EASTON - The only thing that slowed down Notre Dame’s offense Friday night was the weather.

Having to wait out a half-hour lightning delay to start their contest against visiting Tamaqua, though, didn’t seem to bother the Crusaders.

All-state quarterback Danny Darno threw three touchdowns - all to different receivers - on Notre Dame’s first three possessions en route to a 60-13 victory.

“Obviously we knew going into it there were going to be some mismatches there,” said Blue Raider head coach Sam Bonner. “Coach (Phil) Stambaugh does a great job. We know they can throw the ball all around, they’re fast on the outside, the quarterback’s a tough runner ... They’re really a hard team to defend.”

Darno hooked up with Alex Clark on a 79-yard scoring pass on the second play from scrimmage. After the Crusaders (2-1) forced a punt, the senior signal-caller ran for a 22-yard gain before hitting Josh Ludlow over the middle for a 33-yard TD. Moments later, Darno found Julian Baker for a 13-yard strike that pushed the lead to 20-0 less than eight minutes into the game.

“We played better than we did the first two weeks,” Notre Dame coach Phil Stambaugh said. “We were a little more consistent offensively, and I was happy to see that. We had a lot of different guys touching the ball and making big plays.

“Coming into the year, that was something we felt was going to be a strength, and the first two weeks we didn’t really get on track the way we would like, so it was nice to see that tonight.”

It was more of the same for the Crusaders in the second quarter as Darno, who only played the first half and threw for 207 yards, continued to shred Tamaqua’s defense with his legs and his arm.

Another 13-yard touchdown toss, his fourth of the game, to James Wisecarver extended the advantage early in the frame. Six minutes later, a 27-yard pass to Ludlow set up Darno’s 18-yard scoring run up the middle to make it 33-0.

Things went from bad to worse for the Raiders right before the half when John Paul Pierce blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. That ensured the Mercy Rule would be in effect the entire second half.

Despite the field being tilted Notre Dame’s way early on, Coach Bonner still was able to find some good during the loss.

“We were down but our kids really stuck together,” said Bonner. “We have a lot of two-way guys, a lot of young two-way guys, and no one was saying I’ve got to come off the field. I think that’s a positive thing.

“Even though the game got out of hand in the second quarter, maybe even the end of the first, we didn’t have kids that wanted to tuck their tail and run, and that’s a positive. That’s something to build off of. At times, some of the young guys they do some good stuff, but it’s inconsistent. Hopefully, that will get better with experience, practice and age.”

Also positive for Tamaqua (0-3) was a third quarter that saw it reach the end zone twice.

The Raiders took the second-half kickoff and drove 80 yards in 13 plays to prevent a shutout. Damon Sell, who ran the ball on 10 of those plays, went the final five yards for the touchdown.

A Notre Dame fumble put Tamaqua in good field position again, and with its second-team offense on the field, Chase Serfass threw a 16-yard scoring strike to Jonathan Knepper.

“We stay the course,” said Bonner. “Whatever happens, the next week you have to keep on working hard. You’re still doing the weight room three days a week, you’re still having two-and-a-half practices. You just keep on doing what you do, and hopefully get better as the year goes on.”

FINAL SCORES ... The Crusaders added two more touchdowns in the final period - one of them on another blocked punt.

EARLY FLAGS ... The two teams combined for six penalties in the first eight minutes.

UP NEXT ... Tamaqua will host North Schuylkill on Friday.