The Rugby East conference title may well be decided this coming weekend.
Both Life University and the US Naval Academy are 4-0, and they play each other in Annapolis on Saturday.
These are teams that have been winning, and in fact winning well, for the most part. Not that it's been perfect.
"We definitely need to work on our lineout," said scrumhalf Michael Strehle after Navy's win over Walsh last week. "That's definitely one thing that'll be a focus this week going into Life. We trust our boys and we're going to keep running the game with effort and tempo; that's what fuels us."
Navy has been able to secure bonus-point victories over Walsh, Penn State, St. Bonaventure, and Mount St. Mary's. Each time they finish strong, pouring in tries in the final 10-20 minutes. DOR Gavin Hickie points to his team's depth, and that is part of it. Part of it also is Roanin Kriger's outstanding boot, which makes teams think twice about committing penalties inside their half. And part of it is that Navy is so strong in contact that they wear players down. Even in the Rugby East, where every game is a tough one, eventually the Midshipmen can force a breakdown in a defensive wall.
"We just want to start strong, start physical, maul right off the bat, show our power in the scrum, and just hit 'em, every play," added Navy lock Ed Soeder.
