AURORA | A lot of things could have derailed the Hinkley football team going into Thursday night’s contest against Sand Creek, but none of them did.
An extremely short turnaround after playing a Saturday game, the hoopla surrounding the school’s Homecoming celebration or the physical toll the first few weeks might take on a team that features a large number of two-way players.
But none of that came into play at Aurora Public Schools Stadium, where coach Michael Farda’s relentless Thunderbirds provided the Homecoming-infused crowd with a 46-14 victory over Sand Creek to get to 4-0 for the second straight season.
Senior quarterback Xavier Starks rushed for three touchdowns on a near 300-yard performance on the ground for Hinkley and threw for two more as the Thunderbirds rang up their highest point total of the season and invoked the 40-point running clock mercy rule in the third quarter.
Senior Richard Taylor scored twice on the ground, while seniors Jerry Taylor and Dorian Fox caught the touchdown passes from Starks to give Hinkley its most points in a game since it put up 53 in the regular season finale against Aurora Central on Oct. 25, 2013, which preceded the program’s last state playoff appearance.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
HINKLEY 46, SAND CREEK 14
Score by quarters:
Sand Creek 0 6 0 8 — 14
Hinkley 14 7 25 0 — 46