MONTGOMERY &8212; Linden High traveled to Montgomery for its spring jamboree competition, besting Georgiana 8-0 after one half and falling to St. Jude 6-0 in the second.

Overall, Williams reported being pleased with the progress his offensive unit, which features nine new starters, showed in its first exhibition.

The second-year head coach&8217;s biggest concern was his team&8217;s inability to find the end zone, despite sniffing the goal line on multiple occasions.

Aside from having a revamped offensive unit, the Patriots line was grossly undersized in comparison to the defensive fronts it faced Friday night.

His team&8217;s offensive efforts were highlighted by quarterback Ajalon Bruno, who completed all three of his pass attempts for 28 yards and chewed up 77 yards on the ground. His personal bests included a 55-yard run and a 13-yard scamper to score the Patriots&8217; only touchdown.

Running back Rashad Hollins accounted for the team&8217;s two-point conversion success in addition to carrying the ball three times for 35 yards. Workhorse back Maurice Tate toted the ball 18 times for 105 yards on the night.

Williams was also pleased with the performance of his defensive unit, which feature seven new faces among its starting ranks.

Williams believes his defense will anchor the team in 2008.

Friday night, the defense was anchored by a familiar face, Tate. The senior-to-be recorded 10 tackles and deflected a pass while helping the starting group to hold opponents scoreless. St. Jude recorded its only score against Linden&8217;s junior varsity set, which was inserted with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.