Fominaya leaves Hiram for Sprayberry program ‘on verge of greatness’

Peter Fominaya began work as Sprayberry’s football coach Thursday. He is replacing Brett Vavra, who took the Etowah last month after leading Sprayberry to its best season in history.

Fominaya was Hiram’s coach for the past seven seasons.

“I don’t chase jobs, but when I saw there was an opportunity for this one, I was interested because of what Coach Vavra was able to do,” Fominaya said. “I feel like the program is on the verge of greatness, and I want to be part of that.”

Fominaya led Hiram, a Paulding County school, to its first playoff victory in nine seasons in 2019, his second season, and to its best record in 13 years (9-3) in 2023.

The 2023 team sent four players to major Division I teams. They were Walter Matthews to Southern Cal, Chase Tyler to Duke, Clinton Richard to Wake Forest and Jameson Riggs to Georgia Tech.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity I got there,” Fominaya said. “When I look back, I can say the program at Hiram is better than when we found it. We’ve been able to put kids in school and have success on and off the field.”

Fominaya was a head coach at Gulf Coast and Lehigh in Florida before taking the Hiram job.

Sprayberry is coming off an 11-2 finish and its first region title since 2008 and returns four-star cornerback Jorden Edmonds and all-Cobb County quarterback Jaden Duckett.

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