AURORA | The ice water bath chilled Michael Farda to the bone a little bit Saturday afternoon, but the Hinkley football coach didn’t mind a bit.
For only the second time in his two-plus seasons since taking over the Thunderbirds, Farda felt the sweet rewards of victories as his players joyously doused him with two coolers full of water following a 38-0 victory over Northridge at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
Hinkley rushed for five touchdowns and held the visiting Grizzlies to just 65 yards of total offense to win its season opener for the first time since 2014. Farda’s team snapped an eight-game losing streak that stretched back to a Week 2 victory over Thornton last season.
Junior quarterback JJ Lee rushed for a pair of touchdowns, fellow juniors Leon Parham and Dorian Fox also reached the end zone on the ground, as did sophomore Ty’Ren Draper in Hinkley’s first opening win since 2014.
Defensively, the Thunderbirds recorded the program’s first shutout since a 6-0 victory over Aurora Central on Oct. 30, 2009, a span of 81 games. They forced a pair of turnovers and allowed the Grizzlies to pick up just two first downs.
Parham and Fox scored touchdowns a little bit more than four minutes apart late in the first quarter for Hinkley, while Alan Acevedo connected on a 39-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.
Lee’s 3- and 7-yard scores were sandwich around Draper’s 42-yard burst to the end zone in the third quarter.
The Thunderbirds next meet Gateway (0-2) at 6:30 p.m. at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports
HINKLEY 38, NORTHRIDGE 0
Score by quarters:
Northridge 0 0 0 0 — 0
Hinkley 14 10 14 0 — 38
SCORING
First quarter
Hinkley — Leon Parham 31 yard run (Alan Acevedo kick), 5:52
Hinkley — Dorian Fox 11 yard run (Acevedo kick), 1:09
Second quarter
Hinkley — Acevedo 39 yard field goal, 5:35
Hinkley — JJ Lee 3 yard run (Acevedo kick), 1:09
Third quarter
Hinkley — Ty’Ren Draper 42 yard run (Acevedo kick), 3:17
Hinkley — Lee 7 yard run (Acevedo kick), 1:16
RUSHING
Northridge: Israel Campa 15-43, Aaron Kness 10-15, Rodriguez 6-14, Starks 7-7, Chavarria 4-5
Hinkley: J.J. Lee 8-58, Ty’Ren Draper 3-46, Leon Parham 6-40, Dorian Fox 3-19, Richard Taylor 8-17, Eddie Crews 4-15, Isaac Jefferson 1-6, Jerry Taylor 1-4, Cristian Gonzalez 1-1, Latrell Blake 1-(minus 4)
PASSING
Hinkley: Lee 1-4, 14 yards
RECEIVING
Hinkley: Harlan Potts 1-14