No. 10-2A Crosby-Ironton at No. 1-2A Esko
7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 14

These two small-school northern powerhouses combined for 52 victories last year and are both ranked in the Class 2A polls heading into their game Tuesday night. Crosby-Ironton is anchored by the inside-out combo of Daniel Hudrlik and Will Goodwin while Esko has a trio of 1,000-point scorers in Kory Deadrick, Casey Staniger and Marc Peterson. Deadrick wowed the state in last year’s tournament, dropping 25 first-half points against third-seeded Hayfield in the Eskomos’ quarterfinal upset. He can light it up from long range, but also seems to be in all the passing lanes on defense with his lanky frame.