Brock Phillip had an eventful final drive in a game full of them Tuesday.

The St. Francis senior quarterback had to leave for a play with a cramp in his leg.

He took a huge hit on a scramble to the 1-yard line. He was part of a controversial play on second-and-goal.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 25

Members of the Wheaton St. Francis football team hoist the Class 5A State championship trophy on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 in Hancock Stadium at Illinois State University in Normal. (Scott Anderson)

But Phillip was not to be denied.

Phillip took in a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth and goal with 11 seconds left.

His fifth touchdown run, the third lead change of the fourth quarter, was the final play in a 17-play drive – and proved the game-winner.

St. Francis, in the first-ever IHSA football game played in December, beat Providence 39-35 in the Class 5A final on Tuesday at Illinois State for the program’s second state championship.

“Adrenaline was all going through me,” Phillip said. “I just knew we had to get it in and that’s what we did.”

Phillip was gutty in victory, rushing for 144 yards and the five touchdowns on 23 carries. He also threw for 226 yards and a TD to Dario Milivojevic. He scrambled for a first down on third-and-10, and completed a first-down pass to James McGrath on fourth-and-12 on the final drive.

Phillip also was perhaps a bit fortunate at the end.

On second-and-goal, Phillip was pressured and hit. Desperate to get the ball away as he was falling down, he flipped it under-handed into the end zone. A penalty flag for grounding was initially thrown, but later picked up.

“I saw Zach [Washington], I was trying to get it out to him,” Phillip said. “It was kind of a bad play, scramble, tried to get it to him, didn’t work out.”

It ultimately didn’t work out for Providence, which thought the play either a fumble or intentional grounding.

“I didn’t have a great angle on it but from everything I saw it looked like he fumbled it into the end zone. From my interpretation of that it would be a touchback,” Providence coach Tyler Plantz said. “They had no time, he was inside the pocket. Either it was intentional grounding or a touchback. But again, I did not have a great view.”

Two plays later, Phillip went up the gut for the 1-yard TD run that capped off a drive that chewed up six minutes.

“It was incredible, to be honest with you,” Phillip said. “Couldn’t be more happy with my team. The line did amazing, got together in the second half. We knew what we were supposed to do and we got the job done.”

Phillip was a backup quarterback as a junior for Class 6A state runner-up Geneva, but did not play.

He transferred to St. Francis (11-3), and won a three-man competition for the quarterback job. Shades of Tuesday, Phillip in the season opener engineered a game-winning drive to beat Kenwood in the final seconds.

“For a kid that came here, wasn’t really given a chance where he was in the past, to come here and bond with a football team and for these seniors to bring him in and accept him, for the type of competitor and type of leader and type of person he is, it shows the type of character Brock has,” St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. “The kid is going to be playing somewhere.”

Sophomore quarterback Dominic Vita threw for 137 yards and a TD and ran for two scores for Providence (10-4), which was playing for its 11th state title. Broden Mackert rushed for 126 yards and a TD.

Vita’s TD run with 6:16 left gave the Celtics their last lead.

“I think we’re definitely going to use this loss as flame,” Vita said.

With a sparse crowd of fans limited to one side of the stadium, with the other snow-covered bleachers empty, Providence scored on its first two drives and led St. Francis 21-14 at the half.

St. Francis got within 28-26 on the first play of the fourth quarter, Phillip’s 7-yard TD run on a QB keeper.

Providence went three-and-out on its next possession, the punter inadvertently took a knee on the punt – and St. Francis quickly capitalized. Phillip took in a 1-yard TD with 9:23 left, giving St. Francis its first lead, 32-28.

Milivojevic, who had six catches for 86 yards and a TD, wasn’t surprised to see St. Francis come back in the second half. The Spartans scored touchdowns on all five drives after halftime.

They overcame two missed extra points, and two failed two-point conversions. St. Francis also came back from two TDs down in the second half of its first-round win at Morgan Park.

“I feel like all we do is fight. All season we’ve been fighting,” Milivojevic said. “There was never any doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game.”

Providence came right back on its next possession. Vita completed a 14-yard pass to DeAngelo Coates on third-and-11 to midfield, and hit Xavier Coleman for 38 yards.

Vita took in a 1-yard TD with 6:16 left, putting Providence ahead for the final time 35-32.

Coleman, a freshman on Providence’s 2022 Class 4A runner-up, had four catches for 107 yards and a TD.

“It means everything to be here,” Coleman said, “to be given the opportunity with this group of guys after being here my freshman year. Didn’t get the win, but that’s how it goes some times.”

St. Francis’ state title is only the second championship by a boys program at a school that opened its doors in 1957, history not lost on McMillen and his kids.

The Spartans reached the semifinals the last three years, with losses to Providence once and eventual 5A champ Nazareth twice.

“It means a lot,” four-year starting lineman Jaylen Torres said. “Since freshman year, making it to the semis, we got so close. This year we got the job done.”