There remain many questions in the greater Midwest HS rugby arena, and now is the time to take a closer look.
Indiana
In Indiana, the big news was a win by Mudsock over Pendleton this week.
It was a home match for Mudsock and they ran out to a 28-12 halftime lead before holding off Pendleton 33-26.
With the victory Mudsock joins Bishop Dwenger with two wins in the Indiana league.
"DI should be a tight race this year with a few quality teams," said Mudsock Coach Chris Lawhead. "Pendleton is always tough and has owned us for the last couple of years, which is why the boys were pretty excited last night. We know we haven't seen the last of them, and Dwenger has a veteran team, not to mention Penn is never easy."
Pendleton started strong and scored first. Mudsock answered with a try from Isaiah Holzback, but Pendleton ran a smartly-taken lineout play to take a 12-7 lead.
But after that it seemed like Mudsock was able to find their momentum. Even when hooker (and goalkicker) Sam Kelly went out injured, they saw Jacob Sutter step in to take over the kicking. He converted the next two tries, one from Noah Biehl and one from Sutter himself. As halftime approached center Jude Harper was racing to the line when he was tackled high—penalty try and a 28-12 lead for Mudsock at the break.
The second half featured a strong effort from Pendleton with both teams defending well in some back-and-forth rugby. Mudsock thought they had scored halfway through the second half off a short lineout, but Pendleton's defenders held the ball up in-goal. But moments later Mudsock was on the attack again and Biehl scored his second to make it 33-12.
Pendleton showed real grit to score two tries to make it a one-score game, however Mudsock, led by a smart kick defense and the leadership of captain Jay Graham, held on.
Illinois
In Illinois the Catholic league has seen, unfortunately, far, far too many forfeits. As a result St. Rita and Marist seem to be killing time until they meet each other. This past week Chesterton did register a big win over Taft in the Illinois schools conference, with Luke Paliakis scoring three tries, skipper Daniel Groth two, and Connor Sirota logging 18 points with the boot while playing tough at loosehead prop.
But they had to turn around quickly to face Morton West, and it was the Mustangs who won that one. tries from David Martinez, Jose Martinez, David Ocampo, and Daniel Razo paced Morton to a 38-12 win, setting them at 2-0.
St. Rita is set to play Brother Rice, but Marist's next two matches are listed as forfeits already. St. Rita vs Marist May 6 is probably the big one there.
And what about La Salette? Well they are slated to face Doylestown this weekend in a clash of a top-ranked school team vs a top-ranked club team.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin got on the board this week with seven games. There's a lot of good news coming out of America's Dairyland with the growth of the number of teams there and the solidity of said teams.
As Max Zukowski (who runs Wisconsin Rugby News) wrote (and said we could use):
At the top, familiar names remain. Programs like Marquette, Pulaski, and Green Bay ... [and] Elkhorn, entering from a wide-open Pool D, appears well positioned to join that group.
But the real story of 2026 may not be the top—it may be everything just beneath it.
The gap is closing.
Waukesha, Muskego, Fond du Lac, De Pere, Fox Cities, and Oshkosh all return legitimate All-State-level talent. They bring experience, continuity, and enough firepower to disrupt the expected order. In a format this tight, it doesn’t take much—one result, one swing match, one moment—to reshape the entire bracket.
This is where 2026 separates itself from recent years.
The top is still strong.
But the middle is stronger.
Teams are also (said Zukowski) expanding their repertoire when it comes to pattern of play. This week, Muskego, Fond du Lac, Elkhorn, Green Bay, Pulaski, Eastside, and Fox Cities all won. Marquette won a couple of days later.
Several of these winning teams play each other Friday, but the game many might watch is Green Bay vs Pulaski.
