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Henderson Leads Jasper County to First Win in Two Years

One game does not make or break a season. Nor does one win, for that matter. But for a program that had not celebrated a victory since October of 2020 – nearly two full years and 15 games ago – it does matter. A lot. When the Monticello Hurricanes of Jasper County High School claimed an 18-6 win over Pike County two weeks ago, it marked the end of one of the state’s longest victory droughts and gave the team’s players and fans something they hadn’t experienced in a long time: hope.

The new coach who has helped bring about this sudden feeling of renewal is Ashley Henderson, now in his 11th season as a head coach, including six at GISA Class AAA powerhouse Valwood and most recently at Thomas County Central. Henderson won three state championships at Valwood, but he says the moments following the Jasper County win over Pike County was special.

“Our kids were going crazy,” Henderson said.

He recalled a touching moment following the game.

“The players were celebrating and I had one of our seniors come up to me and he just looked me in the eye and said, ‘Thank you, coach,’” Henderson said, admitting that he still gets emotional when recalling the moment. “That is why we coach – for moments like that one.”

While Henderson said it’s great to finally get Jasper County back in the win column, he knows   better than anyone there’s still a long way to go.

“We are excited, but we haven’t arrived yet,” said Henderson. “We had to turn around the whole mindset here and we know that will take more than one game. But I can tell you, that win was a huge step and a big deal to these players.”

How bad have things been for the Jasper County football program? In addition to failing to record a win, last year’s team was outscored by 300 points in its 0-10 season. They scored an average of just over one touchdown (8.8 points) per game, while giving up a tad over six TDs (38.8) per game. In addition to the 0-10 season last year and a 2-8 finish two years ago, the team has not had a winning season in 20 years.

“2003 was the last season this team had more wins than losses,” said Henderson. “We have had to change things at a basic level, with the little things.”

He said that included having all football players in the same first-period weightlifting class together.

“Before, they were coming in at different periods throughout the day, and lifting at different times of the day, and that just doesn’t work,” Henderson explained. “You need the players all lifting together, encouraging each other.”

There also has been a culling process up and down the roster, eliminating those players who weren’t ready to fully commit to the process.

“We started out with about 60 players and now we have a roster of 42 players,” Henderson said. “We had to clean up the culture here and a big part of that was finding out who wanted to be here and who didn’t. If you didn’t show up for practice every day, then you weren’t going to stick around, and now we have a group of kids who are excited to be here and want to be a part of turning this thing around.”

The Hurricanes have six seniors who make up that group of 42, and they are a special group that has been through it all.

“I’m their third head coach in three years,” Henderson said.

The new coach has brought in two experienced assistants who, like him, have been part of successful programs, but who also want to help their boss build something better.

“Our offensive coordinator is Chris Pragg, who was at Tift County, and our defensive coordinator is JR Raegan, who comes from Athens Academy, but also coached at Colquitt County,” Henderson said.

At Valwood, Henderson led the Valiants to four GISA state title games in all, winning three of them. He spent the last four seasons as head coach of Thomas County Central, where he finished with a 19-22 record and an 0-2 playoff mark. In some ways, you could say that Henderson and his new team are both starting over.

“This is totally different than where I’ve coached before,” he said, reflecting on his last two stops and his current team. “I’ve been where there are high expectations, and that’s to be expected. Here, we are trying to build something that will last, and that’s very satisfying to me.”

Henderson said the Jasper County school administration has been very supportive of his plans and goals for the team to win again.

“I could not ask for a better group of people to work for and work with,” he said. “They’ve been super supportive.”

Henderson also has a lot of support from his family. He and his wife, Meagen, have three boys: Will, who is in pre-K; Jack, who is in first grade; and Charlie, a fourth-grader.

“They love it here, and so do I,” Henderson said. “We are glad to be here.”

You can bet the Monticello Hurricanes are glad they are, too.

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