LONGMEADOW - Northampton quarterback Jake Konowitch will take a moral victory from Friday's 48-16 loss to Longmeadow.

And that's where it ends. The senior quarterback knows there is more in store for his Blue Devils (0-2 AA Conference), despite their 0-4 record.

"It's a moral victory but they're a good team and you can't let a good team go up 28-0 in the first half," Konowitch said. "We played hard, our offense just didn't score."

"It's coming," said Konowitch of the offense. "We just have to know the plays. Some kids just go out and don't run full speed and it kills us."

Longmeadow converted twice on third down, once on fourth down and scored on its first series of the game. The Lancers then made it 15-0 by the end of the first quarter.

While the Blue Devils' defense played well, it eventually tired and miscommunication led to two late first-half touchdowns as Longmeadow (3-1, 1-0 AA) was never threatened.

"It was encouraging in a way but then you look up at the scoreboard and it's 48-16 and it should be closer than that. We just give up too many long touchdowns," Northampton coach Ken O'Brien said. "There's good things happening."

Northampton's offense never got going against Longmeadow. The Blue Devils' average start in the first half was their own 23-yard line. Hamp had five three-and-outs and three first downs.

Conversely, Longmeadow started on average at the Blue Devil 49, had two three-and-outs and eight first downs.

"We didn't have long enough drives," Konowitch said. "The defense was on the field for too long and they got tired."

Longmeadow extended its 15-0 lead late in the second quarter when quarterback Conor Hobert found T.J. Norris on a screen pass and Norris took it 37 yards for a 21-0 lead with 4 minutes, 22 seconds left.

The two hooked up again on the same play on the next series. This time Norris took the ball 15 yards for a 28-0 lead with 1:43 left.

"We had communication errors," said Konowitch, as the defense was crossed up between zone and man.

The Blue Devils scored on their opening drive of the third quarter, playing against a mix of Lancer starters and backups.

Matt Parsons caught a screen pass on third down and scampered 14 yards for a first down at the Longmeadow 41. Adrian Hylton then caught a 22-yard pass from Konowitch on third down to set up first-and-10 at the Lancer 20.

On the next play Konowitch found tight end Dimitri Johnson for a 20-yard TD. Johnson caught the 2-point conversion pass to cut the lead to 28-8.

But Longmeadow scored on its next drive to put Hamp away.

D'Jon Andrews scored on a 30-yard run with two minutes left in the game and Jake Griffin's 2-point conversion capped the scoring for Northampton.

Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com. Get high school updates sent to you Facebook newsfeed at www.facebook.com/gazette.hs.