ALL-PENINSULA FOOTBALL MVP: Sequim’s Taig Wiker valued for his versatility

SEQUIM — Sequim junior Taig Wiker doesn’t lack for confidence — exactly the kind of personality trait a football team needs out of its signal caller.

But taking the reins of the Wolves’ offense at quarterback in 2019 after a sophomore season in which he ran for 1,121 yards at running back did give Wiker some pause before Sequim kicked off the season against Washington.

“I was really nervous the first couple of plays,” Wiker said. “But I threw a few TDs, made some tackles [on defense] and we won big [42-14].”

Wiker can look back at that game — in which he completed 13 of 18 passes for 220 yards and three TDs — fondly now after an excellent junior campaign that saw Sequim go 9-2 and reach the Class 2A state tournament as one of the final 16 teams in the state for the second straight season.

Despite missing two full games and most of another due to a knee injury, Wiker completed 78 of 143 passes for 1,155 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. He ran for 440 yards and 13 more TDs, caught a 28-yard pass and was third in tackles for the Wolves. He also punted for a 32.9 yard average, with two of his seven punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Wiker was selected Olympic League Offensive MVP by league coaches.

And for his play at the most difficult position on the field, and his versatility on defense and special teams, Wiker is the Peninsula Daily News All-Peninsula 11-man Football MVP.

“He’s been an all-league pick at safety, an all league outside backer and I wasn’t at the all-league meeting [this year], but him getting picked as Offensive MVP shows he is respected by league coaches,” Taig’s dad and head coach Erik Wiker said.

“He’s a versatile player who lines up at running back, quarterback, can play linebacker, makes reads and he’s also our punter and made tackles on those plays.”

Coach Wiker also knew Taig was the right decision at quarterback during the season opener.

“Starting with the Washington game, our first game, the run game offered some different looks and Taig was also throwing and completing deep posts, and screen passes. Then we knew we had the right guy in the right spot and just continued to add things to his skill set while taking what the defense gave us most of the time.”

And Wiker displayed his toughness, continuing to run the football with the same hard-nosed approach he previously displayed as a running back.

“It was get any yards I could by any means necessary,” Taig Wiker said.

Coach Wiker didn’t notice much of a change in mentality when Wiker kept the football.

“A little bit of that is decision making,” he said. “A little was he just ran hard like he always does. Other plays there is a choice to make so you run it different, but he still ran downhill.”

A tough runner, Wiker also weathered some adversity this fall.

During a heated game that ultimately decided the Olympic League title at North Kitsap, Wiker was subject to offensive and unsportsmanlike comments from the North Kitsap fan base.

“The stuff that happened with NK, he handled it well,” Coach Wiker said. “It was shocking and blew him out of the water for a little bit, but he had a good perspective.”

And against North Mason, Wiker suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for much of that contest and the next game against Kingston. But he came back to lead the Wolves to the playoffs with big wins over Olympic (three TD passes), Port Angeles and Bremerton.

Along the way he played as a safety and linebacker.

“I tore my medial collateral ligament the first time [against North Mason] and it never properly healed,” he said. “It didn’t bother me until the River Ridge game.”

Wiker re-injured the knee throwing a touchdown pass on fourth down in that winner-to-state district playoff game, but stayed in the contest as Sequim sealed its state berth.

“I probably shouldn’t have played after that,” he admitted.

Wiker did shut it down when his knee didn’t feel better the next week and he missed Sequim’s state playoff game with Lakewood.

“The injury, it got me down, but it also motivated me to come back next year and perform even better,” Taig Wiker said. “And there was a positive side in seeing [backup] Kobe [Applegate] get some playing time and some wins.”

“It was more fun than frustrating [the season as a whole].”

And coach Wiker said he was aware of the father/son relationship all season — and missed out on all the time they get to spend together when the season wrapped.

“I was very conscious of it because he was playing QB and I was the sole play caller on offense,” Erik Wiker said. “He’s extremely coachable and loves the game. I’m not arguing with him about the how’s and why’s of things and he is intelligent enough to ask the right questions and understand our goals.

“I teach him during the day, I coach him after school. Once football gets over I miss that time together.”

Good thing they have another season left, with pretty much the entire team returning, including a strong offensive and defensive line, a 1,000-yard rusher in Walker Ward and two 400-plus yard receivers in Garrett Hoesel and Michael Young.

“We talk about it all the time that we have a great opportunity because we basically have everybody back that played and we are adding a few more,” Erik Wiker said. “We can’t get complacent, we have to get a year better not a year older. We can’t show up and expect things to happen and I think the team feels that way too.”

2019 All-Peninsula Football 11-man Team

• MVP: Taig Wiker

• Walker Ward, jr., Sequim RB/LB; • Dylan Tracer, sr., • Port Townsend RB/LB; • Michael Young, jr., Sequim WR/DB; • Garrett Hoesel, jr., Sequim WR/DB • Hayden Queen Forks, soph., TE/LB • Isaiah Cowan, Sequim OL/DE; Noa Montoya Port Townsend QB/DB/K/KR; Hayden Baker, Forks RB/LB; Brandon Barnett, jr., Sequim OL/DL; Austin Newton, jr., Sequim OL/DL; Ethan Bello, jr., Forks K/P;Tyler Bowen, sr., Port Angeles WR/DB; Derek Bowechop, sr., Port Angeles LB/WR; Jacob Williamson, sr., Chimacum OL/DL; Carson McConnell, sr., Chimacum, WR/DB.

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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.