On Thursday both the Mountain Iron-Buhl and Moose Lake/Willow River football teams suffered losses in their state quarterfinal matches.

In the Class 9-Man quarterfinals in Grand Rapids, the defending state champions in MIB suffered a close 12-8 loss to Nevis. The Rangers sole touchdown, and two-point conversion, came from Damian Tapio in the final seconds of the third quarter to trail 12-8. Both teams entered with undefeated records. This marks MIB’s first loss since November 2021, as they finish their season 11-1.

In the Class AA quarterfinals in Forest Lake, Moose Lake/Willow River suffered a 60-0 shutout loss to Eden Valley-Watkins. The Rebels close out their season 10-2.

Esko (10-0) will kickoff the Class AAA quarterfinals Saturday battling Annandale (10-0) in Brainerd. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m..