Long Beach Football Sees Fresh Start with Surprise Donation

Long Beach Bearcats safety Rashad Foxworth can’t remember a time when football wasn’t part of his life. The game has been his passion for as long as he can recall, and every win or loss leaves a lasting mark.

“All my life, I cry almost every time we lose,” Foxworth said.

That emotion has been tested over the last three seasons, which have brought more frustration than celebration for Long Beach. The Bearcats have not found consistent success on the field and entered this year with an 0-2 record. For players like Foxworth, the weight of those struggles has been heavy, but the desire to turn things around remains.

“We aren’t gonna blame anybody because we’re a team, we’re trying,” he said. “But you know it’s hard, as we’re trying, we just can’t win.”

The team’s fight to push forward caught the attention of someone outside their community. New Orleans Saints linebacker Isaiah Stalbird learned about Long Beach’s challenges and decided to step in with encouragement and support. In partnership with John Fayard Moving & Warehousing, the Saints helped provide $15,000 worth of new practice equipment to the Bearcats.

“They just gotta believe in themselves,” Stalbird said. “It can be something that can uplift them and something that they also need. It’s bigger than just equipment. It’s also being able to help out.”

The donation included pop-up dummies, agility circles, sling balls and other tools designed to sharpen drills and improve workouts. Stalbird believes the equipment can help the players work in new ways and stay motivated. “It allows them to work different techniques, even this little tackling dummy with a bow. I’ve never seen that before, but it’s super cool,” he said.

Foxworth sees it as more than just gear. “I think it should make us way better,” he said. “New toys, something new to work with.”

For Stalbird, who went from being a zero-star recruit at Nebraska to earning a spot on an NFL roster, the visit was also about sharing his own journey. He said he wanted the Bearcats to know that setbacks don’t define the future. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Stalbird said. “It doesn’t matter what your background is, where you come from, what you’re going through, as long as you believe in the vision that you’ve got for yourself.”

The Bearcats’ struggles are not new. Long Beach School District Athletic Director Bob Reeves, who last coached the varsity team to a winning season in 2017, has watched the program search for consistency in the years since. He believes the new equipment could help provide momentum for both the varsity and junior varsity squads.

“This equipment will benefit seven through 12 for Long Beach,” Reeves said. “The kids have come out, and they’re still working hard, and we’re just waiting for that success to catch and build some confidence and really just turn the corner and get that thing going again.”

For a community eager to see its team back in the win column, the surprise donation represents more than a fresh set of practice tools. It is a reminder that the players are not alone—that support for the Bearcats reaches beyond Long Beach and across South Mississippi.

As Foxworth and his teammates prepare for the rest of the season, they do so with new equipment, a renewed sense of hope, and the knowledge that others believe in their potential to rise.