Loveless stepped in seamlessly as starting quarterback for Nashua North football

The Nashua High School North football team knew it had plenty of question marks heading into this season.

One question the Titans didn't have was who would take over as the starting quarterback on the varsity.

After getting plenty of playing time with the sub-varsity teams as a freshman, Michael Loveless spent his sophomore year starting for the junior varsity and backing up varsity starter Jeff Baldassari last season. Going into the offseason, North's coaching staff felt comfortable with Loveless taking the reigns.

But there was one more question - how would Loveless perform on the field?

Through three games, the Titans would say he's answered that question.

"He’s extremely dedicated," North coach Dante Laurendi said. "He had a great offseason, he’s got a great work ethic. His biggest asset is his competitiveness. He wants to compete, and it shows.

"He does want to be the guy who has the ball in his hand, but he also is the guy who knows who to get the ball to. He’s unselfish and he’s very competitive. Part of that, he carried all through winter and summer workouts."

Loveless has helped the Titans pick up wins in two of their first three games, which included a late rally from a two-touchdown deficit against Londonderry last week, only to see the Lancers respond with a late score of their own.

The way North responded made Loveless feel like the Titans are heading in the right direction, with a third of the season in the books.

"That was probably our best game," he said. "It was 20-7 at one point. We had to score two touchdowns. We’ll get it done, the defense will get us the ball back and we’ll score. We scored and I didn’t even need to go back on the field to score.

"We were in the game. We gave up that big kick return, but even after they scored, we were like ‘OK, let’s go back to work.’ No one was down on each other. After the game, it was on to South."

With North returning to Stellos Stadium on Friday to take on Nashua South, Loveless knows his team has a chance to give itself a big advantage in the Division I West Conference standings.

"This is the game of the year," he said. "The crowd is crazy, the game is hyped up. This is the one we look forward to."

While Loveless anticipates kickoff on Friday, he was new to the rivalry just a few years ago, having move from the Chicago area to Nashua before his freshman year. Despite being a new face in the crowd, his teammates immediately made him feel welcome.

"Right from when I moved out here, I was accepted," Loveless said. "I know everyone on my team has my back and I’ve got their back. We’ve come up as freshmen, to sophomores, to juniors.

"I remember before the (first) game (at Timberlane), I was in the end zone with Harley (Ciardi), the center, and he goes 'this is it, it's our time.'"

With a small senior class, Laurendi has needed many of those juniors, and some sophomores, to come together quickly.

"This is a growing process," the coach said. "It’s not just about him, it’s coming together. We’re replacing a ton of guys. We only returned two offensive starters. We’re looking to get consistent as an offense and a defense because we’re replacing so many guys. We’re still learning how to play together."

Laurendi knows that the Titans will have some time to do that, thanks in part to having a steady quarterback who still has more than a year to grow in the North system.

"That’s a good spot to be solid at and have that leadership," Laurendi said. "All eyes are on you at QB, so that’s a good spot to have that solid nucleus and build around it. There is so much responsibility for the quarterback in what we do offensively. The more competitiveness and more confidence he has and carries, the faster it’s going to rub off on some of those other guys around him."

North will take on South on Friday at 7 p.m. at Stellos Stadium.