Kaylan Wiggins Jr.
Seminole senior Kaylan Wiggins following his father’s lead
is following the lead of his father, Kerry Wiggins Sr., as star quarterbacks at Seminole High School.
SANFORD – Kerry Wiggins Jr. can only laugh as he witnesses the daily verbal jabs in the on-going feud between his brother Kaylan and father Kerry Sr.
“It’s actually pretty funny. You get to see them argue a lot about who’s got the most yards or who’s done this or done that,” said Kerry Jr., an assistant coach and former football player at Seminole High School.
Kaylan is the senior quarterback for the undefeated (8-0) Class 8A, District 2 champions, who face arch-rival Lake Mary tonight on the road. Kerry Sr., is the former head coach and now assistant at Seminole, but he too, was once the star quarterback for the Sanford school, so the comparisons run deep.
“Dad had said he threw an 85-yard touchdown one time, so at the Oviedo game, Kaylan threw an 89-yarder and he came running over to the sidelines laughing about that,” Kerry Jr. said of one of three TD passes Kaylan threw against the Lions. “Just from the outside, looking in and not having seen my dad play but listening to family and other people, I’d say Kaylan is the better one.”
Kerry Jr. and Kaylan both, of course, gang up on their father, and that answer drew plenty laughs from both.
“Yeah, before Gabe [Davis] was even in the end zone I was already
to the sidelines letting [Dad] know that we beat him,” Kaylan said.
There is, however, one man who can offer a bit more of an unbiased opinion on the subject. Rev. Emory Blake coached Kerry Sr. when he was an all-stater in the 1989 and 1990 seasons. Blake still frequents Seminole games.
“After Kaylan threw the first touchdown against Oviedo, I went over to Coach Blake and said, ‘Coach, now who do you think has the better long ball,’ and he said, ‘Kerry, he can’t touch you right now,’ and we laughed,” said Kerry Sr., who played college ball at Savannah State.
“So then Kaylan went out and threw two more, but then he ran for one where he threw the guy off after he spinned. Coach Blake was like, ‘Son, you could stand in the pocket and throw the ball, but you couldn’t run that doggone football like Kaylan’.
“And that’s true. He’s way more athletic than his daddy.”
Not that coach Blake’s opinion would ever end the Wiggins Family Feud, but he’s one of the few people who can actually assess the abilities of both quarterbacks.
“When you compare their ability, I think both of them throw the ball basically about the same,” said the 66-year-old Blake, who also coached his son Jeff Blake at Seminole en route to Jeff’s days as a standout passer for East Carolina (1988-91) and in the NFL (1992-2005).
“When it comes to running, though, Kerry didn’t do a whole lot of running unless he had to. I always told him, ‘Let the running backs to their part and you do your part.’
“But I’d give both of them the same grade if I had to grade them, because where Kerry wasn’t strong, Kaylan is, and where Kaylan isn’t strong Kerry was.”
This season, Kaylan has completed 60 percent of his passes (66-of-110) for 1,245 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has rushed for 253 yards and two more TDs.
Kerry passed for 1,908 yards and 20 touchdowns in 12 games as a junior in 1989. He threw for 1,228 yards and 13 scores as a senior.
“It’s great just having him around and doing what we do, and also winning with it,” Kaylan said. “Going through all of the tough times have humbled me a lot, me thinking I’m better than I am and whatnot.”
There is one thing that might solve the argument between the Wiggins quarterbacks once and for all.
Should the Seminoles end up carrying the Class 8A state championship trophy out of Camping World Stadium on Dec.10, Kaylan will have one accolade about which his father cannot argue.
Of course, Kerry Sr. would be quite happy to applaud that one.