By Dylan Wallace
Some of Brownstown Central football’s biggest learning moments aren’t on Friday nights, but rather on Saturday mornings.
The Braves watch film every Saturday from the game played the night prior, and head coach Reed May believes it has become a really effective strategy for his team over the past couple of seasons.
“We are able to watch the film and see what mistakes we did and what needs to be corrected,” May said. “You can tell the kids one thing, but when they see it on the film, they believe us a little more.”
Brownstown is coming off of a 43-6 home victory over Corydon Central last Friday to begin its season 1-0, and as far as season openers go, May was pleased with the result, especially after the Braves didn’t have a scrimmage.
Heading into Week 2, May said the practices have gone well even though the scorching heat has struck Indiana this week.
As much as film helps Brownstown learn about itself on Saturdays, it also helps the team learn about the upcoming opponent during the week.
This week, Brownstown will go on the road to play Charlestown at 7 p.m. Friday.
Charlestown lost 39-14 to Silver Creek last Friday.
“This week is going to be a much tougher task,” May said. “Offensively, (Charlestown) did a really good job with RPO (run-pass-option). Their receivers are fast, and they have big tight ends. Offensively, they give you a lot of different dimensions.”
On defense, May said their scheme is similar to last year. Even though Charlestown did some good things against Silver Creek, Brownstown’s offense plays much different that Silver Creek’s.
All the Braves’ players are in weight class, so not only do they come in to watch film at 7:30 a.m., but on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they don’t lift, they have time to watch film during that period.
“It helps prepare them for Friday night,” May said. “You’ve got to be disciplined enough to take the time to watch the film.”
Brownstown wasn’t tested a whole lot on the defensive side of the football last Friday, but since Charlestown has some skilled athletes, May knows it won’t be as easy this week.
“They are always one of the tougher teams in our conference,” May said. “It’ll be a tough game on Friday.”
A good number of Brownstown players are playing new positions this year. They have adjusted to those well so far, but it is still relatively new to them.
May just wants to see improvements each week because the goal isn’t to play your best football in Week 2, but to be playing your best football at the end of the year.
“We just want to get better every week,” May said. “Our goal is to be the best team we can possibly be come sectional time.”