Iowa's 7s season rolls toward its culmination with the final Friday night tournaments before the playoffs.

In the 2A class, Waverly Shell Rock has continued its run and sits 10-0, while Cedar Rapids Washington, which began 6-0, has faltered of late and last week's 33-17 loss to Urbandale saw them slip to 7-3. Meanwhile, Urbandale lost to Waverly Shell Rock early but since then has been on a startling tear, winning seven in a row with four of those games being shutouts.

With Kasey Ross (11) and Graham Friedrichsen (10) leading the squad in tries and the trio of Greyson Else, Cole Garwood, and Dawson Roberts putting in a ton of work on the defensive side, Urbandale is now 2nd at 9-1.

Right there with them is Ankeny. Like Urbandale, Ankeny lost an early one to Waverly Shell Rock and then bounced back with a long winning streak to go to 9-1. Head Coach Dennis Oliver has brought in former Ankeny players Jordan Sanderson and Hunter Staab, who also both played at Iowa Central CC, to bring a new approach to the 7s team and it has worked well.

"We learned a lot from that loss to Waverly Shell Rock," Oliver told Goff Rugby Report. "We have a really good group of kids who are gelling and are very coachable. You give them an instruction on how to do something just one time and they do it."

That has saved time in installing the basics of the game and now the team is honing their core skills will adding a little flare to their game. But the key remains defense and Oliver praises his squad's ability not only to stuff the opposition but to adjust to different styles (size versus speed, for example) to shut teams down.

Leading the way for Ankeny is sophomore Lucas Bruhl, who has picked up the game quickly and leads the team in tries, conversions, points, and tackles. Senior Drew Dunn is a woirkhorse who does the unsung things that make it all come together, while Zach English just makes huge hits. Backing up Bruhl in the try-scoring race are the alliteration trio of Carter Cahill, Nate Nessa, and Drew Dunn.