The Iowa Youth Rugby Association 7s playoffs begin Friday after six weekends of games through April and May.

In a development that should probably be no surprise to anyone, SE Polk is undefeated, going 10-0-2 so far. Polk hasn’t lost a 7s game in Iowa in four years.

Deion Mikesell

Tanner Denning

“It’s all about buy-in,” said Polk Head Coach Brent Wheeler. “We set forth what the players are expected to do. We expect them to be kitted up and ready to practice at practice time. In four years we have not had a single unexcused absence.”

Polk practices five days a week, but Wheeler keeps the training sessions short and tight - 30 minutes of conditioning and one hour of skill/tactical work. That’s right out of the playbook of Iowa native and former USA National Team captain and, later, coach, Tom Billups.

“I stole that from Tom,” said Wheeler, who also has received input from friend and former Eagle Paul Emerick (another Iowa native). 

“The guys have responded to the structure, and we have a lot of structure in the way we play,” said Wheeler. “We talk about going from sideline to sideline. When we have a possession, we want to go to one wing, set a ruck, and then go to the other sideline. After that, if they see something in the middle or want to run a switch, that’s fine, but we want to go sideline-to-sideline first. It’s regimented, but the players learn the structure of the game and it also helps them transition to 15s..”

Leading the way for Polk is Deion Mikesell, who reportedly has passed up some college football offers to concentrate on rugby. An all-state linebacker and outstanding kickoff returner in football, Mikesell is a deadly attacker and has scored 18 tries in 11 games. Power-running Briar Dittmer has scored 11 tries and is a versatile athlete - a top-level wrestler and also a bull rider. Scrumhalf Tanner Denning is an aggressive defensive player and has scored 13 tries in 12 games.

Polk’s defense and ability to control possession has helped them a lot. In their ten wins, they have recorded eight shutouts and given up only two tries. But they have also been shaken, tying Iowa City 21-21, and the Ankeny Hawks 14-14. Wheeler said that can happen when you dominate most games.

“We have a bit of a mental edge and some teams are just intimidated when they play us,” said Wheeler. “So when a team isn’t intimidated and they kind of punch us in the mouth, our guys can be surprised. Under pressure, we’ve given up turnovers in our half. It was a good lesson for us.”

Friday night the 2A state tournament begins, with SE Polk taking on Mason City, the #8 seed.

In their bracket, #4 Cedar Falls plays #5 Hoover.

In the other half of the bracket, #3 Ankeny plays #6 Iowa City, and #2 Valley plays #7 Dowling.

In the 1A semis, Adel (9-3) plays Boone (10-4) and Winterset (10-4) plays Wolf Creek (5-4-1).