By DREW GRANTHUM/Sports Editor

My, what a difference a few months makes.

The last time I stood in Theron Fisher Stadium, it was a dreary, rainy night both on and off the field, as the Montevallo High Bulldogs ended their 1-9 season in a blowout loss on Halloween night to Vincent.

It was a dreary, rainy night last Friday when I stood on the sidelines at the stadium on Island Street, but the action on the field was anything but, as the red-hot Dawgs held on to close out the Holt Ironmen 51-48 in a game that wasn’t even that close down the stretch.

After going 3-17 the last two seasons, the Bulldogs have won three in a row, and look to win four-straight for the first time since 2005.

That’s big.

I try my best to pay attention not only to the game, but the teams, the players and even the fans in the stands during the course of a game just to get a better grasp of the atmosphere around the program. After taking it all in at Montevallo, the air about the program has changed. The players are confident, and they keep coaching each other during the games. The coaches are finally getting the players to buy into what they’re selling, and it’s working. The Dawgs have scored 103 points the last two games combined. To put that in perspective, Montevallo scored 90 total points all of last season.

Even the stands have a different feel to them. People were buzzing, and there was a new student section that was alive and vibrant through the rain and all three-plus hours the game lasted.

I love a good turnaround story. Any time a team breaks through the proverbial wall, it’s a blast to cover.

There’s been a push to reconnect the community and the team in Montevallo, and if the game I watched Friday is any indication, the efforts appear to be working.

Granted, it’s early in the season, so I don’t want to jinx them, but the town and team have to be proud of what’s been accomplished so far.

It’s Dawg-gone exciting, and I hope it’s a permanent change.