You can’t say Pete Fominaya is afraid of a challenge.
Fominaya, the new football coach at Hiram, came from Gulf Coast High School in Naples, his alma mater, where he’d spent the last six years. He didn’t decide to move 600 miles, from sunny South Florida to the Atlanta suburbs in Paulding County without high expectations. Fominaya has been doing his research, waiting for an opening and didn’t hesitate to make his move – even though he knows the hurdles that await.
“I didn’t come here not to be challenged,” he said. “The last three state championship have come out of this region. We know that in the regular season we’ll get tested as much as we possibly can and that’ll be good preparation for the playoffs. I’m excited because competition brings out the best in your team. When you’re getting challenged on a game-in game-out basis, that’s going to pay dividends down the road.”
Fominaya has already been impressed by the gumption shown by his Hiram players during off-season workouts.
“They come every day with a great attitude,” Fominaya said. “They’re really hungry to improve, to learn. The kids are excited and that motivates me every day when I get to work. When you’re around people who are like-minded and have the same goals and visions, that’s exciting.”
Fominaya is an offensive-minded coach who will bring a spread attack. He wants to play as fast as possible and use the speed and athleticism. It will help that four-year starter Nathan Presnell returns to start at quarterback. At 6-6, 200 pounds, he is expected to be recruited by a Power Five conference.
The defense will be headed up by Andy Scott, the head football coach at Kennesaw Mountain from 2012 to 2017. Fominaya said the defense will also try to play as fast as possible. The top returner on defense is end Kristian Varner (6-4, 235), who already has D-I offers from Buffalo, Tulane and Arkansas State.
The Hornets will begin spring practice on May 7. They’ll have a spring game on May 18 against Mountain View.
Hiram hasn’t enjoyed great success in football since the school opened in 2000. The Hornets have had only five winning seasons, the last coming in 2010 when they went 9-3. Their best season was 2009, when they went 11-1 and won the school’s only region championship.
It won’t be an easy task. Fominaya is stepping into Region 7, which has been one of the toughest leagues in Class AAAAA. Rome has won the last two state championships. Carrollton reached the state quarterfinals the last two seasons and is a traditional contender.
In a weird twist, Hiram’s first game in the fall will be against Harrison. Fominaya is staying with his best friend, Josh Cassidy, the Harrison defensive coordinator, until his home in Florida sells and his wife and three daughters move to Georgia. Cassidy is a former Florida coach who made the move to Cobb County six years ago.
Fominaya was in a similar situation when he took the job at Gulf Coast, where he inherited a program that had gone 5-16 over the two previous years. It was not exactly seen as a plum. After going 1-9 the first season, Gulf Coast showed steady improvement and in 2016 went 7-4 and won the school’s first district championship. Fominaya was 29-32 with three playoff appearances in his six seasons. He was at Lehigh Acres (Fla.) High School for three seasons.
Kaden Frost, a four-year starting quarterback at Gulf Coast, told the Naples Daily News, “He gave a 14-year-old kid a chance to start at quarterback when most coaches wouldn’t. Not a lot of coaches would trust a freshman like that and I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”
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