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Before Brandon Shingles could direct Crossroad Academy in his first playoff game as a head coach Saturday night, he had one more stop to make: cheering on his little sister.
On Friday, Shingles sat in the stands at Rickards High, wearing a T-shirt with senior guard Amirahs Hayes on the front, as she helped lead the Lady Raiders to a 55–33 win over Menendez in the FHSAA regional quarterfinals. The moment was more than a game for the Crossroad coach.
"That's my little sister. She's a senior, and it's her final home game, and I wanted to be there for her, making sure that I support her," Shingles said. "Through everything, we are still family and we're always there to support family."
Shingles, 31, is 13 years older than Hayes. He describes their bond as a “cat-dog relationship”—competitive, playful and rooted in hoop battles that start early in the morning.
"The moment we wake up, we're going at it," Shingles said. "Who shoots it better and who's the better high school player. We do that all the time."
A West Gadsden graduate, Shingles said he always makes time for family, especially for Hayes. He coaches her, too—just not the same way he coaches his Crossroad boys.
"It's honestly no different," Shingles said. "I get a chance to coach her just like I do my boys, but I have to show her a different type of love. She is my sister. I can't be as hard on her, but I still coach her. She is my sister at the end of the day."
Crossroad is the No. 1 seed in the Rural Class and hosts Blountstown at 7 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the postseason. Shingles said a deep playoff run from both him and his sister would mean everything to their family, especially with the state championships set for Jacksonville.
"It would be huge for the family if both of us were down there, honestly," he said. "As you see, our family comes around and supports us every night, so if both of us can get to Jacksonville, that will be awesome."
Amirahs Hayes reflects on her Rickards career
Friday marked Hayes’ final home game at Rickards, and she made it count, scoring a team-high 16 points to push the Raiders into the regional semifinals.
As an experienced starter, she carries a win-or-go-home mentality. An urgent mindset that made the Rickards go as far as the final four.
"The mindset is we're not going home," Davis added. "You have to be mentally tough. You have to want to win. If you don't want to win, you're going home. That's what we do."
She said her years with the program have been defined by a strong commitment to each other.
"With our team, it's all loyalty," Hayes said. "We don't turn our backs from each other. Everything stays like this. We're locked in together all the time."
Hayes plans to continue her basketball career in college, following in her brother's footsteps. She said several schools have shown interest, and she expects to make a decision soon. She is averaging 13.2 points per game this season.
Rickards faces Fort Walton Beach for the third time
Rickards’ next test comes on the road against No. 2 seed Fort Walton Beach in the regional finals. The teams have split their two previous meetings. Rickards won the most recent matchup, 35–30, on Jan. 17.
"We played Fort Walton Beach twice this year. They know us, we know them. It's just a matter of going out there and taking care of business," head coach Chariya Davis said.
Davis has guided her experienced group to 11 straight wins after a 6–6 start. The Raiders’ identity begins on defense, she said.
"We always pride ourselves on our defense," Davis said.
"That is the key. It fuels our offense, and we’ve got an experienced group. We have several girls who made it to the final four. It's just the chemistry and focus on the defense that helps us create easy baskets and get into our offensive flow."
Final scores across Big Bend in FHSAA regional quarterfinals
- No. 1 Bishop Kenny 59 No. 8 Godby 28
- No. 3 South Walton 53 No. 6 Florida High 36
- No. 1 Blountstown 87 No. 4 Aucilla Christian 14
- No. 2 Fort White 70 Madison County 24
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Coach Brandon Shingles supports sister Amirahs Hayes in playoffs