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But there is a certain parallel between the two sports. Both require players to have a certain amount of toughness in order to thrive. And Springbrook attacker Ben Simmons has it in spades.

It’s the first thing noticeable about his game, how effortlessly he runs through and into contact without losing possession of the ball. But for a wide receiver on the Blue Devils’ football team who made his mark going over the middle, his fearlessness makes sense.

The senior’s attacking style has never translated from the gridiron to the pitch any better than the start of this season. Through his first four games, Simmons has nabbed a team-high 16 goals to lead Springbrook to an undefeated start.

‘‘Actually, football helps me a lot in lacrosse,” said Simmons. ‘‘It helps me with the contact especially, not being scared of defenders, because in football I played against guys a lot bigger than this.”

His football mentality was best on display last Thursday against Walter Johnson. After a slow start, during which the Blue Devils trailed 2-0 after the first quarter, Simmons took matters into his own hands. In a three-minute, 30-second span of the second quarter, Simmons gave Springbrook the lead with two goals and an assist. The Devils went on to win, 10-6.

First, he fended off two Wildcat defenders and darted just in front of the crease from behind the net to put his team on the board. Minutes later, he thwarted another defender before rocketing a right-handed shot past junior goalkeeper Ryan Ulf. At the 6:44 mark of the second quarter, he literally held off a defender moving from right to left to get into close range, but this time found fellow attacker Michael Winogradoff for the easy put-away.

‘‘They couldn’t stop him,” said Springbrook coach Mark Pim. ‘‘Ben’s big, he’s strong, and he’s got a cannon of a shot. He also plays some defense for us. He takes the longstick out for us sometimes. He’s great.”

But he wasn’t the only star performer for the Blue Devils. Along with Winogradoff, who scored once more and added an assist, senior David Abramson (another football player) also tallied two goals and an assist.

Attacker Adam Brizendine, the team’s leading goal-scorer from a year ago, added a timely goal to put Springbrook up by two late in the third quarter, and goalie Kyle King made 18 saves, several of the spectacular variety.

They offset a pesky Wildcat team that also came into the game unbeaten and kept the score close until late. They were led by attacker Rod Mojeska, who opened the scoring with a running wrist-shot seven minutes into the action. He scored three more times and added an assist. In fact, Mojeska has accounted for all but one of his team’s last 12 goals, as he scored all six in Walter Johnson’s 6-4 victory over Whitman on March 24.

Nevertheless, Wildcats coach Jon Mayer wants to see more.

‘‘We all agree that we should have won, that the Springbrook game got away from us a little bit,” he said. ‘‘They’ve got a couple good attackers, Simmons in particular. He’s definitely the best player we’ve faced, hands down. But we came out slow, we missed the goal a lot, and made the goalie look better than we think he was.”

And thanks to a senior-laden lineup that has played together for years, the Blue Devils finished the game with not only an unblemished record, but a bright outlook for their remaining eight games. Though they face a treacherous stretch in early May against Quince Orchard and Churchill, it’s not unfathomable to think Springbrook may be undefeated for a while.

And with guys like Simmons, Abramson, attacker Tim Roe and defender Jake Farrow, who have all played four years and many of them more than that in the Burtonsville youth structure, they are well-equipped to do so.

‘‘This is definitely the best team I’ve been on since I’ve been here,” said Simmons. ‘‘The only team that comes close is freshman year. I don’t see too many flaws. I can see us with teams like Whitman and Sherwood. They’re tough teams, but I could see us pulling them all out.”