WESTFIELD — The message from the coaching staff to the Northampton football team was simple after the game – learn and improve.

There wasn’t much else to dwell on following a 62-8 loss to Westfield, one of the top teams in western Massachusetts. The Blue Devils were simply the younger, less experienced team.

“We had a great year last year and lost a lot of good players,” Northampton coach Joe Kocot said. “A lot of these guys have never played a varsity game before.”

It was a season opener of sorts for the Blue Devils (0-1) and a huge step in terms of opponent. Their Week 1 opener against Division 5 Belchertown started but never finished. The game was canceled in the second quarter due to the weather. With roster full of Blue Devils getting varsity snaps for the first time, a matchup against the Division 3 Bombers (2-0) quickly got out of hand.

Northampton trailed 27-0 at the end of the first. It was 55-0 at halftime. Westfield added another score midway through the third. Hamp broke through late in the fourth.

“We’re going to watch film and write stuff down, but we’re not going to have them watch it, like we usually do on Mondays,” Kocot said. “Let’s not dwell on the negative. It’s just work. Fundamentals.”

Hamp scored its lone touchdown on the legs of Sincere Martinez (13 carries, 48 yards). The senior rushed six times for 38 yards on a 14-play series that started at the Devils 32 with less than 6 minutes left in the third. Martinez picked up three first downs on the series, two rushing and one receiving. Quarterback Marty Maslowski scored on a 1-yard run. Maslowski found Martinez on the conversion with 5:18 left in the fourth.

Maslowski (6-of-19, 24 yards) replaced starting quarterback Mykal Norris, who left after two series with an injury.

Sean Flynn had four carries for 37 yards for Northampton, which visits Mahar next week.

“We saw something out of a couple kids we never thought would be on the field. They did OK,” Kocot said. “They never played before, and they were going against one of the best teams in western Mass.”

Westfield was led by a host of electric players. Lucas Guay scored on a 22-yard run and a 65-yard punt return. Kaevon Eddington had a 2-yard TD run and a 49-yard score. Quarterback Jaxson St. Pierre found Noah Delgado for a 20-yard TD reception and Antonio Adams for a 46-yard scoring catch.

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