After a sluggish first half, the Arcadia Titans came charging out of the gates Thursday night to secure a 28-11 home victory over the Buckeye Hawks.

(More photos, click here.)

The Titans (3-0) put the game away late in the third quarter thanks to a gutsy call and an amazing play by Bradley Tefft.

Following a score that put Arcadia up 21-3, the Titans lined up for the kickoff with two kickers on the field. Colton Sanchez bounced an onside kick down the sideline. The ball appeared to be headed out of bounds when Tefft jumped in the air and swatted the ball back into play. Fellow Titan Marty Chavez hopped on the ball to give Arcadia possession at its own 34-yard line.

“He’s [Tefft] just athletically smart,” said Arcadia coach Jim Ellison. “Plays like that are just what you get from him.”

Arcadia’s running backs then put up a few mid-range runs before quarterback Cole Richardson connected with Chavez for a 9-yard touchdown pass that buried Buckeye comeback hopes.

The Arcadia offense stalled on its first drive of the third quarter, but the defense picked up the slack. Following a 40-yard punt by Titan Ross Richardson, linebacker Landen Berry sent the Hawks even further backwards with a quarterback sack on first down. Two plays later, cornerback Kyle York snatched his second interception of the game, and the Titans set up in Buckeye territory.

They moved the ball on the ground inside the Hawks 10, highlighted by a 10-yard run by Chavez. Tefft punched in the score two plays later on a 7-yard run to put the Titans up 14-3 following a Sanchez’s extra point.

The Buckeye defense, intent on shutting down Tefft, gave other Titan backs room to work throughout the game.

Ryan Fochtman finished the game with 10 rushes for 45 yards. Chavez ran seven times for 28 yards and caught a touchdown pass.

Tefft found a way to escape the added pressure Buckeye put on him and hurt the Hawks in different ways. He ran eight times for 43 yards and one touchdown. He also threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Vince Roscoe on a trick play late in the third quarter.

The Titan defense came up big in the quarter to set up the trick play.

Defensive lineman Jack Olson recovered a fumble at the Buckeye 16-yard line. Tefft and Roscoe took advantage of the field position with a 15-yard score a few plays later.

Buckeye (1-3) marched into Arcadia territory easily on its first drive of the game thanks to 16-yard runs by Yogi Hale and Cody Bostick.

However, Titan linebackers Alex Bolton and Andrew Bradway stuffed two rushing attempts in a row to force the Hawks to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Brandon Grabowski.

The Buckeye offense never recovered. Quarterback/running back Tari Jones ran the ball well but could not break off the big one against Bradway, Bolton and the Titan defense. Jones finished the game with 12 rushes for 51 yards.

Arcadia responded a few drives after the field goal with its first score of the game. Richardson set up the score with a 37-yard pass to safety-turned-receiver Brendan Satran that put the Titans at the 50. Satran burned past the defenders despite being interfered with by a Buckeye linebacker.

The Titans lined up Satran in trips formation. He also took some snaps at quarterback near the end of the game.

After the big pass play, Fochtman put together runs of 8, 8 and 10 yards to put Arcadia in position to score. After a 13-yard pass from Richardson to Tefft put the Titans at the 1, running back Sosaia Maafu put Arcadia up 7-3 with a bruising touchdown run.

Titan quarterback Richardson once again showed flashes of talent and moments of indecision. The Titan offense relied predominantly on the run, and Richardson finished the game 4-for-10 for 61 yards and one touchdown. He also threw one interception.

“I have total confidence in Cole [Richardson],” said Ellison. “We resorted to the run because it was part of the game plan. Buckeye just has a great pass defense.”

Arcadia and Buckeye traded turnovers to end the first half of play. Bradway recovered a fumble with 2:30 left in the half. Buckeye safety Jason Bell responded two plays later when he intercepted a pass and returned it for 30 yards to the Hawks 44.

After three Buckeye offensive plays, York intercepted a pass and the Titans ran out the clock.

Arcadia travels to Coronado next week to face the rival Dons.

“They take the rivalry very seriously,” Ellison said of the Dons. “I know they are going to give us their best game.”