Senior Shea Lynch, a record setting quarterback for Peabody High during his high school days, has been named as one of six captains for the Endicott College football team for the upcoming 2026 season.
Lynch, a 6-foot, 210-pound signal caller, threw for 2,097 yards and 16 touchdowns in 11 games for the Gulls last season as a junior, his first as a starter. In his collegiate career to date, he has fired 19 TDs and just four interceptions.
A Business Management major at Endicott, Lynch was not only named a First Team All Conference of New England last fall, but also earned 2025 Fall Academic All-Conference and 2025 CSC Academic All-District accolades.
An All-State selection and Northeastern Conference MVP during his time at Peabody High, he is the area’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 78. Lynch threw for 5,869 yards with the Tanners while completing 398 passes and finishing with 88 TDs all told.
Five other seniors will be joining Lynch to captain the Gulls this fall.
Tight end Jacob Ward stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 225 pounds. He led Endicott in receptions (33) and receiving yardage (459) a year ago while grabbing three TD tosses from Lynch.
Two defensive linemen — Brian Daly, a 6-foot-2, 235 pounder, and Caleb Luz, a 6-1, 230-pounder from Hudson — will also serve as captains.
Daly had a team-best four quarterback sacks, totaling 27 yards, in 2005. He also made 10 tackles and assisted on 25 others; his tackles-for-losses resulted in minus-34 yards for Gulls’ opponents, second-best on his squad. Luz had 17 tackles and assisted on 19 others last season to go with 3 1/2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and one pass breakup.
Two offensive linemen round out the team’s leadership group. Shane Fitzgerald of North Andover stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 235 pounds, while Vinny Insinga packs 275 pounds onto his 6-foot frame.
The Endicott football team went 9-2 a year ago, including a perfect 7-0 in Conference of New England play to win its fifth straight league title. Subsequently, the Gulls made the NCAA Division 3 playoffs for the fifth straight year, earning a first round bye before falling to Salisbury. They finished 24th in the final American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top-25 poll for the 2025 season.
Paul McGonagle will begin his ninth season as head coach at Endicott this fall. His team opens up its 2026 campaign at Hempstead Stadium in Beverly on the school’s campus Saturday, Sept. 5 against the Eastern University Eagles at noon.