The Hunters begin the season on the road for the first two weeks, traveling first to Mora and then north to Grand Rapids.
DULUTH, Minnesota – The Duluth Denfeld football team had its best season in a long time, posting a 7-2 record in 2023 and being one of the last teams still in the running for the Section 7AAAA title.
Like many other teams, the Hunters are putting that behind them this week and preparing for the new year.
There are many things that make Denfeld a serious contender this year, including the return of running back Taye Manns and lineman Rajon Gamble.
However, head coach Erik Lofald says his team will not rest despite last season’s success.
“We have pretty high expectations as a program, we don’t want to have losing seasons again. The expectation is to win. When you look around the sectional, the district, it’s a tough battle. So there’s really no week off. We don’t have any off weeks, so it’s really going to come down to who stays healthy. Again, we’re talking about depth, who’s going to enjoy the depth and maybe some kids will step up that we didn’t expect to really play a role this year, that’s going to be critical,” Lofald said.
The players say they spent a lot of time together during the offseason to keep the camaraderie high.
“We’ve kept a lot of great players and the chemistry is good. I think my class is really big and the junior class below us is really big too. We worked very well together. With the UMD camp, we were in the best position in terms of playing and teamwork and worked as a unit like never before,” said lineman Rajon Gamble.
The Hunters begin the season on the road for the first two weeks, traveling first to Mora and then north to Grand Rapids.
The match against the Mustangs will take place on Thursday, August 29th.
