One of the developments in HS all-star rugby is the rise of non-state select sides.

Some groups not affiliated with state-based rugby organizations have put together teams, and sometimes it’s the state itself that splits. This second development is what happened in Indiana, with the North Indiana Hawks going 2-2 in the South RCT Varsity bracket, and the JV team finishing second at 3-1.

Meanwhile, in the Rocky Mountain Challenge, in Aurora, Colo., the Central Indiana team - dubbed the Indy Speed - did one better, going 3-1 with the Varsity team too take the Plate, and going undefeated with the JVs to win it all. 

The Indy Speed JV team was perhaps the star of the Indiana show here, beating Colorado 15-0, Wisconsin 45-0, Texas 26-7, and, in the final EIRA SoCal 19-3. That’s four games, during which they gave up exactly one try.

“We just had a lot of buy-in,” said Head Coach Eddie Abel, whose Middle School team also went undefeated, giving Central Indiana an 11-1 weekend. “We had over 200 kids step up and try out. We get a lot of support from the coaches in the Indianapolis are. They’ve really been great and they give the good messages to the players - go try out.”

It also helps that Abel isn’t a high school coach in the area - he coaches younger levels. So in a sense he is seen as a dedicated all-star coach, and therefore players who try out don’t invent a bias that’s not there (which happens a lot). So the result was an Indy Speed team heavy with players from BHSRNC runners-up and state Super League champs Royal Irish, and Super League team Brownsburg, but not exclusively those teams. Fishers (DI champs), Avon, Culver Academy, Noblesville, Lakota (D2 champs), Pike, Mount Carmel, HSE, Palatine, South Suburban, Walnut Hills, and Lafayette Legacy all contributed players. 

“You’d expect to have guys from Royal Irish and Brownsburg come in and play well, and they did. But we had players from all over,” said Abel. “We had good depth, and smart, talented players. Sometimes it was players who just needed a chance to show what they could do.”

Among them was Shid Shoop, who played for Lafayette Legacy, a team that had never won a game. The Indy Speed JV scrumhalf was outstanding, playing tough and working the offense nicely. He helped lift the trophy, a new thing for him, and never mind not winning trophies - he’d never won a game before this weekend.

Also playing well for the JVs were Tyler Heer (Culver Military Academy), Stu Earnhardt (Royal Irish), and Russell Lemaster (Royal irish). David Hannon, the starting flyhalf for Royal Irish’s team, had to play JV because he just finished his sophomore year, and was brilliant. Nick Frederick (also Royal Irish), scored four tries on Sunday. Trent Rogers (Walnut Hills), a massive present at 6-4, 260, would have been at home on almost any rugby field.

As for the Varsity team, they lost just the one game, 38-14 to Texas, before beating Heart of America and 5785 to take 5th. John Rizzo (South Suburban), Andrew Guerra (Mount Carmel), Ian James (Palatine), Joe Fasolo (Arlington), and Isaac Good (Brownsburg) led the charge.

The Middle Schoolers with their trophy.

But perhaps the scary thing is that the Middle School Indy Speed team dominated, with Peyton Wall, scrumhalf Donovan Riley, and powerful prop Dash Decaudin standing out. Decaudin was certainly a revelation, showing strength and power that pegged him as one to watch. 

Oh, and scary thing? Former HS All American Brian Hannon (who helped coach this team) had brother David starring for the JVs, and brother Tommy starting at flyhalf for the middle-schoolers. And yes, he did pretty well.

It certainly seems like the Indy Speed has some momentum - splitting the Indiana state programs hasn’t hurt anyone, and in fact has opened up more opportunities for more players. And they still seem to be winning. And the additional interesting piece in this story is that the Speed will be playing again this weekend, as they take five teams - three boys and two girls - to the Midwest All-Star Challenge in Rockford, Ill. This RCT is somewhat smaller than the Rocky Mountain Challenge (by a lot, actually), and the Speed will constitute 38% of the teams there, including 67% of the girls teams.

The rosters will be different, as Abel said he wanted to give a competitive chance to anyone who wanted to put the effort it.