Talk about the ultimate road trip. The Beaver Island boys' basketball team will travel in planes and vans to make its first-ever appearance in the Leelanau County Class D District tournament.

The Islanders are pretty hyped.

But like Traverse City Christian, Leelanau School, Grand Traverse Academy and host Northport, the Islanders will be overwhelming underdogs to Leland.

“It will be good for the kids. They enjoy playing teams outside of our league,” said Kerry Smith, Beaver Island athletic director, assistant to the principal and all-around team player. She enjoys wearing “a lot of hats” at the K-12 school, which has just 74 students.

“They’re hoping to put up a good fight,” she added.

Beaver Island and Grand Traverse Academy each drew a bye for the first round of the tournament, which will begin Monday. Lake Leelanau St. Mary and Leelanau School will begin in the opening game at 6 p.m., followed by Leland vs. Northport at 7:30 p.m.

The St. Mary-Leelanau School winner will take on Grand Traverse Academy at 6 p.m. next Wednesday, Feb. 29, followed by the Leland-Northort winner against Beaver Island. The surviving teams will meet at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 29.

St. Mary’s coach Jim Smith is hoping one of those teams in the finals will be his.

“It’s a cliche, but it is a new season. Leelanau School has some kids that can play. Grand Traverse Academy is in their first season, and it’s an uphill battle getting a program going. We anticipate playing Leland (in the Finals), and we’ll have our hands full. Leland beat us playing zone, and they beat us playing man-to-man, but we’ll try to be prepared for anything we face.”

Northport coach Jeff Tropf made no apologies when declaring Leland the clear-cut favorite. The Comets have beaten St. Mary, Northport and Christian twice each — all by lopsided margins.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about on the court or on paper. They’re as good a Class D team that is playing in this area,” said Tropf.

Records prove him out. Leland, despite dropping two of its last three games to Class C opponents in the Northwest Conference, is 15-4 while St. Mary and Northport have struggled to stay .500 against lesser competition.Wins have been difficult to come by for Leelanau School and Grand Traverse Academy.

Leland coach Jason Stowe, always the worrier, is concerned. “You can’t have a letdown … it’s tournament time, and it’s one and out,” he said.

But if regular season history repeats itself — which would mean Leland breezes through District competition — the addition of Beaver Island to the District may constitute one of the more interesting side stories.

Beaver Island has done well in the Northern Lights League playing tiny Upper Peninsula schools such as Grand Marais, Munising Baptist and Hannahville. The Lakers of Mackinac Island are undefeated, but Beaver Island is right behind at 6-2.

“We’re flying to Charlevoix, and renting vans to get over there,” said Smith.

The Islanders are accustomed to road trips — their basketball team usually flies to the U.P. for Friday night and Saturday morning games — but will be staying in some comparably fancy surroundings for the tournament. They generally bring their own bedding and sleep in an opponent’s gym, but rooms have been reserved for next Wednesday night at The Lodge at Leelanau Sands Casino.

Despite the excitement of a midweek trip, a winning record, and a legitimate scorer in 6-foot-4 Eric Albin, who averages 18 points a game, the Islanders understand the odds before them.

“It will be good for the kids,” said Smith. “They enjoy playing teams outside of our league. They’re hoping to put up a good fight.”