The University of Southern Indiana may be in the depths of winter right now, but they’ve got a date in sunny Glendale, Colo. for the spring, as the Screaming Eagles won their way to the National Small College Rugby Organization final four.

USI needed to rebound from a league loss to IUPUI, and then get by Great Lakes champs Baldwin-Wallace and previous NSCRO national champs St. John’s.

For Head Coach Tyler Pipes, the loss to IUPUI was a tough one to take, 10-7 thanks to a nifty grubber kick that led to the winning try.

“After that match, we had to refocus,” said Pipes. “We hadn't had much competition throughout regular-season play in a few years, maybe a few tough games in the last two to four years. This was an eye-opening match. We knew it would be tough knowing that they had a team of guys who had high school experience, while we have less that half that.” 

So to recover, USI put more focus on conditioning, and then worked their skills hard over the remainder of the season.

“We put emphasis on learning how fundamentals work best in open play,” said Pipes. 

The result was a 20-15 win over IUPUI in the Indiana conference final to put the Screaming Eagles into the first round of crossover playoffs. There they slammed Pittsburg State 66-22 to set up a snowbound weekend sweep of Baldwin-Wallace and St. John’s.

No. 8 and captain Jon Stinnett has led from the front, developing into a superb leader. 

“His leadership this season has gone beyond the pitch and the guys really look up to him,” said Pipes. 

Flyhalf Garrett Wardell has made a huge impact on the team this season as well. He went down early in the regional semifinal as he was taken off for concussion protocol, but he passed the medical test and returned to the field, but his absence of only a few minutes showed how he keeps the team operating.

“He is obviously a tight glue that holds the team together,” said Pipes. “We're a really attack-minded team so we free up space for our fullback, Tyler Duke. That kid is a lightning bolt.” 

The weekend of the Round of 16 and quarterfinals was a tough one, with 25-degree weather and blizzard conditions.

“It was hard to play our game in that weather but we knew what we were getting into,” said Pipes. “We thought changing our game plan and pretending to be a different style of team would restrict us more than if we slightly changed our play. We reminded the boys to lock in every catch first and be aware of all passing situations. Given the snow, when we broke loose in the second half, we were very hard to catch.” 

Against St. Johns, the temperature dropped another 10 degrees. Pipes reminded the players of a game he played against St. John’s and got their blood up as much as possible.

“I made sure to get the hyped for the game in every way I could and it made a clear difference,” said Pipes. 

Both teams traded scores in the first half, but slowly USI started to take control.

“We were playing at 200% that match because everyone on the team knew what it signified,” said the coach. “We've felt like we're a strong team for the last several years but the real difference this season is that every player on the team knew it and showed it. They refused to slow down.”

So now on to the national semis, where USI will play the best of the Mid-Atlantic and South, to be decided in the spring. But don’t think this is a one-off effort from the Screaming Eagles. They graduate just one senior, and expect to be strong the next several years.

“We should be a strong team in the next few seasons,” said Pipes. “We aren't expecting any less from the guys who are only one season though. They know what it takes to maintain and from my perspective, they will be giving everything achieve it.”

As for IUPUI, they won their NSCRO Challenge Cup Central Region semifinal over John Carroll University but their final against University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown was snowed out. Their makeup match is schedule for April 2 with the winner heading to the Challenge Cup National Championship on April 23-24 at Founders Field near Pittsburgh, Pa.