“I just tell them that I love them.”
Denham Springs Football coach Dru Nettles uttered these words in the aftermath of the Jackets heartbreaking 20-14 loss to Catholic HS in the first round of the playoffs. This was in response to Chris Gordy’s last question to Coach Nettles on our broadcast right after the conclusion of the ballgame. Chris asked Coach what he’d tell the kids in the locker room. It was truly a poignant moment, something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
The Sting is Back. Although the Jackets lost the ballgame, they played, in my opinion, their best game of the year. They didn’t turn the ball over and hung toe to toe with a very good Catholic HS team. Figuratively, not literally. Maybe the difference in the game—special teams, and in particular, a 12 yard punt and a 26 yard punt in the 4th quarter.
Nevertheless, for the second straight year, the Jackets made the playoffs and made a good accounting of themselves. It truly looks like prodigal son, Dru Nettles, has made great strides in restoring the great tradition of Denham Springs Football.
Speaking of that tradition and of Coach Nettles, Randy Smith unearthed some great Jackets pearls in his last 2 “Yellow Jacket Memories”
–Denham Springs HS first fielded a team in 1930. They did not have uniforms or funds to purchase uniforms. Coach Charles Grady Hornsby contacted a member of the LSU coaching staff. This coach told Hornsby that he had 14 full uniforms and 4 extra pants—purple jerseys and shiny gold pants. When the coach asked Hornsby what were Denham’s team colors, Hornsby quickly responded that those were exactly the team colors! Thus, the tradition of purple and gold began at Denham Springs HS.
–Denham played as the Denham Springs HS Tomcats in their first game. They lost. Coach Hornsby did not like the team’s intensity. He wanted some fight in this team, a fight like a Yellow Jacket on the Amite River bank. So, for game 2 and thereafter, Denham Springs became known as the Yellow Jackets. Had they won that first game, would they still be known as the Tomcats?
–From 11/13 Yellow Jackets Memories: “Thomas Dru Nettles (was born on) 3-23-71…He grew up on Burgess Road, east of Denham, which was almost in the Walker School District…He learned to play baseball and other sports in the late 70’s, playing on PARDS baseball teams.”
“I remember the first time I really noticed Dru. It was in the spring of 1986 and he was on the DSHS baseball team as a freshman. I looked at all the Senior and Junior starters on the team and it was pretty impressive to see him as a freshman and playing as the starting catcher. He really showed us that he was made of true grit when at the age of 15 he (competed) with young men two and three years older. And boy he could really play
catcher. But, Dru was best known for what he did on the football field.”
“Dru was number 17 as a Yellow Jacket. During the 1987 and 1988 seasons, his specialty was taking the ball away from the other team. Dru holds several Jacket records, (including) the most interceptions in a career—14. In ’87, he picked off 3 in a game against Glen Oaks. In 1988, he set a school record with a 100 yard interception touchdown return…This stood up until just a few weeks ago when Michael Early (returned one) for 103 yards (against Walker)…”
“…Dru is a home-grown Yellow Jacket, trained in the winning tradition here at DSHS.
He married his Denham High School sweetheart Shelly Earnhart and has two gorgeous little girls, Claire—age 11 and Faith—age 8. He did his student coaching at Belaire in 1994, was an assistant for Butch Wax and Steve Long from 1995-1007. He went to Woodlawn for seven years and rose to success there as Head Coach…In 2005, he came (home) as AD and Head Coach for his alma mater DSHS…”
So, the 2009 Denham football season has come to a conclusion, thus ending our 16th straight year producing Yellow Jackets football broadcasts on 1210AM. A very special thank you to: Coach Nettles, Jackets Principal Mr. Kelly Jones, statistician Robert Graves, all of our great sponsors and boosters, the folks at Clear Channel/The Score, 1210AM, my broadcasting partners Jim McChristian and Chris Gordy, engineers at 1210AM and SportsGumbo.net (Jordan Fontenot and Alex Hosse), technical advisor Rick Cantu, all of our contributors from Central (Josh Ward and Scott Osborne), Live Oak (Robbie Harrison) and Walker (Chris Ledoux), and Mr. Randy “Yellow Jackets Memories” Smith. And, to anyone I missed, thank you too! Finally, a shout out to the entire Denham Springs HS Football team of 2009. It was a very memorable season. And, I believe, indelibly etched in my memories will be Coach Nettles last lines on our final broadcast: “I’ll just tell them that I love them”.
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Jon Fine, Producer, SportsGumbo.net
Jon Fine CO-hosts and produces SportsGumbo M–F, 8am-9am on radio stations in the River Parishes/Baton Rouge (KKAY, 1590AM), New Orleans (ESPN, 1560AM) and Lake Charles (KEZM, 1310AM). Most weeks, Jon is on Monday–Thursday…Jon also produces and calls play-by-play for Denham Springs HS football and basketball …and is the producer of THE High School Sports Show (all on The Score, 1210AM, Fox Sports Radio, in Baton Rouge). With Rick Cantu, Jon was co-founder of the SportsGumbo.net Broadcasting Network
