After an undefeated regular season and region title in 2009, it’s unlikely anyone will overlook Hiram this fall.

However, the Hornets are heading to a new region and will be looking to be among the area elite when the season starts Aug. 27. Preparing for 2010 on the school’s new and immaculate practice field last week, Hiram head coach Andy Dorsey said his team is looking to be ready for its home-opener against Douglas County.

“We have been out here all summer long, trying to fight the heat a little bit,” he said. “We have always preached to our kids that July is ‘Go’-month, so we try to get 100 percent attendance and try to get them out there in the heat of the day and get a lot of work done.”

Despite bringing a solid competitive reputation into Region 5-AAAA — which includes Douglas County, East Paulding, Chapel Hill and others — Dorsey said the summer preparations couldn’t be more critical for running the gamut of the Hornets’ tenacious schedule.

“The first half of football and the second half of football are totally different weather environments,” he said. “So everybody plays when it’s really hot, and hopefully, we are playing when it is really cold. We have got to get used to both.”

To prepare for a schedule that includes the Tigers, South Paulding, Paulding County, Osborne, Kell, North Paulding, Sprayberry, East Paulding and Pope, Hiram has been using the summer’s sweltering heat as an ally, but also maintain strict safety protocols to make sure the players stay healthy through the preseason program.

“We use the wet-bulb [temperature] and different variations to make sure the conditions are ok for these guys to be out here,” Dorsey said. “Them being hydrated, taking care of the body while they are here and taking care of the body while they are not here is very important in the longevity of being out here.”

With expectations high after the success of last season, the coach said the Hornets would have to prove themselves from the ground up in 2010.

“I think they have got to understand that people are gunning for them now,” he said. “It’s great thing to do well, but they have got to understand that those days are over with. It’s 2010, and we have got to go back to work. The hardest thing to do is stay on top of that mountain.”