With the CIF football playoffs beginning tomorrow, the Mira Costa Mustangs drive to a long postseason run will depend on the legs of running back Sebastian Franck-Love.
Going into the final regular season game against rival Redondo Union, Franck-Love had scored 15 touchdowns and run for more than 1,400 yards, leading Mira Costa to a second-place finish in the Bay League.
In two short seasons, the senior known as “Sea Bass” to his teammates, has made quite a splash in the Mustang football program.
After resolving academic problems at the start of his sophomore year, Franck-Love returned to the gridiron where he had enjoyed success as a youth player in Gardena. He joined Mira Costa’s junior varsity team late in the season.
“I pushed myself really hard,” said Franck-Love, who is attending Mira Costa on a permit. “I made sure my grades were where they needed to be. I was supposed to go to Serra (high school) but my dad said Mira Costa would offer a better education.”
Franck-Love’s prep career quickly evolved. He joined forces last season with Raphael Lawson-Gayle to form a strong running game for Mira Costa, which advanced to the CIF Southern Section North Division quarterfinals and finished with an 8-4 record.
Franck-Love began the 2013 campaign with six straight games rushing for 100 yards or more before defending CIF and Bay League champion Palos Verdes held him to 86 yards in a 35-0 win. The Sea Kings also snapped Franck-Love’s streak of three consecutive 200-yard games.
“Sebastian has done a great job improving ever since his sophomore year,” Mira Costa head coach Don Morrow said. “Lately, our running backs coach Brad Angeleri has been very impressed by his finishing of the runs. He is running much harder lately in practice and had to gain some tough yards as our scout running back versus the starting defense.”
Listed as 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, Franck-Love credits time spent in the weight room and his off-season work with Mira Costa trainer Tim Cooper for his success.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of Tim Cooper,” Franck-Love stated.
With blowout wins over Peninsula and Leuzinger, Franck-Love was rested during the second half of each game, preserving his legs for the Mustang’s rivalry game against the Sea Hawks and the upcoming playoffs.
“He has become much more physical just in the last two weeks,” Morrow said. “He needs to work on details such as protection, but he is still very much new to the game. We feel he has a tremendous upside, and if he wants to pursue the game he can definitely go to the next level. We feel he is in the process of becoming a complete back.” B
Franck-Love has made a strong reverse in two years. He has aspiration is to play Division 1 football and, whether on the gridiron or in the classroom, he is anxious to learn.
“I’m looking at Utah or USC,” Franck-Love said. “Wherever I go, I want to study law.”
