A strong second-half defensive showing and pre-game jitters marked Jamie Williams’ first game as head coach of the Montevallo High School football team.

Although the Bulldogs fell to the visiting Fultondale High School Wildcats 21-0 during the schools’ 2010 spring jamboree May 21, Williams said he saw many promising things from his new team.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, and our program won’t either,” Williams said after the game. “As I told the kids before the game, I didn’t come here to coach just one game.

“They are too good of kids to not take this into the offseason and keep getting better,” Williams added. “It’s not all about winning. It’s about making better men here in Montevallo.”

Williams, who served as Auburn High School’s offensive coordinator until he was hired as Montevallo’s coach in January, said he is already enjoying his time in the Shelby County city.

“I have absolutely fallen in love with this community,” Williams said. “I love being a part of this family. We can win here, and we are going to win here.”

Both teams’ defenses dominated the first two series of the game, but Fultondale’s Jon Dunn was able to take advantage of a fumble by Montevallo’s Garrius Chappell late in the first quarter.

After recovering the fumble, Dunn ran the ball nearly 90 yards to score. Fultondale’s Meko Brown added the extra point to put the Wildcats up 7-0.

A second fumble in the first quarter by Montevallo’s Justin Devould set up a 9-yard scoring run by the Wildcats’ Ardarius Stewart. Brown again added the extra point to give Fultondale a 14-0 lead.

The final score of the game came in the second quarter when a 33-yard run by Fultondale’s Alexis Wallace set the stage for a 9-yard scoring run by Dijonn Temple. Brown’s extra point brought the game to 21-0 in Fultondale’s favor.

Although his team did not put any points on the board, Williams said he was proud of the Bulldogs’ defensive stand in the second half, during which they allowed no points.

“We are down here in SEC country, so we want to do what they all do and have a very strong defense,” Williams said. “But Fultondale came in here and hit us in the mouth.

“But I am very proud of our guys for continuing to fight when things got tough,” Williams added. “I tell them that the mark of a true champion is what they do when things get tough, and they worked really hard the whole game tonight.”