Macomb Dakota displayed its new Division 1 state championship banner Thursday night, the one that Greg Gay and James Stallons helped win last fall.

"Everybody is still asking: "What about Greg and James Stallons?' " Terrence Shelby said. "We don't have them, so we have to get past that. We've got new seniors ready to step up, ya know?"

Yes, we all know now.

Dakota looked every bit the part of a state championship when it dominated Sterling Heights Stevenson, 31-7, in the Macomb Area Conference Red opener for both teams.

Stevenson (1-1) had the ball only for 4:47 of the first half, compared with 19:13 for top-ranked Dakota (2-0).

"We had our defense on the field too much," said Stevenson coach Rick Bye. "Too many three-and-outs offensively. But they're good, too. That's how that happens. They came after us and they got to us a couple of times. They kept the ball. When a team keeps the ball so long, and you don't have it very long, everything you do offensively is crucial. It's tough to make something happen when you know you're not going to get many opportunities."

Stevenson had the first opportunity when it stopped a long Dakota drive and Jason Fracassa threw the ball to Jerome Rucker. Cornerback Rodney Hush broke on the ball and tipped it, but Rucker caught the deflection and raced 82 yards for a 7-0 lead on Stevenson's only offensive play of the first quarter.

"I was coming across the middle and I thought I was going to pick it," said Hush. "I went to bat it down and it hit the top of my hand and went up and he make a heck of a play. I thought it was incomplete and looked up and he was running down the sideline."

Justin Miller kicked a 22-yard field goal early in the second quarter to make it a 7-3 game. Dakota had excellent field possession following an intentional grounding penalty and a 22-yard punt. Mitch Lovett passed four yards to Mike Kwiakowski for a 10-7 halftime lead.

Hush picked off the next pass in his direction and that led to a one-yard TD run by Shelby (108 yards, 23 carries).

Kyle DeMaster picked up a Stevenson fumble and returned it 15 yards for a 24-7 lead with 4:32 left in the third quarter.

Every play in the third quarter was played in Stevenson territory and Dakota sacked Fracassa five times in the second half. He completed only 5 of 11 passes for 121 yards.

"I had him on the run a lot," said defensive end Mike Lammanen. "We widened out the defensive ends to keep him contained. If he steps up -- he's only 5-7 -- so he can't see over anybody. We sent a bunch of blitzes on him to smoke him out."

Many Dakota questions were answered when the Cougars had their way with one of the best teams in the MAC Red.

"All of the leadership always comes from the quarterback and I thought Mitch handled himself extremely well," said Dakota coach Mike Giannone. "He came back with confidence and the kids had confidence in him, which is a good sign for this early in the season."

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