Private schools POW: Tanner France, Heritage...

By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com

Mt. St. Mary’s was going to make sure somebody else beat ‘em besides sophomore running back Barry Sanders. MSM stacked the box and Sanders only had five carries, nursing a thigh bruise.

Luckily for Heritage Hall, somebody was up to the task. That somebody was senior Tanner France.

France scored a touchdown three different ways in leading the Chargers to a 37-19 victory and a District 2A-1 crown and has earned Private Schools Player of the Week.

He ran for one, caught another and intercepted one for a score. Guess you could say France is back to 100 percent.

France broke his thumb against Kingfisher and hasn’t been able to make as much impact as he would like.

But with quarterback Sterling Shepard hurt and the Rockets keying on Sanders, France stepped up in a big way.

If the Chargers are able to get more consistent outings from France, Heritage just became a major player in the 2A race once again.

Other contenders

The Whitney boys (Jameel and Jamal), Bishop McGuinness: Accounted for three touchdowns for the Irish in a 49-12 win against Elk City.

Mikey Mollman, MSM: It wasn’t the way the Rockets wanted to end things, but Mollman ran for all three touchdowns in the loss.

Parker Randell, Oklahoma Christian Academy: A fine ending to the year for the Eagles as Randell accounted for five scores (four rushing, one fumble return) in a 42-22 win against Bowlegs.

Jack Warren and Jeff Smith, Oklahoma Christian: Each played a role in the eight touchdowns the Saints scored. Warren threw five of them while Smith ran for the other three. Look out for OCS.