Paul Hayden had just been born, Richard Nixon was still in office and the Miami Dolphins were on top of the football world the last time the Brandon Lady Bulldogs made a trip to the state basketball tournament.

That will all change on Friday as the 34-year-old first-year head coach at Brandon will lead his team into the first round of the Class 5A State Tournament against Warren Central (24-9) Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Mississippi Coliseum. The winner will advance to the state semifinals against nationally ranked Murrah.

&#8220We don’t want this to be a one-time thing,” Hayden said Monday night. &#8220We want to build a program here much like Coach (Donny) Fuller has done at Warren Central.”

The two teams have met once this year, a 51-48 Brandon victory at the Red Carpet Classic, but the two coaches are very familiar with one another.

Hayden spent one year at Centreville Academy before landing the head coaching job at St. Aloysius in 1999. He coached both the girls and boys teams through the 2004 seasons.

After a one-year stint at Pearl – he had tried to get hired at Brandon High before things fell through – he received a phone call from longtime Lady Bulldogs coach Linda Dear.

&#8220She said she was getting ready to slow down and that if I went over for one season as her assistant, the head coaching job would be mine the next year,” Hayden said.

So one season as an understudy led Hayden to the head coaching gig and the results came quickly. Brandon (23-11) finished second to Meridian in Division 5-5A, then had to defeat Hancock in the South State satellite game to make the South State Tournament.

A victory over Moss Point set up a rematch with Meridian. For the fourth time this season, Hayden’s charges fell to Meridian to secure the No. 2 seed from the South. Warren Central is the No. 3 seed in the North.

&#8220We’re still a pretty young team,” said Hayden, who will start one senior, two juniors and two sophomores. &#8220We have had a season of adversity.”

Hayden lost one player to a knee injury in the summer (she has since returned to action) and two others to leg injuries. Through it, though, he has guided his team to a 23-11 record. Senior Reshonda Dantzler and junior Kiana McCarty, a 6-foot, 2-inch post player, pace the team.

&#8220I really don’t think we have played our best basketball yet,” said Hayden, who also helps with the JV and junior high teams at Brandon.

It was that amount of responsibility he faced when he arrived at St. Al, and because of that he has trouble staying with just one team.

&#8220I am a basketball guy. I have to be involved,” he said.

Hayden said he looks back on his years at St. Aloysius fondly, and still stays in touch with former players and co-workers.

&#8220St. Al opened their arms for me and allowed me to be myself and coach the way I wanted to,” Hayden said. &#8220I met some wonderful people there.”

The Flashes just concluded their second straight 20-win season for both the boys and girls teams, the continuation of what Hayden helped build at the Vicksburg Catholic school.

He hopes to stay at Brandon for the foreseeable future and make trips to the Big House an annual occurrence.

&#8220I couldn’t be happier,” said Hayden, who teaches at Brandon Middle School. &#8220We have great players, state-of-the-art facilities and a good administration. They let me run the program. It’s a very good situation.”