In this transfer-happy age, the Hiram Hornets are a success story of a team that’s stuck together and is reaping the benefits. The team has gone through growing pains and has now joined the other top teams in Region 7.
No. 5 Hiram (6-0, 1-0) will host No. 8 Calhoun (4-2, 0-1) on Friday. Hiram has won its first six games only one other time in school history, that coming in 2009 when it went undefeated in the regular season and finished 11-1.
“We made a decision a couple of years ago just to go young and try to play as many of these young guys that we could,” Hiram coach Pete Fominaya said. “It’s really starting to pay of for us now. When they were sophomores we sat them all down together and told them that this group is really special. The way high school athletics is now, it being so fluid and transient, we’re fortunate for a group as talented as this to stay together. That’s a testament to their commitment with each other and their bond as a team.”
The offense has been putting up some big numbers. The Hornets have not scored fewer than 38 points in a game and average 45.8 points per game.
“We’re fortunate that we’ve got four of the top 50 players in the state of Georgia that play on our offense, so that helps. But these kids have really meshed well together, and they’ve got good camaraderie and there’s not egos on that side of the ball. They just really play well together and I’m really proud of them.”
The Hornets have one of the deepest ground games in the classification thanks to a veteran offensive line that starts left tackle Jameson Riggs (a Georgia Tech commit), left guard Christopher Dudley, center Travion Thomas, right guard Torrian Edge (the only junior starter) and right tackle Clinton Richard (a Wake Forest commit).
“They’re not only big – everybody’s got big kids – but we’ve got big kids who are really technical, really athletic,” Fominaya said. “We ask our guys to pull all the time. We ask our guys to move and shift and do different things, so we’re big but I also think we’re really athletic.”
The offense has benefited from its four-headed monster group of running backs led by juniors Kaden Hamilton (587 yards, 12 touchdowns) and Da’Shun Williams (457 yards, three touchdowns) and seniors Kendarious Brown and Jemarion Whatley. Quarterback Ryan Strickland has thrown for 613 yards and seven touchdowns and run for 119 yards and two scores.
Hiram also has an outstanding kicker in Oliver Castaneda, who Fominaya said, “was a rare talent.” Castaneda has kicked ofr 47 times and 45 have resulted in touchbacks. He avoerages 35.5 yards on punts, dropping three of 12 inside the 20. He’s made 10 of 12 field goal tries.
“The announcers at Dalton last week were saying how one day you’re going to see him kicking on Sundays,” Fominaya said.
This week the Hornets will have their hands full with Calhoun. Hiram began to show its resurgence a year ago by winning at Calhoun. That’s no doubt being discussed at Calhoun practices this week, along with its loss to Cartersville a week ago.
“I told our kids all summer, ‘I don’t need you to play the best football in August, I need you to play the best football in October,’” Fominaya said. “When you’ve go Dalton, Calhoun, Cartersville and Cass – that’s really tough stretch.”
In other big games this weekend:
Region 3: The five-team league opens play this weekend with a pair of important games – Northside Columbus (4-2) at Harris County (5-1) and Northgate (4-2) at McIntosh (5-1). All four teams are considered to be equal in ability, so this is likely to be the first leg in a sprint to the finish.
Harris County, under first-year coach Tommy Watson, is coming of its best win of the season, a 28-19 win over defending Class 3A champion Sandy Creek. Senior Levi Watson has thrown for 875 yards and five touchdowns and run for 228 yards and four touchdowns. Mataye Youmans leads with 458 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Northside is led by quarter Caden Clay, a junior who has thrown for 943 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Aaron Osborne has 20 receptions for a 19.8-yard average and two touchdowns. Northside beat Harris County 21-7 a year ago.
Northgate brings a balanced attack led by sophomore quarterback Dylan Barber, a transfer from Heritage who was promoted to starter after the loss to Villa Rica. Barber has thrown for 416 yards and three touchdowns and run for 219 yards. Evan Garrett leads the running game with 755 yards and five touchdowns. The fast-paced McIntosh attack is led by quarterback Elliott Sturbaum, who has thrown for 1,495 yards and 19 touchdowns, with only four interceptions. Landon Dolhancyk has 34 catches, Nick Glozier has 21 catches and Cole Landgaard and Hollis Davidson both have 17 receptions. The running game is led by Brandon Ridley (461 yards, three touchdowns) and Aaron Ajie (436 yards, two touchdowns). Northgate has won the last five meetings, including 37-0 in 2022. A Northgate win would give coach Mike McDonald the 100th of his career.
Tucker at Chamblee (Adams Stadium): The winner of this game will become one of the favorites in Region 4. Chamblee (3-3, 1-0) is led by quarterback Ashton Bolston, a converted linebacker who has thrown for 791 yards and eight touchdowns and run for 368 yards and three touchdowns. The Bulldogs must find a way to slow down Tucker running back Jordan McCoy, who has rushed for 1,011 yards and 15 touchdowns – both figures are tops in DeKalb County. Tucker (3-3, 1-0) also features quarterback Jamar Graham, who has thrown for 942 yards and seven touchdowns. Chamblee won last year’s game 15-10 to end a1 11-year losing streak against Tucker.
Arabia Mountain at Decatur: Arabia Mountain (5-1, 1-0) brings a five-game winning streak into the game with Decatur (2-4, 0-1), the reigning Region 4 champion. Julian Shanks leads Arabia Mountain with 584 yards passing with seven touchdowns. Alex Richard has 15 catches. Decatur leads the series 3-0 and won last year’s game 23-8.
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