The Terriers crushed their poor hosts with a superlative display of strikers' goals from the talismanic frontman.
All eyes were initially on pacy new boy Leon Knight and he didn't disappoint after he beat the Cobblers offside trap and defence for pace and tested Keith Welch with an early drive on 8 minutes.
Knight beat the offside trap again minutes later then provided a superb left footed cross for Andy Booth to head against the Northampton bar.
The Cobblers had been duly warned but they paid Booth no heed until Booth latched on to a ball from a free kick, with Knight causing havoc in the area, and struck a sweet half volley from 20 yards with his left foot which went in off Welch's post.
With a delicate lead to protect, Town could have let it slip again when Sam Parkin, an on-loan Chelsea team-mate of Knight's, missed a sitter from 6 yards after a clever back-heel had sliced open Town's defence.
This was another omen for Town and they continued to press the Northampton defence until Booth had scored his second just before half time.
Chris Holland and Danny Schofield had worked hard down the left and provided a cross for Booth, to his feet, which he instinctively slotted away in the bottom corner.
Town took it a little easy in the second half but they still had the overall beating of Northampton.
Martyn Margetson only had to make the occasional save from the rare Cobblers forays into attack and it was only a matter of time before another goal was scored.
It was inevitable that the next goal would come from Booth to complete his hat trick and the big man rose at the far post to head home a right sided Thomas Heary free kick with 20 minutes to go.
The game was so comfortable that Nathan Clarke had time to try a cheeky Beckham-esque half-way punt which panicked Keith Welch because Booth was following the ball in looking for a fourth off any mistake from the hapless Cobblers 'keeper.
Chris Beech came on for the last few minutes, making a long-awaited appearance after injury, and Andy Booth and Leon Knight were given the standing ovation they deserved when they were substituted with seconds to go at the end of a satisfying evening for the Terriers.
Read Mel Booth's match report in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner - available at your local news stand. You can comment instantly in the box on the right of this page or the message board at the bottom of the page. All comments may be published in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner.
MATCH FACTS
Northampton (4-4-2): Welch, Frain, McGregor, Hunt, Parkin (Forrester 54), Gabbiadini (Asamoah 77), Hodge (Carruthers 54), Burgess, Hope, Hargreaves, Marsh
Subs not used: Sollitt, Dempsey
Town (4-4-2): Margetson, Jenkins, Heary, Clarke, Gray, Thorrington (Beech 87), Mattis, Holland, Schofield, Booth (Macari 89), Knight (Hay 89)
Subs not used: P. Senior, Moses
Booked: Clarke
Scorer: Booth 30, 44, 70
Referee: Michael Ryan (Preston)
Attendance: 5,926 (769 Away Fans)
See subsequent pages for match points.
FULL TIME
92 mins: Martyn Margetson palmed away a John Frain free kick deep into injury time.
90 mins: Hope's shot was deflected for a corner as the game went into added time.
87 mins: Leon Knight and Andy Booth got standing ovations from the whole ground as they was substituted for Chris Hay and Paul Macari.
86 mins: Chris Beech came on for the last few minutes - he replaced John Thorrington.
84 mins: Schofield's curling shot was wide.
83 mins: Knight harried Daryl Burgess - he was seeking a debut goal.
82 mins: Knight lost the ball in the Town half but the Cobblers couldn't fashion anything out of it.
81 mins: Knight won a free kick after Hunt leaned on him.
80 mins: Town were starting to get tired as the game continued but Leon Knight seemed to have boundless energy as he harried Daryl Burgess in the Cobblers defence.
79 mins: Burgess hit Margetson's bar with a header.
79 mins: The Cobblers brought on Derek Asamoah as a last throw of the dice.
77 mins: Chris Carruthers had a go which was palmed away by Margetson.
76 mins: Nathan Clarke had a punt from half way but Welch panicked as Booth followed the ball in looking for a rebound!
76 mins: Knight made another turn and run and found Thorrington who ran forward and fell in the box.
73 mins: Thorrington's cross was cleared aimlessly by the Cobblers.
70 mins: Andy Booth completed his hat trick with a floating header from Heary's free kick.
70 mins: A great piece of skill saw Knight slip past his marker and Town won a free kick when one of their players was felled upfront.
69 mins: Margetson belted a massive clearance with Forrester bearing down on goal.
68 mins: Andy Booth was put in by John Thorrington after a shocking backpass by Carruthers but he missed his chance of a hat-trick.
67 mins: A near post header by Hargreaves went over the bar.
66 mins: Kevin Gray blocked well in the Town 'D' and conceded a corner.
64 mins: Forrester hit the legs of Gabbiadini and another Cobblers attack broke down.
64 mins: Margetson made a comfortable save from a Northampton attack.
63 mins: Andy Booth's long pass was too far for Knight.
61 mins: Mattis broke up a great attack by Northampton with a better sliding tackle.
60 mins: Chris Holland could not find John Thorrington and Northampton cleared.
58 mins: Thomas Heary hit a free kick towards Andy Booth but Burgess headed it away.
57 mins: Schofield's cross for Booth was headed away by Burgess.
55 mins: Town coped well with the tactical changes and continued to attack with Thorrington's shot saved well by Keith Welch after a great pass by Leon Knight.
54 mins: The Cobblers made some changes with Carruthers and Forrester coming on to add pace.
52 mins: Schofield's shot came off a defender - Chris Holland's follow-up drive was wayward.
51 mins: Knight was forced wide by Burgess after a promising run into the area.
50 mins: Town were playing a long ball game towards Andy Booth once again.
49 mins: Schofield tackled back and won the ball off Hodge.
48 mins: The Cobblers had come out for the second half playing better football but Town stayed solid.
47 mins: Hodge made the clearance after an elaborate Town move ended with a loose flicked header from Andy Booth.
46 mins: Town started the second half looked to continue the demolition of the Cobblers.
HALF TIME: The spotlight might have been on Leon Knight but Andy Booth will surely take the headlines after two superlative goals which put the Terriers in the driving seat against the Cobblers.
With Knight making all the moves upfront and Danny Schofield attacking effectively from the left the Terriers were more than a handful for Northampton and there was little to trouble Martyn Margetson's goal except for a Sam Parkin effort following a piece of skill which wrong-footed all the Town defenders.
44 mins: Andy Booth hit another goal first time on the turn after another brilliant cross came in just right for the big targetman to slot home into the bottom corner! Chris Holland and Danny Schofield had both contributed to the build-up.
43 mins: Town counter-attacked and Schofield forced a corner after making Frain clear off his own line.
42 mins: Hargreaves tried a 30 yarder which was blocked by Clarke - full in the face.
39 mins: Leon Knight was adjudged offside after the Cobblers defence started defending deep to cope with the pace of Knight and Thorrington.
37 mins: Frain tackled Thorrington, caught in possession on the wing.
35 mins: Sam Parkin missed a sitter after he picked up a clever back-heel and went trhough on goal with Town defenders caught completely wrong-footed.
33 mins: Paul McGregor had a poor shot with options around him. The Cobblers were frustrated by Town's resolve.
30 mins: Andy Booth hammered in a goal to break the deadlock with a left footed 20 yarder which went in off the right post after a great run by Leon Knight following Thomas Heary's free kick.
29 mins: Hodge's set piece was deflected for a corner.
28 mins: Paul McGregor was tripped by John Thorrington in a dangerous position.
26 mins: Danny Schofield was put through by Leon Knight but he overran the ball at the laast moment and it was cleared.
24 mins: Nathan Clarke tried to hit the rebound off a subsequent free kick with the 'keeper in a flap with the ball. Welch had just dropped it and the Cobblers were incensed at Clarke's daring attempt on goal.
23 mins: Thomas Heary's free kick came back off the wall.
20 mins: Dwayne Mattis completely missed his volley after a flowing Town move.
17 mins: Schofield was forced wide after being put through.
16 mins: Andy Booth headed against the bar after Leon Knight had crossed a great left footed effort into the area.
13 mins: Thorrington nearly beat Welch with a long ball but it flew away harmlessly in the end.
12 mins: Leon Knight beat the offside trap and sent a searching pass into the area which was cleared for a corner.
11 mins: Hodge had a go but he effort was not on target.
8 mins: Leon Knight was clean through with his electric pace but he was thwarted by the Cobblers 'keeper after shooting early.
6 mins: Steve Jenkins intercepted John Hodge's run from midfield as the Cobblers started well.
4 mins: Chris Marsh couldn't reach an ambitious pass by Sam Parkin.
2 mins: Sam Parkin had an early chance with a header after a move involving Paul McGregor.
On-loan Chelsea striker Leon Knight was selected to partner Andy Booth upfront as Town reshuffled to accomodate the exciting frontman. Adrian Moses was pushed back to the bench as Danny Schofield played down the left and Thomas Heary slotted back into the right back position.
Chris Beech got a place on the bench, though he wasn't fit, while Jon Dyson was omitted to prepare him for a reserve match start in midweek.
