VALDOSTA — Valwood didn’t need an exhaustive search to find the next head coach of its football team.

Less than a day after the Valiants’ all-time leader in wins Ashley Henderson accepted a position with Thomas County Central, Valwood promoted his brother and defensive coordinator Justin Henderson to the helm of the program.

“Losing a coach the caliber of Ashley Henderson is never a good thing, but we find ourselves in the best possible situation with Justin Henderson taking over as our head football coach at Valwood,” Valwood athletic director Brett Martin said in a statement Friday. “Justin brings years of experience as a position coach and a coordinator on both the public and private school levels, and I have no doubt he will work extremely hard to insure that the Valwood football program continues to compete at the highest level.

“Justin taking the reins helps us to achieve the smoothest transition possible for our players, parents, boosters and fans.”

Justin also noted the smooth transition that comes with a coach leaving the program on good terms and in the hands of his brother, but he also acknowledged the expectations that come with taking over a program that’s won 66 of its 78 games the past six seasons.

“The bar has been set awfully high, needless to say with three state championships the last six years,” Henderson said. “One thing we want to do is keep this train rolling.

“I don’t know where we could go much different. Just to maintain right now is a challenge, just because the bar was set so high. Obviously, that’s goal No. 1.”

Taking over at Valwood will mark the first head coaching gig for Justin, but he’ll still have plenty of support from his brother has he learns the ropes.

“(Ashley)’s still going to be on campus for about two more weeks, so we’ve got some time to figure out exactly what needs to be done,” Justin said.

The immediate focus is getting the Class of 2018 taken care of leading up to national signing day on Feb. 7, and then the Hendersons will turn their attention to the Valiants’ end of season banquet and the rest of the summer schedule — with some new tweaks, of course.

“As you get higher up, and you start looking at how things are done, there is always something you can think, ‘Well, if I’m ever the head, I’ll do it differently. I’ll do it like this,’” Henderson said.

Once it’s clear which members of the Valwood staff will follow Ashley to Thomas County, Justin will fill out the rest of the staff in his vision.

Justin’s resume includes 11 years as an assistant at Valdosta High before spending the past four seasons as the Valiants’ defensive coordinator.

With Justin overseeing the defense, Valwood has held opponents to 15.3 points per game over the past four seasons, including a program-record 8.8 points per game over the course of the 2017 season en route to his second state championship with the program.

He plans to remain heavily invested in the defense, but Justin plans to get more involved on the offensive side of the ball as the head coach.

“I don’t have any problem taking an offensive position, that way I can have a hand in what goes on with the offense,” Henderson said. “I wouldn’t be an old-school Joe Paterno offensive and defensive coordinator, but just so I can know what’s going on in that side of the ball and take an active approach in it.

“That’s kind of the plan Day 2 into being the head coach.”

Although Justin plans to have his hands in the offense, he knows the Valiants have found success in a spread offense over the past six years, and he doesn’t plan on changing a winning formula.

“We’re going to be spread, we’re going to be spread all the way,” Henderson said. “As a defensive coordinator, I think that’s the toughest to stop, because you’ve got to be sound everywhere. I think that’s what gets kids motivated and excited to play for your school and your program.

“Some people have great success with other types of offenses, but that’s what I know, and that’s what I know works, so that’s what we’re going to stay with.”