Brownstown Central’s Adam Wayt runs the ball against Scottsburg last Friday night at Blevins Memorial Stadium.
Jeff Lubker | For The Tribune
Brownstown Central’s Bryce Neal makes a tackle against Scottsburg last Friday night at Blevins Memorial Stadium.
Jeff Lubker | For The Tribune
The Brownstown Central junior varsity players of the game in the win over Scottsburg are, from left, offensive back Easton Branaman, offensive lineman Talon Hughbanks, defensive lineman/middle linebacker Aden McCrary, defensive back/dime Linkan Brittain and special teams Trevor Branaman. The JV team finished the season with a 7-1 record.
Submitted photo
The Brownstown Central football team is ready to move on from last week’s loss to Scottsburg at home.
Head coach Reed May said the Warriors just wanted it more when they walked into Blevins Memorial Stadium last Friday. It reminded May a bit of his early teams at Brownstown 30 years ago, where they were trying to get the program back on track and played every game hungry for a win.
“To me, it was obvious that Scottsburg wanted the game more than our kids did,” May said. “I could’ve done some things differently that could’ve helped us win the game. We’re not very disciplined. We had a lot of penalties again. We had some blown coverages on defense that cost us. I think the biggest thing is Scottsburg reminded me of my teams the first few years here when you’re trying to turn the program around and you’re hungry. They smacked us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond.”
But Brownstown has responded this week in practice following the 23-14 defeat. The regular season is now over with a record of 5-4, and now, there isn’t another game guaranteed on the schedule.
“Any time you lose a game, you hope it learn from it. We’re hoping to learn from it and get better,” May said. “We’re practicing better. We’re very disappointed in the Scottsburg game. They outplayed us and outcoached us. You have to move on. We just need to get us better.”
Brownstown will open its postseason with a game this Friday at Brown County in Sectional 39 for Class 2A.
The Eagles have yet to win a game this season at 0-9. Over the last 35 years, Brownstown and Brown County have met once. It was on Oct. 21, 2016, in a sectional game, and the Braves won 62-0.
“They throw the ball a lot and do a lot of the things we’ve seen all year,” May said. “A lot of it is just making sure we do what we should’ve been doing in other games this year.”
It has been a weird year for Brownstown — one much different than last year when the team was 11-0 and full of 16 seniors who all played big roles.
This year, Brownstown only has nine seniors, and they have a lot of youth and have endured a lot of injuries.
“I’ve told the seniors, how are they going to lead us after last week and make sure we get better?” May said. “We’re also young, so we want to get better for next year. We’re just in a different place than we’ve been before. We just have to work through it.”
Whenever the postseason starts, Brownstown slightly alters its routine during the week. The Braves cut back on lifting and use more of the time to study film.
Since Brownstown moved back down to 2A this season, the sectional looks different than it has in years past, and it certainly didn’t get any easier.
The winner of Brownstown and Brown County will play the winner of Triton Central (7-2) and Christel House Manual (3-5). The other side of the bracket features Switzerland County (4-5), Indianapolis Scecina (8-1), Clarksville (4-5) and Eastern (Pekin) (1-8).
“We’ve got a tough sectional,” May said. “Triton Central and Scecina are ranked top five. If you happen to beat Brown County, you’ll play Triton, and if you win that, you’ll play Scecina. It’s not an easy sectional, and we know that. We just have to do the best we can and get better.”
Kickoff at Brown County is slated for 7 p.m. Friday.