It’s only fitting that the undefeated Endicott football team, sitting on Cape Ann in Beverly, uses the acronym B.E.A.C.H. to describe its internal culture.
But what does the acronym stand for?
“I can’t say it,” coach Paul McGonagle said. “These players will crush me if I say it and can’t lead by example and tell everybody.”
That bond has shown throughout the Gulls’ 10-0 campaign, which has earned them a No. 23 national ranking in the Division 3 AFCA Coaches Poll, their second straight Commonwealth Coast Conference title, and their first undefeated regular season.
Despite some impressive wins, including four shutouts, and an average of 33.6 points per game, the Gulls haven’t relied too heavily on any one member of the offense, instead scoring by committee and relying on the entire unit to generate offense. McGonagle, the CCC coach of the year for the third time in his five years at Endicott, attributes that to the team’s culture.
“It’s just unselfish play,” McGonagle said. “We’ve had some all-conference players but at the same time it’s the rotation base.”
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That rotation is apparent at the quarterback position, where juniors Clayton Marengi of Lynnfield and Mike Ingraffia came into the program together and have had to battle it out for the starting job. Last year, it was Ingraffia who led the way, but this year Marengi’s number was called. The competition hasn’t put a strain on the relationship between the two, however.
“They’re like the tightest two,” McGonagle said. “They sit next to each other in meetings, they’re always talking to each other, they’re just so humble as a group.”
That’s not to say this team doesn’t have stars — that would be a disservice to CCC defensive player of the year and Worcester native Hector Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound sophomore who shot through offensive lines for 14.5 sacks and 21 tackles for losses during the regular season, ranking him at third and eighth, respectively, in Division 3.
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Johnson’s talent doesn’t come without his attitude, however.
“After pregame meal in the morning Hector’s the last one to leave the cafeteria, cleaning the tables,” McGonagle said. “It’s just kind of the type of culture we have here.”
McGonagle has the Gulls focused on one game at a time, and this week it’s a Saturday matchup at home with Springfield in the first round of the NCAA Division 3 playoffs.
“We just said let’s focus on the game on Saturday,” he said. “The rest will take care of itself.”
The other playoff-bound area teams:
Springfield
The strength of the Pride (8-2) when it comes to offense is the ground game.
Springfield enter sthe matchup with Endicott with the second-best rushing offense in Division 3 at 357 yards per game, relying on fullbacks Arsen Shtefan and Joseph Cannizzaro as well as quarterback David Wells to get the job done.
McGonagle said the matchup between Springfield and Endicott would be a, “good, old-fashioned Division 3 New England football game,” and the stats certainly back that claim up.
The Pride rumbled to an undefeated conference record (6-0) and NEWMAC championship after starting the season 1-2. While the offense gets the job done on the ground, the defense held opponents to an average of under 100 yards rushing.
Good coaching has been a theme throughout New England this year, and the Pride are no different, as coach Mike Cerasuolo and his staff earned NEWMAC co-coaching staff of the year.
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UMass-Dartmouth
Who needs stops when you can absolutely tear through opposing defenses?
With the second-ranked offense in Division 3 at 545.8 yards per game, the Corsairs (9-1) have not scored less than 28 points in any contest, with a high of 48 in a loss at Anna Maria back in September.
UMass-Dartmouth enters Saturday’s first-round matchup with No. 9 Ithaca in the Division 3 tournament on an eight-game win streak thanks to the offensive onslaught, which is led by quarterback Dante Aviles-Santos. In an historic year for the Corsairs, who qualified for the NCAA tourney for the first time in 20 years, Aviles-Santos threw for 294 yards and 26 touchdowns with just six interceptions, earning himself MASCAC offensive player of the year honors.
Aviles-Santos’s totals ranked him fifth in Division 3 in passing yards and he broke school records for passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, passing yards per game, average yards per pass, and total offense. His performance will be key for the Corsairs against Ithaca, which has allowed just 9.9 points per game all season.
Assumption
The Greyhounds (8-2), who hold a No. 3 seed in the Division 2 tournament and play Slippery Rock on Saturday, started off their season in an unusual way — a 3-0 win over Kutztown.
Assumption went on to go 6-1 in NE-10 play and win its third conference title in the past seven seasons, led by conference coach of the year Andy McKenzie.
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The trenches are where the Greyhounds make their way. They are averaging 176 rushing yards per game while holding opponents to 70.4. Dual-threat quarterback Jake Cady leads the team in rushing yards with just over 57 a game and has also found the end zone eight times.
On the other side of the ball, the Greyhounds boast three first-team all-conference players and the fourth-best defense in Division 2, allowing just 233 total yards a game, which they’ll need to rely on to stop a Slippery Rock offense averaging 406 yards.
Eamonn Ryan can be reached at eamonn.ryan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @eamonn_ryan41.