by Cordova. King would first put the Lancers on the board with a 15-yard touchdown sprint one minute into the quarter. The Lancers' ensuing possession saw perhaps the most impressive play of the season by Cordova, as McIntire would be stuffed on a run to the left on third and goal from the Raiders' seven yard line, only for the senior to lateral the football to King before getting tackled. King would do the rest, taking the ball around the right side towards the sideline and diving towards the front pylon on a scoring play that energized the Cordova sideline. Although King found paydirt, it was McIntire who made the play happen. 

Head Coach JP Dolliver was very proud of his team’s performance in the victory against the Raiders.

"If there was any kid that I wouldn't mind doing that, it would be him," Dolliver said of McIntire's brilliant pitch play. "He's a pretty heady player. Sometimes football can be kind of chaotic, and that was just a good play."

King was not done putting up points in the quarter, however. After the Raiders went up 21-14 with four minutes left in the first half following an 11-yard scoring strike from McCormac to Rio Americano senior wide receiver Lucas Bartell, the Lancers would tie the game up going into halftime after King connected with senior playmaker Troy Simmons on a 56-yard touchdown up the left sideline. 

Senior running back Trey Wallace gets some of his 58 rushing yards against Rio.

King finished the game 8-of-12 passing for 144 yards and the score. On the ground, King led the Lancers in rushing as he earned 71 yards on seven carries, including his two scoring runs. Senior Trey Wallace also accounted for 17 carries and 58 yards before exiting the game in the fourth quarter with a shin injury. Simmons compiled three receptions for 78 yards and his aforementioned score and also registered his third interception on the season defensively early in the third quarter. McIntire also tallied five receptions for 66 yards. 

The Lancers return to the field on Friday, Sept. 25 when they travel to the bay area to face Pinole Valley, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

Senior quarterback Terryn "TK" King throws a pass to Zachary McIntire No. 18 for a crucial first down in the 4th quarter against Rio.