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| City High senior Bryce Frantz |
Your Prep Sports
IOWA CITY – Bryce Frantz waited his entire career for an opportunity to play in the annual Battle for the Boot.
When he got the chance the City High senior turned in performance worth waiting for.
Frantz matched his career-high with 31 carries and rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns to help City High (3-1) to a 20-7 win over West High (3-1) last Friday in the annual cross-town showdown.
“It’s probably up there with the most memorable games in my career,” Frantz said. “I’m going to remember it probably for the rest of my life just winning the senior Boot game.”
Frantz missed last year’s meeting with West High with a knee injury.
On Friday he was the difference as City High won back-to-back games over West High for the first time since 2010 and 2011.
The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Frantz accounted for all but 93 of the Little Hawks’ total yards with his 146 yards on the ground, the second highest total of his career.
“We knew we were going to go to Bryce all night and he knew it,” City High quarterback Nate Wieland said. “He just really put the team on his back for a couple possessions and did a great job.”
Frantz gave City High an early 7-0 lead it would never give up with a 10-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.
His second touchdown of the game, a 7-yard jaunt with 1:51 left in the third quarter, gave the Little Hawks what proved to be an insurmountable 20-0 cushion.
“He ran tough, he looked quick and he hit the hole,” City High coach Dan Sabers said. “A couple of times the holes weren’t big but he doesn’t need much. He sees it extremely well and he has that ability to quirt through.”
With City High holding a lead the Little Hawks kept going to their senior running back and Frantz kept piling up yards.
Before Friday Frantz hadn’t carried the ball more than 19 times in a game this season.
The only other game in his career with more than 20 carries was a 31-carry, 186-yard performance in the season finale last year at Muscatine.
“Coming into the game I didn’t really think I was going to get that many carries,” Frantz said. “I knew if I got going I was going to keep carrying the load.”
The performance by Frantz on Friday continued a strong start to his senior season.
Frantz has rushed for at least 94 yards in every game this season, eclipsing 100 yards three times.
In four games Frantz has rushed for 470 yards and seven touchdowns giving him 1,235 yards for his career.
Frantz now needs less than 600 yards to crack the prestigious top-10 for career rushing yards at City High.
“Playing running back at City High I don’t feel any extra pressure,” Frantz said. “I just feel like I big shoes to fill so I might as well step up to the plate and fill those shoes.”
Frantz has rushed for 100 yards six times in 12 games since returning from the injury that cost him three games last season.
During that span Frantz has scored touchdowns in 10 games and has scored two touchdowns in a game five times.
“He has really good field vision, he cuts back really well,” City High senior lineman Jordain Buckland said. “He’s not that flash guy that is going to bust out for like 300 yards but he gets the job done and gets in the end zone.”
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