Franklin is money again for Dorsey

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Of all the excellent running backs playing City football this season -- including Birmingham’s Milton Knox, Venice’s Curtis McNeal and Reseda’s Giovannie Dixon -- the one who probably gets the least amount of attention is Dorsey’s Johnathan Franklin.

Franklin began the night ranked third in the City (according to MaxPreps.com) with 1,321 yards. You can add 223 more to that total, because that’s what Franklin racked up against visiting San Pedro (7-4) in Dorsey’s 21-7 first-round victory in the City Championship Division playoffs. It was his fourth 200-plus yard game this season.

‘[Tonight] was the last game playing here and I had to give it all I got,’ said the UCLA bound senior, who sealed the win for Dorsey (8-3) with a 38-yard touchdown run, his ninth of the season, in the fourth quarter. ‘It’s the playoffs and next week isn’t promised to you,’ he said.

At halftime, after Franklin had rushed for 109 yards but Dorsey held only a 7-0 lead, he asked his coach, Paul Knox, if he could be allowed to carry the team in the second half. ‘He said, ‘Feed me the ball and I’ll win the game.’ So we fed him,’ Knox said. ‘He’s going to rank among the top guys who have played here.’

-- Mike Terry