DULUTH — The Duluth Denfeld football program lost one of its longest-serving members earlier in January.
Frank Huie, who was the Hunters’ head coach from 2005-2009 and again from 2012-2018, died after a long illness on Jan. 17, but his legacy and influence with the program continues to be felt and will be for many years, according to current Denfeld coach Erik Lofald.
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Huie, 63, didn’t just begin his time with the Hunters when he became head coach, however. He was the Hunters’ defensive coordinator for some of the best teams in program history in the 1990s.
The 1996 Denfeld team — that featured, among others, Lofald — went 10-0 before losing in the section final.
Huie was also a physical education teacher and coached girls basketball and track, but his biggest influence for Lofald was on the football field. The current Hunters’ coach thought Huie was “tough” as a player, but as he grew, that began to change.
“As we grew up, we realized how fair he was and how much he did care about us,” Lofald said.
Huie’s son, Cale Huie, agreed with Lofald about his dad’s care.
“Some kids might have thought he was too tough on them,” Cale, a 2015 Denfeld graduate, said. “He just wanted them to be the best version of themselves on and off the football field.”
When Duluth consolidated from three high schools to two in 2010, Duluth Central coach Chris Vold was selected over Huie to lead the program. Vold resigned following the 2011 season and Huie returned to coach the Hunters once more.
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“It had always been a dream of mine to play for my dad,” Cale said. “Then my sophomore year, he ended up getting the head coaching job for the second tim. We were just so excited he was going to be able to coach me.”
Perhaps Huie’s most famous former player is C.J. Ham, currently with the Minnesota Vikings, but perhaps his most consequential decision was adding Lofald to the staff when he returned to the Denfeld sideline.
“When I coached with him, I got to see him in a completely different light,” Lofald said. “I realized he was a coach who really did care about his kids — more than just as football players, but as students and people. He wanted to make sure they graduated, had the best experience possible and had fun playing the game.”
Huie, a 1979 Denfeld graduate, played for Marv Heikkinen, the coach who led Denfeld to its only appearance in the state playoffs in 1979 — the season after Huie graduated. The turf football field at Denfeld now bears Heikkinen’s name.
Huie continued to have Heikkinen return to speak to the team each season. Whether he was coaching basketball, track or football, Huie always worked to instill a love of Denfeld and its legacy in his players.
Heikkinen, who coached the Hunters from 1971-83, remembered Huie coming to him a few years after graduation looking for a job as an assistant. Heikkinen brought him on as a linebackers and offensive line coach. He was happy that Huie got a chance to lead the Hunters after Dave Mooers — Heikkinen’s own successor on the Denfeld sideline.
“He was a great role model for our students and athletes,” Heikkinen said. “He always had a good sense of humor. He was a wonderful coach and a wonderful human being.”
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When Huie began his second stint as coach, the Hunters were part of the Mississippi 8 Conference, where they struggled to compete against teams like Monticello and Cambridge-Isanti. After moving back to more local competition, wins started to come more easily and culminated with a 5-3 campaign that included wins over Grand Rapids, Duluth East and a Two Harbors team that won its section for the first time in more than 40 years.
Dom Klaas, a senior on the 2018 team, knew they had a “special group” and they were ecstatic when he chose to return to coach another season.
“We all had that chip on our shoulder, we all wanted to play for Huie,” Klaas said. “We didn’t know if it was to be his last year or not. We just wanted to prove that he was a great coach and he could do something.”
Huie stepped down following the 2018 season and Lofald stepped in, but much like when Huie took over in 2012, it was going to be a hard transition.
“We lost so many kids and we had to build the program back up,” Lofald said. “I look at the trajectory as paralleling Frank a little bit. We’ve had a little more success lately, but at the same time it took the same amount of work that Frank put into the program to get to where we’re at today.”
The Hunters struggled in the years following Huie’s departure, going winless in 2020 and 2021, but 2022 saw Denfeld pick up its first win over Duluth East since 2018. The Hunters won eight games in 2023 and six in 2024, the first back-to-back winning seasons since 1997-98. What’s more, running back Taye Manns was named News Tribune All-Area Player of the Year.
Huie encouraged Lofald to “throw his hat in the ring” for the Denfeld coaching job when he stepped down and Lofald is eternally grateful for his mentorship.
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“Frank gave me that opportunity, which set us on this whole new trajectory,” Lofald said. “If it’s not for Frank, I’m not a coach. I think the biggest emotion of hearing he finally passed was like here’s the guy who really made me who I am.”
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