Even in the hectic few seconds between plays, with a swirl of noise ranging from coaches calling out instructions to fans yelling and the band blaring, Rayshaun Hinton can still hear his dad’s voice in his mind.
Tyner’s hard-hitting senior safety has followed in his father’s footsteps since early in his football career, and now he will try to help lead the program to its first state championship since his dad, Rory, wore the same maroon-and-gold uniform.
As Tyner’s quarterback, Rory Hinton led his team to consecutive appearances in the title game, helping the Rams become Hamilton County’s first public school to win a TSSAA football state championship when they took the Class 2A crown in 1997.
He later coached Rayshaun in little league, constantly preaching for him to “just play hard” — a mantra the younger Hinton has carried all season while helping the Rams reach Saturday’s Class 2A final at Finley Stadium, where kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
“I hear his voice all the time,” Rayshaun said. “I hear him reminding me to ‘just play hard’ before every game. Really before every play I hear it. That’s all you can control, how hard you play, and I just want to carry on the family tradition he started here.”