By Maurice Singleton/Sports Writer 

LONG BEACH — The Long Beach Bearcats (1-0) rallied behind huge plays on offense and defense to open the season with a 28-21 win over rival Pass Christian (0-1) on Friday night.

The score was knotted at 21-21 early in the fourth quarter when junior fullback Junior Brown broke away for a 70-yard score to give the Bearcats the lead with just under eight minutes remaining on the game clock.

“We had to nickel and dime them because they did such a good job of playing so heavy on the run,” said Long Beach coach Jacob Massey of Pass Christian’s defense. “Their safeties overplayed the run and he (Brown) broke away for the score.

“He’s going to be a player to watch,” said Massey. “Everybody on the coast knows who he is.”

Massey said that Brown carried the ball between 25 and thirty times in the game and was over 100 yards rushing.

Pass Christian moved the ball to near midfield on their final possession with just over four minutes remaining, but back-to-back sacks by sophomore Dereon Gill with pressure from senior lineman Jack Foreman ended the Pirates hopes of a comeback.

With just under three minutes remaining in the game, the Bearcats took possession of the ball, running the ball and running out the clock. Without any timeouts for the Pirates, Long Beach quarterback Will Brady broke free for an 11-yard keeper with thirty seconds to tick away as the Bearcats closed out the win.

“Picking up that first down was key,” said Massey of Brady’s play. “He had a huge night in the running game.”

Massey said that both teams played well defensively, but the play that changed the momentum of the game was on his team’s first defensive stand after their offense went three-and-out on their opening possession. Senior strong safety Andre Windham picked off Pass Christian on the ensuing possession and returned it to the Pass Christian one yardline to put the Bearcats in scoring position for their first score to go up 7-0.  

“That pick and run was huge for us,” said Bearcats coach Jacob Massey. “It was a huge momentum change. Windham played extremely well; he played an excellent game.”

Brady scored on a 35-yard keeper to close out the first quarter scoring to give the Bearcats a 14-0 lead.

The Pirates scored right before halftime to get on the scoreboard at 14-7.

Long Beach increased their lead to 21-7 in the third period before Pass Christian would get going, scoring two touchdowns to tie the game at 21-21 early in the fourth quarter.

Massey said that opening the season with a win could be huge for the Bearcats season. “To start the season off against a rival and get a win can really springboard your season. This is what we were kind of hoping tonight.”

Long Beach travels to Forrest County next Friday night, while Pass Christian plays at Purvis.