The Midwest Boys High School Championships get underway this weekend in Elkhart, Indiana, and a big change to the tournament's structure is set to provide an excellent preview for the National Championships taking place later in the month.

Watch the 2018 Boys HS Rugby National Championships LIVE on FloRugby

When: May 17-19 | Where: Kansas City, MO

The Midwest's major shakeup is that the championship is no longer split along club and single-school lines. This means it won't be a walkover for Royal Irish (IN), which is the perennial club champ. It also means a tough road for everyone.

Of the eight teams playing in the bracket format, seven are ranked by FloRugby. Five will be at nationals on May 17-19 at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, MO. 

Here are the opening-round matchups at the Midwest Championships:

Brownsburg (Small-School No. 37) vs St. Edward (SS No. 3)
Penn (SS No. 9) vs Notre Dame de La Salette (SS No. 38)
St. Ignatius (SS No. 5) vs Fishers (SS No. 11)
Royal Irish (Club No. 3) vs Carroll (Unranked)

Royal Irish, St. Ignatius (Ohio), and St. Edward (Ohio) were all ranked No. 1 at some point this season. The winner will likely have to beat at least two, and possibly three top 10 teams.

It's a national championship preview of the highest order.

Who will win? Let's look at the results among these teams so far this season:

St. Edward 22, Penn 21
St. Edward 21, St. Ignatius 14
St. Ignatius 27, Royal Irish 13
Royal Irish 22, Fishers 15
Royal Irish 22, Penn 17
Royal Irish 33, Brownsburg 10
Penn 36, Brownsburg 12
Fishers 45, Notre Dame de La Salette 21
Fishers 65, Brownsburg 5
Fishers 60, Carroll 0
St. Ignatius 26, Penn 10