By CHRIS MEGGINSON / For the Reporter

MONTEVALLO – Seventh-ranked Montevallo picked up where it left off in 2015, but with a new coach at the helm. The Bulldogs used a big second quarter to give head coach Brandon Wilcox his first win for the orange and blue, 59-34, over West Blocton in front of a home crowd at Theron Fisher Stadium on Friday.

“It’s always big to start 1-0. It shows the players that their hard work in the offseason and their hard work in the preseason has paid off. We’re excited to be 1-0. I was proud to see the kids find a way,” Wilcox said. “I was real excited to see the community come out and support the players and the team like they did. I thought it was a great crowd with a lot of energy.”

Montevallo (1-0) put on an immediate show for the crowd, as TreShawn Brown returned the opening kickoff 67 yards for a touchdown. Diego Martinez’s extra point gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.

West Blocton (1-1) answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Curtis Wright. The extra point was no good, leaving MHS with a 7-6 edge.

The Bulldogs extended their lead, 13-6 after Caleb Chappell capped a quick 59-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Trey Underwood followed with an 8-yard rushing touchdown or West Blocton to once again cut Montevallo’s lead to a point, 13-12, after a failed 2-point try.

Montevallo began to find separation in the second quarter, as Zac Oden hit Ahmad Edwards for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 7:55 to play. Martinez’s PAT made it 20-12. Montevallo recovered a fumble at in West Blocton territory, setting up a 35-yard touchdown pass from Oden to Edwards. Edwards finished with 93 yards on four catches before exiting the game early with a leg injury.

Montevallo added one more score before the half on a 3-yard scoring run by Chappell and Oden added a 2-point run, giving the Bulldogs a 35-12 halftime lead. Chappell led the Bulldogs’ ground game with 78 yards on 16 rushes.

“We finished the second quarter real strong. I think that’s what a good football team does – when they see blood in the water, so to speak, they take advantage of that,” Wilcox said. “That was big for us going into halftime and give us a good bit of confidence going into the second half.”

In the third quarter, it was another West Blocton turnover, this time an interception by MHS’s Daqwan Bryant, set up a 3-yard touchdown from Oden to Tavarius Holman and a 30-point lead for Montevallo, 42-12. Both teams found the end zone late in the third with Oden hitting Brown for a 90-yard touchdown and West Blocton’s Wright hit Rodney Crymes from 58 yards out, making it 49-20 at the end of three quarters.

Oden threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns on 13-of-20 passing, with Brown collecting 122 yards on three catches. Brown finished with more than 200 all-purpose yards.

Davion GIlbert opened the fourth quarter with a fumble recovery for a touchdown to put the orange and blue up 56-20. West Blocton scored twice in the final five minutes, cutting the score to 56-34, before Martinez capped the scoring for Montevallo with a 37-yard field goal with less than a minute to play.

Montevallo (1-0) will remain home Friday, Sept. 2 to host American Christian Academy for a 7 p.m. kickoff in its Class 3A, Region 4 opener. Wilcox said he hopes to see the same crowd, if not larger, against ACA.