Of the previous 13 D1A championships, 11 have been won by the four teams remaining in the 2026 playoffs—Navy, Life, Cal, and Saint Mary’s.
All four won their D1A quarterfinal matches Saturday.
Navy over Army
The Navy Midshipmen defeated the West Point Black Knights 38-10, showcasing a stifling defense and getting 16 points from flyhalf Roanin Krieger.
Drew Baublitz, Ed Soeder, Austin Taylor, and Trevor Gayron all scored tries while the Black Knights got just the two tries, one from Matt Leslie and one from Chance Loudenback.
"We played very well," said Navy DOR Gavin Hickie. "The final score being 38-10 against Army is an indication of a great 80-minute performance and I am really happy about that. It's always special to beat Army, and to end their season is pretty special. These seniors do not know what it is like to lose to Army, winning seven in a row, and they deserve that."
Army struck first after both teams engaged in a back-and-forth field position battle. Escaping down the sideline, Leslie scored off a scrum at 11 minutes.
Navy responded, taking a lineout following a penalty and working the ball closer before Baublitz burst onto a pass. Krieger's conversion put Navy ahead 7-5.
Krieger would add a penalty goal before Army responded. They stole a lineout throw and the ball was sent out to Loudenback, who raced in to tie the game 10-10 late in the first half.
But Navy did not panic.
"We never felt like we were under too much pressure when Army scored two quick tries to begin the game," Hickie said. "I have to give credit to the team for staying comfortable after those two scores."
Krieger slotted a penalty goal just before halftime. And then a few minutes after the break Navy worked their way close and that set up a chance for Soeder to pick up and charge over.
A nice run from Michael Strehle led to Taylor’s try, and now it was 25-10.
"What we noticed from the first half is that we needed to play a little bit more rugby by keeping the ball in our hands and identifying the holes in Army's defense," Hickie said.
Two Krieger penalties and then Gayron’s try finished it off.
Life Garners Revenge
After losing to Lindenwood in a close one during the regular season, Life garnered some payback with a 31-21 defeat of the Lions in St. Charles, Mo.
Lindenwood started the game on the front foot and spent a long period threatening the Life line. Eventually, tighthead prop Luke Schaefer picked up and worked over the line, with the help of his teammates, to score the opening try at 14 minutes.
Byron Forword and Jonty Lee traded penalty goals before a crucial period put Life ahead to stay.
A long driving maul and a couple of breaks led to prop Shaun Mathysen carrying over. Lee converted and it was 10-10. Moments later Life was again inside the Lindenwood 22 and they worked down to the tryline. This was a brutal series of collisions but finally prop Seth Kros picked up and dove over for the try. Lee converted for a 17-10 lead.
And then right after the restart, a missed lineout from Lindenwood saw the Running Eagles send the ball wide. One ruck and a searching kick from Nahual Wingord bounced off a Lindenwood shoulder and into the arms of the chasing Jameson Beatty. the Life outside center rook off for the line. His try made it three scored in about five minutes.
Lee converted and it was 24-10. In the second half Jack McAllister sniped through a gap and then some minutes later flanker Caleb Murphy stretched over after a long period of pressure. Forword converted both and suddenly it was a tie ballgame again.
Lindenwood had done superbly to come back, but they would not score again.
With time dwindling down Life was able to work methodically down into Lions territory. It took a while, but finally off a scrum the Running Eagles battled on, leading to a pick-and-go try from Dayden Ramsey. That was it, and Life was a 31-24 win.
