LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) \u2014 Long Beach is celebrating 100 years of Bearcat football.<\/p>\n
Alumni from the class of 2026 all the way back to 1956 attended the celebration.<\/p>\n
Long Beach Athletic Director Bob Reeves said the event gives former classmates a chance to reconnect.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh school football in Mississippi is one of the things specifically, especially a small town like Long Beach, that really can knit a community together,\u201d Reeves said. \u201cA lot of times, wins, losses, they happen. They come and go. It\u2019s not those that people remember over the years. It\u2019s the bus rides to games, the tough practices, it\u2019s the rain delay where you have to run for cover. Those kinds of stories. Giving the people the chance to see the progress we made in terms of facilities but also a chance to reconnect with their classmates, with their teammates, with the people who were on their cheer squad or band. Just to give them a chance to reconnect and make that connection with Long Beach again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long Beach High alumni Lori West and Linda Robertson also attended.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom and I both cheered here at different times but the really special thing tonight is that my son is a senior here, class of 2027,\u201d West said. \u201c60 years ago, my dad was a senior and my son gets to wear his number. So, they\u2019re both number 32.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recognition featured a walk-through of the decades with the graduates.<\/p>\n