[06/14/02]Brett Morgan can scrap a couple positions he’s been working on playing for Saturday night’s Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Classic.

The Mississippi State signee, listed on the all-star roster as a punter, has been taking all the snaps as the team’s No. 1 quarterback and is expected to start at quarterback on Saturday night.

Coaches became concerned that Shannon’s Ken Topps and Aries Nelson of Cleveland-East Side would have trouble running Mississippi coach Greg Wall’s offensive system.

“Brett Morgan right now is running as our No. 1 quarterback because the other two guys pretty much ran the shotgun the last couple of years and they’ve had trouble adjusting to getting the snap,” said South Pike’s Wall. “That’s a part of the game I would not have thought of before getting here.”

Morgan stayed under center virtually every play in high school.

He said earlier in the week that he thought he’d be playing mostly on defense and punting, but got a chance under center early in the week and won over the coaching staff.

Morgan completed 85 of 177 passes for 1,156 yards and nine touchdowns in his senior season, garnering first-team all-state honors. He also had a rushing touchdown in a triple-overtime win against rival Clinton to help lift WC into the playoffs.

Nelson and Topps “have gotten better the last couple of days and I’ve got more confidence in them that we’re not going to lay the ball on the ground,” he said.

Morgan, a rifle-armed slinger, said playing quarterback in the all-star game would be different than at Warren Central.

“You look at the guys on the offensive line and they are so huge,” said Morgan, who will be the first Warren County player to start at QB in the all-star game. “I’m ready to get after it.”

Game time for the annual interstate all-star game is set for 7 p.m. on Fox SportsSouth.