Kansas Pregame 6-Man Top 6: Tracen Frye

In mid-December, Kansas Pregame contacted 6-Man football coaches in an effort to name a second annual Top 6 team of seniors for 6-Man football in Kansas.

This is the fifth of six individual player profiles highlighting the Top 6 selections released in no particular order:

Tracen Frye, WR/DB, 5-9, 150, Natoma

Tracen Frye spent his 2021 season making big play after big play for Natoma. The Wild West Bowl champs switched Frye from quarterback in prior seasons to wideout for his senior year, and the result was a big payoff.

He finished the season with 22 receptions for 874 yards and 11 touchdowns to help the Tigers to a 9-0 record. His 39.7 yards per reception made it risky for teams to overcommit to stop Natoma’s highly productive run game, and effectively made their offense unstoppable.

“Tracen Frye has wheels like you wouldn't believe,” head coach Tyler Masters said. “On offense, Tracen is one of those guys that you can just chuck the ball downfield and trust him to make a play with it. At wide receiver, his routes were so clean, and he's so quick, it made it almost impossible for defenders to guard.” 

Natoma’s 61.4 points per game was further complemented by a defense that allowed just 18.4 points per game. Frye more than did his part accounting for 35 tackles, five interceptions, and two pass deflections.

“Tracen reads the quarterback exceptionally well, and his speed enables him to guard the whole back end of the field for the Tigers’ defense,” Masters said. 

Frye had a particularly memorable showing in Natoma’s semi-final matchup against Ashland, catching five passes for 253 yards and three scores in the 67-18 win.

“Tracen Frye really stepped up for the team during the Ashland playoff game,” Masters said. “He had some amazing receptions for huge yardage gains consistently throughout the game. With Natoma not making a state championship appearance since 1974, the whole team was feeling the pressure to win that game, and Tracen Frye alleviated that pressure for the team by making such great receptions throughout the game.”

The Tiger seniors entertained the thought of a state championship heading into the season, no different from any other team, but Frye and company realized this year they could make it a reality.

“We were saying for the past two years that we were gonna go out and get rings as a joke until this year,” Frye said. “We realized that it was actually possible and we pushed ourselves to go out and do it instead of just saying we would.”

Natoma went on to win the title matchup against Cunningham 60-12, leaving zero doubt as to who the top 6-Man team in Kansas was in 2021. 

Frye is currently undecided on his college choice and is still considering football as an option at the next level.