UMass Dartmouth football is undefeated and blowing teams out. Next stop: the NCAA Tournament. - The Boston Globe (2024)

“I know that we went 0-10,” Sylvester said with a laugh. “So whatever year that was, that was my first.”

What followed was a slow climb under Robichaud’s stewardship. First out of the basement and back to .500 through much of the 2010s, then a post-COVID breakthrough of consecutive 9-2 finishes and, in 2022, a first MASCAC title.

Robichaud retired and turned the reins over to Sylvester, who had revived the offense since becoming coordinator in 2011.

“Josh came in and he was so confident and really had some great ideas,” Robichaud said. “He came in and changed right away what we did offensively.

“I listened to what he had to say, and sure enough, you know, most of what he said was gold.”

Sylvester’s second season at the helm has seen the Corsairs reach new heights, piecing together a 10-0 regular season and third straight MASCAC championship. UMass Dartmouth spent the fall tearing defenses to shreds: 64 points against Nichols, 73 against Fitchburg State, 58 each against Framingham State and Worcester State.

After completing their first undefeated season since 2002, the Corsairs earned a Division 3 NCAA Tournament first-round bye. They’ll visit Springfield College at noon on Saturday.

At the center of it all is quarterback Dante Aviles-Santos, who has spent the last few autumns rewriting the record books. This season, the Cumberland, R.I., native threw for 38 touchdowns and led the conference in just about every passing category en route to a third consecutive MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year nod. His favorite target, Angel Sanchez, caught 72 passes for 944 yards and a conference-leading 14 touchdowns.

As potent as the Corsairs were through the air, their running-back-by-committee approach was just as lethal. Led by senior Jalyn Aponte (104 carries for 692 yards, 6 TDs) and junior Kevin Brown (86 carries, 637 yards, 12 TDs), UMass Dartmouth averaged 251.8 rushing yards per game — eighth in the nation and 40 more than any other team in the conference.

The result was 54.2 points per game, tops in the MASCAC and third in the nation. Six offensive players made the conference first team.

For an offensive coach, it’s an embarrassment of riches.

“I feel gluttonous sometimes,” Sylvester jokes. “I think what you’ll find in our offense is their commitment to not [worry about] individual statistics. Each of these players could have made a decision to go somewhere else and been ‘the guy.’ Here, they’re all a piece of the sum, and they all bought into that.

“I will tell you that when you game plan and you[‘ve] got the talent that we have, it is a lot of fun — you just try not to screw it up.”

But the Corsairs haven’t been content to score a ton and try to concede marginally fewer. The defense has been similarly dominant, holding opponents to 15.4 points per game — again leading the MASCAC — and putting five players on the all-conference first team.

Just three of UMass Dartmouth’s 10 opponents scored more than 14 points. The Corsairs have forced 22 turnovers in 10 games, picking off 17 passes and scooping up five fumbles.

“With our defense, it’s an ongoing process, and I really think that we do a great job at what we do,” said cornerback and captain Shane Meerbott. “We’re a tight unit, and we take pride in what we do.”

For co-captains Meerbott, Aviles-Santos, and Sanchez, this impending postseason has a little more significance, as the end of the road for childhood friends that have been playing together long before they arrived in Dartmouth.

A trio of northern Rhode Island natives, Aviles-Santos and Meerbott played together at Cumberland, connecting on TD passes when Meerbott was still playing both sides of the ball. Sanchez starred for Bishop Hendricken in nearby Warwick.

“I’ve gone to war with this guy for eight-plus years, damn near almost a decade now,” Aviles-Santos said of Meerbott. “We’ll do all the sad talk later, but we got some business to handle in the near future.”

Sylvester, meanwhile, doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere. A Wareham native and Babson grad, Sylvester has become ingrained in the fabric at UMass Dartmouth, where he earned his master’s degree in 2020 and serves as an alumni coordinator.

“Coming here was a change for me,” Sylvester said. “I think that we are something special here with what we do. We have a working-class kind of student that comes here. UMass is a great university that can change lives.

“Coaching is a great way to change lives. Personally, I get to coach a lot of my best friends and family, and every single one of these kids that comes through and graduates becomes part of my family anyway. ... I’m definitely not shying away from my love of the university and what it’s done for my life and what it’s given me, and hopefully what I’m able to give back to it.”

Coaches have a habit of sticking around in Dartmouth. Sylvester is only the fourth person to lead since the program was established in 1988. Kavanaugh coached the Corsairs for 17 seasons before Robichaud’s 15.

Two years into retirement, Robichaud is still watching every game, every drive, every down. He’ll tune in to see the showdown with Springfield College — which, it happens, is Robichaud’s alma mater.

So, are his allegiances at all divided?

“Not even an iota,” Robichaud said with a laugh. “UMass Dartmouth all the way.”

Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.