On Friday the Mountain Iron-Buhl (MIB) football team defended their Section 7 9-Man title punching their ticket back to state, while Hermantown and Deer River saw their seasons end in their section title games.

In the Section 7 9-Man championship at Mesabi East, No. 1 MIB defeated No. 2 Cherry in the title game for the third straight year. This was their closest contest however, with the Rangers winning 30-14. The 16 point margin differed from the 56-24 and 66-20 decisions in 2022 and 2021. Damian Tapio scored all four touchdowns for MIB, while Noah Asuma and Ian Kimmes found the endzone for Cherry.

Cherry finishes their season 9-2 with their only losses coming at the hands of the Rangers. MIB (11-0) returns to state to defend their Class 9-Man title. They’ll kickoff Thursday in Grand Rapids battling Nevis (10-0) in the quarterfinals. For the bracket, Click Here. MIB hasn’t lost a game since Nov. 11, 2021.

In the Section 7A championship at Proctor, No. 1 Deer River suffered an upset to No. 2 Braham 28-8. This breaks the Warriors streak of four straight state trips. Deer River finishes their season with a 7-3 record.

In the Section 7AAAA championship at Denfeld, No. 3 Hermantown fell to defending section champions No. 1 North Branch 28-21. The Hawks finish their season 7-4.