DALTON, Mass. -- The Route 9 Rumble started out with the Route 9 fumbles.

 

The Northampton football team Friday turned over the ball on its first three possessions to help Wahconah take a 14-0 first quarter lead en route to a 38-16 win.

 

Jonah Smith ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns, and Ryan Scott threw for 119 yards and a score as Wahconah improved to 7-0 heading into next Friday’s regular season finale against West Springfield.

 

The Blue Devils (5-2) ran into trouble on their second play from scrimmage, fumbling the ball away at their 25.

 

Three plays later, Smith was in the end zone on an 18-yard carry. He then ran in the two-point conversion to put Wahconah ahead, 8-0, less than three minutes into the game.

 

The next time Northampton touched the ball, a strip sack by Owen Alfonso got Wahconah the ball at the plus-48, but a 10-yard penalty helped keep the hosts from getting a first down, and they were forced to punt.

 

But on the Blue Devils fourth-play of the game, Alfonso intercepted a pass in the backfield to give his team the ball at the 3. Smith ran it in from there to push the lead to 16-0.

 

Northampton’s third fumble and fourth turnover of the first quarter led to Wahconah’s third scoring drive. This one went 19 yards and ended in a 1-yard run by Scott. He ran in the conversion to make it 24-0 early in the second quarter.

 

The Blue Devils got on the board midway through the second, but Wahconah closed the half with a 58-yard pass play from Scott to Luke DiCicco to put the game effectively out of reach at 32-8.

 

All doubt was erased when Wahconah took the second half kickoff and went 69 yards -- the last 36 on a Smith run, to open a 38-8 lead.

 

Northampton scored midway through the fourth quarter to provide the final margin.