Tyler Davis has persevered and the Endicott defense has reaped the benefits. Endicott athletics photo by David Le

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

Maybe it would be more fitting if fifth-year defensive back Tyler Davis wore the No. 1 jersey. He is, after all, the one remaining player on the Endicott roster from his recruiting class.

But then, the No. 0 on his jersey works, too, as it carries more meaning, as the number is not handed out all that freely. At least not at Endicott.

“We don’t give it to just anyone,” Gulls coach Paul McGonagle said. “We decided at the end of the spring who is going to wear it, and we chose Tyler. It’s not just a cool number. It’s who we think is one of our leaders on and off the field.”

For Davis, who has played an integral role for an Endicott defense that has given up a mere 27 points during its 6-0 start to the season, getting to wear No. 0 means a great deal, especially when he looks back at where he started.

“It’s a cool experience. I wasn’t expecting it,” Davis said. “I wasn’t the biggest player in our recruiting class, and it’s been a grind the past four or five years to get to where I am now. I’m a lot more confident on the field. It’s cool being able to accept (that number) and step into a leadership role on the team.” 

Davis and the Gulls have dominated the opposition over the first six weeks of their season, especially on defense, recording three shutouts and giving up double digits in points only once.

What is perhaps most impressive about that is Endicott is putting the clamps down on opponents even with the graduation of Tim Russell, the conference’s best defensive playerx a year ago. Russell was the CCC Defensive Player of the Year and a D3football.com All-Region selection.

But that hasn’t impacted the Gulls, who have used a team effort to stay on course for another conference championship.

“Our defensive coordinator (Matthew Popino) does a great job with these guys,” McGonagle said. “It’s a collective group thing. One week we have one guy that’s all league, and the next week it’s another player. There isn’t just one player you can key in on. They all respond well together.”

Davis agrees the coaching has a lot to do with what the defense has been able to accomplish.

“Our defensive coordinator and the other coaches around him put us in a position to succeed,” Davis said.

And then there is the talent aspect.

“We have a ton of talented guys,” Davis said. “Our defensive line is playing absolutely unreal. Our linebackers are playing awesome and we have great players in our secondary. We all play very well together and have a new guy each week putting up a great stat line.”

Teammate Hector Johnson, a former high school track star who plays on the defensive line, has no argument with that assessment.

Hector Johnson leads Endicott with 11.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Endicott athletics photo by David Le

“This defense is full of a lot of cats. These guys work hard, and to be a part of this defense is a lot of fun,” Johnson said. “We are fundamentally sound and are playing on a high level. That’s a testament to our defensive coordinator. He works his butt off to help us understand what to do and what not to do.”

Seven players have 20 or more tackles, including linebacker Matthew Licciardi, who has tallied 43 on the season. Davis ranks second in tackles (38) and has picked off two passes.

Linebacker Jackson DeAngelo has come through with 34 tackles and has registered 5.5 sacks.

Safety Zachariah Twardosky has tallied 28 tackles to go along with two interceptions and Johnson has racked up 27 tackles and a team-best eight sacks.

Safety Colin Campbell (23) and defensive back Joseph Pagett (20) are also at 20 or more tackles on the season. 

“Last year’s team was younger defensively. This year, we have a lot more experience,” McGonagle said. “A lot of guys got more comfortable as the season went on last year in their roles and it’s paying off this year.”

This is a defensive unit that takes pride in keeping the other team off the scoreboard. And in challenging moments, the players don’t sweat the situation.

Take the TCNJ game in Week 3 as an example. The Lions scored first and led 7-0 after one quarter. Those were the only points the Gulls gave up. Over the next two quarters, Endicott allowed just 20 yards of total offense and only one first down on its way to a 28-7 win.

“Even when a team scores, it’s not the end of the world,” Johnson said. “When they scored in that game, we encouraged each other and said we still have a lot of football left. We just had to come back and battle the rest of the game. It shows the culture we have on this defense. We are resilient. We know what it takes to win and we will do what it takes to win.”

Endicott’s offense is clicking as well and has scored 20 or more in every game, hitting the 50-point mark in a 52-7 win over Nichols on Oct. 8.

The two sides of the ball feed off each other.

“When the offense makes a big play and scores, we get juiced up on the sideline and get ready to go back out there,” Davis said. “And when we get a turnover, the offense is foaming at the mouth to get back on the field. We come together and just play as a team.”

McGonagle said the players have embraced the culture of the program as well and refuse to get overconfident.

“This team is very humble,” McGonagle said. “They are very focused. They don’t get ahead of themselves. They don’t get too high or too low. They have a play-the-next-play mentality.”

Endicott went 8-3 last season and reached the NCAA playoffs where it lost 20-14 to RPI in the opening round.

The Gulls are hoping to earn another playoff spot this year, but that isn’t the focus at the moment. 

“We just have to keep doing what we are doing and not get complacent or sloppy,” Davis said. “In the few games we’ve given up points, it’s been on big plays. We want to minimize those. We can’t take anyone lightly. In this conference anyone can be beat on any given Saturday. We know we have to come ready to play our best every week.”

Johnson seconds that thought.

“We have a lot of work that still needs to be done,” Johnson said. “We’ve had success but we aren’t satisfied. We have to keep our eyes on the prize. That starts with going 1-0 this week.”