Reed May is in his 30th year coaching Brownstown Central football, and his overall record is 286-57.

Despite having an 83% winning percentage, May is still trying to add new wrinkles to his program as the years go on.

One thing May picked up on this summer after reading some books and articles from successful high school coaches was an off-the-field tactic.

Every Tuesday this season, May is bringing back former players to come talk to the current players on the Braves’ roster.

This week, it was Brant Hurley, a 2001 graduate who is in the BCHS Football Hall of Fame and was a North/South All-Star. The two speakers before Hurley were Derek Thompson and Levi Nehrt.

“I thought it’d be a neat thing to have ex-players come by and talk to the current kids on the team and talk about what it meant to play for us and what their memories are and what they got from it,” May said. “Just being proud participants of our program. I think it’s something the kids like.”

It’s a benefit to the players to hear these former Braves talk about what it meant to put on that Brownstown uniform. It’s also a treat for May, who said most players who come to talk have a number of “unusual coach May stories.”

“I don’t remember those as well as they do,” May joked. “It’s unusual stories about coach May sometimes.”

Brownstown’s success over the years has stemmed from the culture May has created. Bridging the past with the present is a good way to keep players motivated and inspired to play because one day, they could be inspiring a young iteration of a Braves football team, too.

“It’s not so much the wins and losses but what our program has done to develop fine young men in the community,” May said. “It’s rewarding for your coaches and myself personally to see these guys be successful, and then they relate to the team now and how they became successful.”

Brownstown hopes to keep being successful on the football field, too. This is Week 2, and it’s a big one for the Braves.

After beating Corydon Central 53-28 last week, there were still areas the Braves need to get better at.

“We tackled poorly, we had too many penalties, we turned the ball over too many times, you know, it wasn’t unexpected with a young team,” May said. “But we’re going to have to get better every day and every week to do well.”

Quarterback Carson Darlage completed 5 of 10 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown, and he also carried the ball 14 times for 178 yards and another score.

“Carson Darlage played a great game,” May said. “Our defensive line played well, too.”

Everyone around Darlage on offense is new this season.

“The five offensive lineman are all new and very inexperienced, so I thought they did a nice job,” May said. “Our other skilled athletes are going to have to pick it up a little bit.”

Brownstown will open at home this week against a Charlestown team that defeated Silver Creek soundly last week, 44-13. May feels with what the Pirates are returning this year, they are probably the favorite in the Mid-Southern Conference.

“Charlestown is a great team,” May said. “How badly they beat Silver Creek kind of shocked me a bit, but watching film, Charlestown is good. They have a lot of skilled athletes on offense. Their quarterback is back, and he’s a very nice player. Defensively, we’re going to have to play our assignments and tackle a lot better than we did last week.”

This is Charlestown’s 5oth year having a football program, and they’re expecting big things.

Brownstown also is expecting big things, so it will be a collision course for these two conference foes at 7 p.m. Friday at Blevins Memorial Stadium.

“Unfortunately, somebody is going to have a loss in the conference right off the bat,” May said. “It’s going to put either one of us behind a little bit, so it’s a big game. Big conference game in Week 2. They’re a good team, and we’re going to have to play a lot better than we did last week to be successful.”