The Selma Times-Journal

An experiment will turn into a permanent fixture for Concordia – just in time for the final week of the season.

The Hornets (2-7) are moving wide receiver Eric Taylor to quarterback Saturday when they try to beat Edward Waters for the South East Athletic Conference Championship.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Taylor said. “Our goal before we started the season was to win a national championship. Right now, the playoffs are a stretch for us. But the upside is we can still win a conference championship.

As far as his deep ball, Taylor said it “needs work.”

The team is confident enough in his throwing and scrambling ability – more his scrambling – to put the game in his hands.

Concordia is looking for an upgrade from Anthony Gibson, who was often inconsistent since taking over the starting job after the fourth week.

Besides, Taylor is going to get a lot of help from his teammates.

“About 75 percent of the time, teams are in man-to-man against us,” he said. “I’ll take my wide receivers over a cornerback any day.”

Coach Shepherd Skanes seemed totally unmoved by the fact that Taylor has never played the position.

He saw an athlete that could get the team back to its original style of play.

“In practice, he’s looked good,” Skanes said. “Being a receiver, he already knows the offense. He knows where the ball is supposed to be thrown anyway. This gives us a quarterback that can scramble around.”

The Hornets have already used Taylor at the position for certain packages.

It will be more than a gimmick when they play the Tigers (4-5).

Concordia needs to win this game to take the conference title outright. Otherwise, it forces a three-way tie.

“We’re calling this championship week,” Skanes said. “We want to take care of business and win this outright. I think we’re going to be all right. The guys will be pumped because they get to go up to a place where they can play in front of a big crowd.”