Larry Brown had to say goodbye to his son, but he hasn’t said goodbye to the football program they loved together.

And he doesn’t plan to anytime soon.

Larry Brown Jr., 16, was killed in a one-car accident on Christmas Day last year.

He left a hole in the Natchez High Bulldogs line and a hole in his daddy’s heart.

Both holes have been patched with the elder Brown’s hard work.

Brown spent his spare time this football season fundraising for the NHS Booster Club. Brown estimated that the club had approximately $17,000 in its budget this year.

The group collects money by running the concession stands at the games, contacting local businesses for donations, selling plate lunches and hosting other fundraisers.

But one special project Brown became instrumental in this year was raising enough money to buy sweatshirts emblazoned with the school logo for each player, even those who wouldn’t be able to pay any money themselves.

But it’s not money, sweatshirts or programs the boys on the team need, Brown said.

“As a booster club member I see so many parents not doing things they should for kids,” he said. “They should do more than they are. I don’t believe in letting any child down.

“I make a challenge to all parents to do things with the club, the team.”

That challenge comes straight from the heart of a man who no longer has a child of his own to support.

And it’s his work with the football team that’s made the last year bearable, Brown said.

“Right now I can’t see myself getting out of it,” Brown said. “I feel like I can just see him on the field.”

Larry Jr. started playing Bulldog football in junior high, but his passion for the game began long before that.

“We lived next to a neighbor who he played football with,” Brown said. “(Larry) said to me one day, ‘J.D. and I, we are going to go to the state playoffs.’”

And Larry got that opportunity last year at NHS.

This year, the Bulldogs went to the playoffs again, but not without Larry.

The 2009 season was dedicated to No. 59. Players wore Larry’s number on their jerseys. The No. 59 was painted on the field. A scholarship was announced in his name, and his jersey was retired and given to his father and mother, Brenda.

The team scored a symbolic 59 points on the night they retired Larry’s jersey. And 59 took over the campus, Brown said.

“The school, the team, the students, the coaches, the principals, all the way to (Superintendent Anthony Morris) were all real supportive. The students haven’t forgotten him.

“It was just tremendous. It touched my heart. You see people pass and leave this world and that’s it. It’s been almost a year and (support for Larry) is still going on strong.”

With football season over, Brown is a bit worried about how he’ll spend his Friday nights.

“I’ve got to find myself,” he said.

But working for the team is something he plans on doing for a long time. The boys deserve it, he enjoys it and Larry would want it.

“I don’t go a day that I don’t think about him,” Brown said. “To me he was the perfect child.”