The Northland hockey and football worlds were shaken up as the Minnesota State High School League announced their section realignments for the upcoming seasons.

Minnesota Boy’s Hockey

Announced on Friday, the MSHSL’s class AA will have eight sections comprised of eight teams in each. With the change in numbers, the two teams leaving section 7AA are Anoka and Andover. Both teams will now be joining section 5AA for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.

Andover took the section 7AA title for the 2024-25 season, rallying back after losing their first nine games in the season to winning the section championship over Rock Ridge. Andover has won five of the past six section title matchups, only falling in 2019 to Duluth East.

The change leaves only Grand Rapids and Duluth East as the only teams in section 7AA to have won a section title.

The new section 7AA lineup includes Cambridge-Isanti, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth East, Duluth Marshall, Forest Lake, Grand Rapids, Rock Ridge, and Northern Edge.

Minnesota Football

Cherry and Mountain Iron-Buhl will not be competing in 9-man football for the upcoming season but will be moving up to standard 11-man football.

The standard MSHSL enrollment minimum for 11-man football is 150, as of Friday, MIB’s enrollment is calculated at 154 students while Cherry’s is calculated at 157 students.

This will be the first time since 2002 that MIB will play with 11 players on the field.

Two other Northland teams will be making moves in football for the upcoming season, those being Ely and South Ridge. Ely will be moving from class A to class AA, and South Ridge will be moving to 9-man football.

Click here to learn more about the MSHSL’s sections for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.