Life University will play for the DIA final as the Running Eagles held off BYU 36-26 in Marietta, Ga. Saturday.

The teams were very evenly matched, with BYU a little bigger overall, but Life strong in contact. The breakdowns were a constant battle between the two, with BYU doing well to disrupt Life ball, and every ruck was hotly contested

The teams traded tries for BYU to lead 12-10 midway through the first half. The Cougars came close to extending their lead late in the first half, but some desperate defense, and a penalty for diving onto the ball in the ruck stopped BYU. That lifted the siege for Life, and soon they were in the Life 22. BYU got a yellow card for a professional foul, and after a couple of scrums, Harley Davidson took the ball as first receiver and angled out between the BYU centers to score under the posts. 

That made it 17-12 Life at halftime, and right after the break the Running Eagles scored again to make it 24-12. After that, BYU was always chasing the hosts. The Cougars scored again, but Life answered to lead 31-19. BYU scored to get within a try at 31-26. Then Life gave BYU a taste of their own medicine - turning a defensive stand into a length-of-the-field try. BYU had a lineout just outside the Life 22, but their throw was not straight. From the ensuing scrum, the ball was worked out wide and popped back inside to Sam Cowley. He cut through to midfield and then kicked ahead.

Cowley widely kicked to where there were no BYU defenders, booted the ball once more, and outran the chasers to score. That made it 36-26, and basically sealed the deal for Life. BYU had a couple of minutes left, but Life's aggressive open-field tackling made it slow going. The Cougars quick-tapped right at the Life 22, but eventually lost the ball in contact, and a couple of scrums later BYU had run out of time.

Life will face the winner of Arizona and Saint Mary's in the final. It will be Life's 5th-straight DIA final - they have won twice, including last year. For BYU, this will be their first year not in a major national final since 2005. From 2006 to 2010, the Cougars made five straight national DI finals, winning in 2009. In 2011-2012 they appeared in two DIA finals, winning in 2012. And from 2013-2016 BYU appeared in all of the Varsity Cup finals, winning three times (2013-2015).