When the Dallas County High School Hornets open region play on Friday, they’ll do so against one of the top teams in Class 4A.

The Hornets (1-0) will host the Central Clay County Volunteers (1-0, ranked No. 4 in Class 4A) Friday at 7 p.m. in a region contest.

Hornets head football coach Chris Littleton said while the Volunteers are a new program, they’ve still got a rich football history and pedigree.

“They’re a very good team. They’re a top 10 team and we’re excited about the challenge,” Littleton said. “It’s a brand new school. It’s a combination of the old Clay County High School and Lineville and both of them have a lot of rich history together. We’re expecting a challenge.”

After capturing their first win in more than a year with last week’s win at Calhoun, Littleton said the Hornets are seeing all their hard work pay off and the players are motivated for Friday’s game.

“It was huge for us. We put in a lot of work over the summer and the fall, and just the chance for those guys to get that first one and to get a little success, it definitely gives us a lot of momentum and motivation moving into this next one,” Littleton said. “The kids are just excited and they feel like the sky’s the limit for them.”

In preparing for the Volunteers, Littleton said the Hornets have been focusing on stopping the run and polishing up their offense.

“Obviously, we’ve put in a few wrinkles preparing for them and made some adjustments defensively for what they’re going to be doing,” Littleton said. “As far as ourselves, we’ve mainly been focusing on the four or five plays that are our bread and butter, and making sure that we’re sharp and cleaned up on that for the kind of defense that we’re going to be seeing. I feel like we match up pretty well.”

In order to have a shot at victory, Littleton said his team will have to play smart on defense.

“We’ve got to play disciplined on defense. They like to run the ball, but they’ve got a couple of quick backs that cut it back against the grain if they get the chance,” Littleton said. “If we’re disciplined and we tackle well, we feel like we match up pretty well with them.”