Not even Mother Nature could derail the onslaught of Mesa Ridge on the gridiron.

Mesa Ridge, the No. 4-ranked team in Colorado High School Activities Association’s preseason polls, racked up 28 points in 24 minutes against Air Academy on Thursday at C.A. Foster Field in the season opener for both as the Grizzlies won 28-0.

The game was called due to lightning and ended with 9:11 on the clock in the third quarter, but Trevon Salas required just the first half to put his stamp on the game. The Grizzlies senior scored on rushing touchdowns of 11, 2 and 2 yards and finished with 55 yards on 11 carries.

Salas led the Grizzlies’ rushing attack as a junior and amassed 1,071 yards and 15 touchdowns in 12 games but never reached the end zone three times in one contest. Salas’ previous best was two rushing scores in one night, which he’s done twice in his career.

“It’s good to have somebody else in the backfield who we can rely on,” Grizzlies quarterback Leland Frescaz said. “Having another dog in the backfield, especially one like Tre, is going to be a huge benefit for us.”

Frescaz, one of the few players wandering around the parking lot at C.A. Foster after the game’s conclusion, also had a solid outing in his debut for Mesa Ridge.

The Grizzlies senior started his first game at Mesa Ridge following a two-year stint as Doherty’s quarterback where he went 131 for 208 passing for 1,907 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a junior. For his career at Doherty, Frescaz finished 287-for-468 with 4,305 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

In the opener, the Grizzlies began the contest with a six-play, 41-yard drive that Frescaz ended with a 14-yard passing touchdown to Kobe Dooley, which gave Mesa Ridge a 7-0 lead with 8:46 left in the first quarter.

“Even though the weather was bad, this one felt good,” Frescaz said. “I moved down here to be closer to my grandma and I’m happy to be with this program. This is a good team and I feel like we could have done better, but it’s Week 1 and we’ll work on things and get better.”

Frescaz appeared poised in the pocket as he fired several deep balls toward Dooley, Salas and the Grizzlies receivers. Frescaz also knew when to tuck the ball and run as he gained 20 yards on three carries in the contest.

It’s a great start to the season and Frescaz said he’s proud of how the Grizzlies played against the Kadets. Mesa Ridge heads to No. 3-ranked Dakota Ridge at 6 p.m. Thursday for their first road challenge of the season.

“We’ll be ready,” Frescaz said. “We have some stuff to clean up but we’re ready to move forward.”