WESTFIELD — During its unbeaten start to the season, the Northampton football team had not faced a player like Westfield’s Austin St. Pierre — a quarterback with an accurate arm and speed.
On Friday night, St. Pierre dazzled the crowd at Bullens field as Westfield beat Northampton, 49-18.
Whether it was scrambling to pick up a first down, deep downfield throws for touchdowns or pounding the ball in short-yardage situations, St. Pierre did it all for the Bombers.
The Bombers pulled away with a score before the half and one play from scrimmage into the second half.
“They outplayed us today,” Northampton coach Pat Sledzieski said. “That’s a good team. We had some opportunities in the first half and we didn’t capitalize. By the second half it was over. ”
Elijah Davis went over 100 yards rushing, including a 51-yard score in the first quarter, for the Blue Devils (5-1, 2-1 Suburban South), but was noticeably limping in the third quarter.
With Nik Smith battling a shoulder injury, Davis has been the focal point on offense. He also plays a huge part of Hamp’s defense at linebacker.
The wear and tear caught up to Davis against Westfield (5-1, 3-0) and the running back came out of the game in the third quarter with the game decided.
“He still wanted to go out and play,” Sledzieski said. “But we figured let’s get healthy and live to play another day.”
Ryan Bredin picked up a rushing touchdown for Northampton, while Beau Garbarini scored from 4 yards out in the third quarter,
St. Pierre connected with speedy wideout Baley Collier for three touchdowns in the game. The first score came right before the half with the game tied 12-12.
St. Pierre threw quickly to Collier in the slot and after a block, Collier had the sideline for the score.
On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Collier split Hamp’s secondary for a 70-yard score. A St. Pierre pump fake brought the Hamp defense forward and Collier got behind the secondary.
Collier finished with four catches for 176 yards. St. Pierre added two short rushing touchdowns for the Bombers. After a Northampton fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Collier caught a 38-yard touchdown from St. Pierre to make it 34-12.
St. Pierre went 6-for-8 with 203 yards passing and 10 carries for 112 yards rushing.
“We knew they were a good team in our league,” St. Pierre said. “We were the top dogs. This game decided who was going to win the league. We had that in the back of our heads. We’ve had a chip on our shoulder all year.”
Wilton Royal finished with 18 carries for 112 yards, including a 49-yard rushing touchdown right up the middle in the second quarter for Westfield.
