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Jordan Clayton didn't expect to line up on the hands team for Tuscarora High Friday evening.

The junior rarely practiced with the unit, and never had taken the field.

Despite his greenness, Clayton recovered a pair of critical onside kicks, the second of which clinched the contest as the Titans fended off the Hawks, 23-20.

It was the Titans' first win in the series.

"I don't know what I was thinking," Clayton said. "I was going crazy there. The ball was coming and everything I've worked for this season was going through my head. I wasn't on the hands team originally. This was my first game."

Tuscarora led 23-6 with two minutes left to go in the game. Two seconds later, Urbana began chipping away when Jesse Heon hit Brad Hickman for a one-yard touchdown. Jakarie Jackson deflected the two-point conversion to preserve a 23-12 advantage.

Following the score, kicker Ray Durante and the Hawks lined up for a third consecutive onside kick. Their previous attempt was snagged by Clayton on his own 43, setting up a 56-yard Jackson sprint to pay dirt at 7:15 in the fourth.

Urbana's second squib proved significantly more fruitful. Eli Santiago dove onto the wobbly pigskin at that same 43 with approximately a minute and half on the clock. Heon capped off an abbreviated drive on a 3-yard keeper with 58 seconds remaining. An unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the two-point conversion back 15 yards to the 17, but Heon hit Ross Flanigan in the right corner of the end zone to cut the Titans' advantage to 23-20.

Again the Hawks lined up for an onsides kick. On Urbana's previous two attempts, Tuscarora (6-2, 3-1 Chesapeake Conference) maintained a traditional two deep return formation. This time the Titans brought everyone to the front. Durante put an awkward bounce onto the ball, but Clayton handily brought it in to wrap up the victory.

"We just wanted our best athletes out there to catch the ball, and [Clayton's] one of them," Tuscarora head coach Shawn Carey said.

Jackson (23 carries, 169 yards) accounted for all three Titan scores. The first came on a one-yard push at 6:17 in the first quarter. Just over two minutes into the second he coasted in from seven yards out for a 13-0 Tuscarora lead.

Picked apart the previous week at Linganore, Tuscarora's defense kept the Hawks in check for the majority of the contest. They intercepted Heon four times, twice in the end zone. Urbana (6-2, 1-2 conference) did not earn a first down until midway through the second quarter and did not complete a pass in the first half. Gary Lee collected a pair of interceptions. Dominic Clarke and Matt Scott also recorded picks. Carrington Jones recovered a fumble.

"Mike O'Brien, our defensive coordinator, did a great job preparing the kids," Carey said. "He always does his homework and the kids perform."

Paul Grawbowski sparked Urbana's comeback effort. After recovering a fumble and reeling in an interception before the half, he exploded after intermission for 193 yards on six receptions. Heon threw for 201 yards.

Titans' kicker Zack Kirk was true on a 26-yard field goal to give the hosts a 16-0 bulge in the third quarter.