Henry Looks to Lead Young Raiders Back to the Playoffs

By Cade Carlton

For Deondre Henry and the Nettleton Raiders, the 2016 season was not what they hoped it would be. The Raiders started the season 3-0, with wins over Pocahontas, Mountain Home and Star City, respectively. But after an impressive start, the Raiders went on a skid, losing five of their final seven games, and effectively ending their hope at a playoff berth.

Although the overall performance of the team suffered, Henry’s never did. The sophomore QB completed 50 percent of his passes for 997 yards in just seven games started. He threw for 10 touchdowns and accounted for over half of the yards per game between his passing and rushing. Perhaps the most impressive stat was that the first year starter threw just one interception all year.

“My first year was very tough,” Henry said. “I didn't start the first two games, and I came in the third week against Mountain Home and took over the starting role for the rest of the season. It was difficult, but my coaches helped me through it. My teammates were a big help, in that they were very supportive of it. Now, being a three year starter I feel very comfortable with the offense, and I'm ready to lead those guys into battle every single week and hopefully win a state championship.”

Last season, Nettleton looked to be one of the teams to beat after the non-conference slate concluded, but a week four loss at Batesville shook the Raiders, and they could never truly recover. 

“The first three games we had a head full of steam,” Henry said. “We played really good and were together as a team. The Batesville game kind of sucked the wind out of us and from that point on everything got difficult. Some guys put their head down, and we weren't in that brotherhood mindset anymore. This year, myself especially, I want to do a better job of keeping that brotherhood and family mentality together. Last year, the two big games that really hit us to not making the playoffs, were the Forrest City game (week eight) and the Valley View game (week nine.) The Forrest City game was ultimately the deciding game, but we ended up losing 30-15. The week after, we dropped the Valley View game which put us completely out of the playoffs.”

Although they are coming off of a disappointing season, you couldn't tell it by the Raiders attitude this off-season. Coach Hampton has said this team reminds him of the 2014 squad that won seven games in the regular season (still a record for this century) and qualified for the playoffs, Henry sees some of the same things from this team.

“On the offensive side of the ball, we won't lose as many as we will on the defensive side of the ball,” Henry said. “Most of our key guys, and our big play guys that really stepped up last year will be coming back. On the O-line we lose just one player that played significant minutes last year. Everyone that is coming back has experience. I feel like this year, with those guys having experience, it will be a lot easier.”

“Somebody I grew up with, and I’m really close with and have good chemistry with, is Jaron Northern,” Henry continued. “He will always be my No. One target. Will Joyner is entering his second year with us. He’s a really, really good player. He’s a real good deep threat, and he can take the top off the defense. You can get him in short routes, intermediate routes, and he can do just about anything. My running back, Tay Turner, he’s just a bull when he runs the ball. He can do anything. He can outrun you, he can run you over, and he can do almost anything with the ball in his hands.”

For Nettleton, this summer has been different than most, in that the Raiders have attended a 7-on-7 camp. With a young squad this year, Coach Hampton has elected to sign the team up for more helmets and shoulder pad, and sometimes full pad, team camps to insure they are ready for the start of the season. For Henry, the summer has been a bit different, in the fact that he has begun going to individual camps to try and improve his recruiting stock. 

“The summer has been really busy,” Henry said. “We got a week off after school ended, and we came back and hit it hard after that. We lifted a lot, we conditioned a lot, and we did a lot of things to get better. We had team camps this year, and didn't go to any 7-on-7s, just to see what guys were like with pads on. As far as camps go, I’ve been to about five so far as an individual. I’ll be at Jackson State on July 20th. Southern Arkansas and Arkansas Monticello will be later on in the summer.”

Not only has Henry traveled around the state this summer to participate in camps, he’s also worked on perfecting his craft with some of the Nettleton coaching staff. While the future certainly looked bright for Henry last season, he is not content with just the on field numbers, Henry also wants to become more of a vocal leader on the team.

“Being a leader is something I've really looked to improve on,” Henry said. “I want to be a better teammate to my teammates. As far as throwing, my footwork and my deep balls have improved as well.”

“In terms of coaches that have helped me, Coach Moss, who is now our defensive backs coach, was my ninth grade coach,” Henry continued. “He built my confidence as a quarterback, and I only played three games that year because I had an ACL injury and that ended my season, but, him being there for me really helped me grow as a man and as a quarterback. My current quarterback Coach, Clint Wilson, has helped me tremendously. He has helped me a lot with my form, technique and everything you can think of to help me be a better quarterback.”

Although Henry is a great football player, he also has another sports in which he excels in. Henry spent last spring playing for football assistant coach John Proffitt on the soccer team. Henry helped lead the Raiders to a great regular season and a playoff appearance. 

“Last year’s soccer teams were really good,” Henry said. “We finished second in conference behind Valley View. We got to host a state tournament game at home, but lost to Clarksville, so our season ended early. This year, we've got a lot of talent coming back, so, I feel like if some guys can grow up and step up this season could be really good.

While Henry continues to excel in two sports, and receive offers from Jackson State, UA Monticello, Southern Arkansas and others, he will always look up to a family member that inspired him to play football. 

“My brother, Winsley Henry, has been a big inspiration to me,” Henry said. “He used to play quarterback at Nettleton, and he graduate in 2012. He has always been someone that has inspired me since I was little, and someone I always look up to.”

The Raiders will kick off the season on Fri. Sept, 1 when they take on Pocahontas.