In his first official day as Macomb Dakota's starting quarterback, Mitch Lovett had already received his first break before his first practice.

It rained Sunday, so the weather was pleasant and cool Monday morning as coach Mike Giannone put the defending state champions through a highly scrutinized workout.

Lovett will almost certainly go from that coolness into the fire as he not only replaces all-state quarterback James Stallons, who is at Wisconsin, but also tries to lead a team that must replace 34 seniors from last year.

"I guess that is a big double," said the 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior during a break from morning practice. "I worked hard over the summer knowing I have big shoes to fill in filling in for James.

"I talked to Coach just about every day over the summer. It's a complicated offense and having a good relationship with your coaches is important, especially at the quarterback position; knowing your reads and the formation you're running."

Lovett was mostly a spectator last year as James Stallons led Dakota to a Division 1 state title.

"He has some pretty high expectations on him," Giannone said of Lovett. "A lot of the kids coming up have confidence in him as well as our staff. Our expectations are high. We've been doing this for 10 years as a staff. We know what we expect of them, and we're a little bit further ahead than we have been in the past. I think he just has to play and he can't be worried about making mistakes. "

Senior cornerback/wide receiver Rodney Hush said he thinks Lovett will be just fine.

"I think he has a lot of pressure on him," Hush said. "I know Mitch very well. I'm a good friend and I believe he can step up to the challenge. I know he's nervous. He talks about it all the time, but I know he's going to get it done. I have a lot of confidence in him."

[More at www.freep.com]