In its first year in Class 1A, former Nine-Player power Mountain Iron-Buhl is adjusting well. The Rangers are 5-1 overall, suffering their first loss last week at Barnum.

They’ll look to bounce back when they visit Braham (4-2) on Thursday in a game streaming live on Strib Varsity. Watch the matchup at 6 p.m. here.

The Rangers and Bombers enter the game having performed similarly against their overlapping opponents. Both teams routed Chisholm and East Central, and both lost to Barnum. Braham lost 25-6, while Mountain Iron-Buhl lost 54-0.

The opponent that makes their records differ is Cherry. MIB opened the season with a 36-34 win at Cherry; Braham lost at home to the Tigers 30-28 two weeks ago.

Braham senior Tyler Eklund has 20 total touchdowns this year: nine rushing, eight receiving, one kick return, one punt return and one interception return.

Mountain Iron-Buhl quarterback Caleb Rossi has passed for eight TDs and rushed for nine. The Rangers have played just five games, as their Week 3 opponent, Ely, forfeited.

The Rangers won every Nine-Player, Section 7 championship game from 2018 to 2024. (They won the semifinal in 2020, but no title game was held.) They have made the state tournament 11 times and won the Prep Bowl in 2022.

Braham last reached the state tournament in 2023, its 10th appearance.