By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

LONG BEACH — The football team at Long Beach High hasn’t qualified for the state playoffs in 14 years.

Since that 2011 season, six different head coaches have failed to get the Bearcats back to the postseason.

And this season, Long Beach players and fans hope the seventh mentor in that line will finally be the one to do it.

Cody Finley was elevated from his post as the LBHS defensive coordinator in March to replace previous head coach Jacob Massey. Massey went just 4-29 in three seasons leading Long Beach.

Finley will also be looking to guide the Bearcats to their first winning season as well since going 6-5 in 2017.

Long Beach will look to senior standout running back Junior Brown on offense for a spark again this season. Brown ran for over 700 yards and six touchdowns last season.

Defensively, Rashad Foxworth returns to patrol the secondary. He collected 53 Tackles, picked off a pair of interceptions and had five pass breakups last season and he also recovered two onsides kick offs and recorded four tackles for loss. He may see a lot of time on the offensive side of the ball this season as well.

Prior to joining Long Beach High School, Finley served as the Head Football Coach at Gibson County High School in Dyer, Tenn., from 2016 to 2022. During his tenure at Gibson County, Finley led the team to a 24-35 record. Notably, he transformed a program that had only four winning seasons in 42 years, achieving back-to-back winning seasons and playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019.

Even after bi-annual reclassification by the MHSAA, Finley’s Bearcats will once again compete in Region 4-6A again this coming season.

The Bearcats finished 2-9 last season, including 0-5 in league play. In fact, LBHS has lost 40 region games in a row since late in the 2018 season.

In region wars, Long Beach will welcome two new foes in and lose a pair as well as Gautier and Pearl River Central join the revamped league while George County and Bearcat rival West Harrison drop out.

The Bearcats managed a season-opening 28-21 road win over Pass Christian last season, and those two teams kick off the new campaign again this year on Friday, Aug. 29th.

Long Beach’s only other win last year came against longtime rival Bay High, and those two teams will face off again in week three for the 69th time overall.