Luke Hammond thought Alex Stork was joking.
Less than three weeks after leading Henley football to its third-ever state championship and a program-best 13-0 record–and just days before the school went on winter break–Stork entered his athletic director’s office and told him he was stepping down as head coach.
The decision, which Stork said was motivated primarily by a desire for “more family-focused time in summer and fall”, left Hammond with the task of replacing the third-winningest coach in program history (Stork went 50-19 over seven seasons).
Hammond said he and Henley principal Jesse Hamilton decided to use the first week of winter break to formulate their own ideas on how to proceed, then reconvene after Christmas. After settling on a path forward, they posted the job opening on Jan. 2 and began interviewing applicants soon after.
One name quickly rose to the top: longtime Stork assistant Matt Green. On Jan. 18, Hammond and Hamilton informed Green that the job was his.
“Continuity was a big thing for us,” Hammond said. “We feel like we’ve got a real strong foundation and a good run in front of us, so we wanted to not disrupt that.”
Green, a native of Bucklin, KS, who played at Hutchinson Community College (one of the nation’s best JUCO programs), joined the Henley coaching staff in 2018. He spent his first three seasons with the Hornets coaching running backs and linebackers, then switched to coaching the offensive and defensive lines. This season, Green’s offensive line allowed just four sacks and helped pave the way for running back Logan Whitlock to set program records with 1,934 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns, while his defensive line recorded 18 sacks and helped hold opposing offenses to 223.5 yards per game.
Both Stork and Hammond said they’re highly confident in Green’s ability to keep the Hornets among the top teams in 4A.
“Matt will be an outstanding head coach,” Stork said. “He is humble, hardworking and focused on building relationships.”
“He’s always been [in] lockstep with Alex and the culture that Henley has,” Hammond said. “Kids really love him. He’s here in the mornings at early bird weights, he comes to basketball games, he comes to baseball and softball games and track and volleyball.
“He’s always all in on what we do at Henley.”
So far, Green has only had a week to settle into his new role but said he’s “excited” for what lies ahead.
“I love this school,” Green said. “I’m loyal to these kids. We’ve got a great group of kids. The seniors left a great tradition here and I’m ready to build on it.”