Wheaton St. Francis Prevails in 5A State Championship

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5A state championship came down to 4^th and goal from the 1 yard line with under 20 seconds left.&nbsp; What more could you want?&nbsp; Wheaton St. Francis punched it in to win a thriller over Providence Catholic 39-35.&nbsp; Here are a few quick takeaways from the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brock Phillip Wills Team to Title</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior quarterback Brock Phillip left everything he had on the field in the state championship game.&nbsp; He ran in touchdown after touchdown going up the middle behind his offensive line over and over.&nbsp; He did it one more time under 20 seconds left on 4^th and goal getting in the endzone for the score that won his school the 5A crown.&nbsp; His athleticism at 5'0” 185 pounds along with his toughness stood out on the ground.&nbsp; Slippery runner that can also be physical when he needs to.&nbsp; He also made a few big plays with his arm getting it to his star downfield.&nbsp; He finished throwing 14/25 for 226 yards along with 151 rushing yards for 6 total touchdowns (5 rushing).&nbsp; The interior of the offensive line for St. Francis in [player_tooltip player_id='401595' first='Brady' last='Hill'], Torreon Jeffries, and [player_tooltip player_id='819675' first='Jaylen' last='Torres'] should get a ton of credit for Phillip's success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Washington Big Plays and Milivojevic Consistent Hands</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the talks of the week on the recruiting trail is what will Michigan State commit [player_tooltip player_id='212322' first='Zachary' last='Washington'] do on Wednesday as he is listening to other schools before potentially signing with the Spartans on Wednesday.&nbsp; They have hired a new coach with Chicago ties.&nbsp; You know he was watching Washington make some big vertical plays in this game as he had four grabs for 113 yards.&nbsp; Reeled in a 52 yard and 46 yard catch on a deep post over the middle and go route.&nbsp; The second catch the defender was draped all over him.&nbsp; To cap it all off he got an interception on the last play.&nbsp; SIU commit [player_tooltip player_id='1400854' first='Dario' last='Milivojevic'] is a chain mover.&nbsp; He has excellent hands on short and intermediate routes along with being able to get deep on occasion as he did on a 42 yard pass.&nbsp; Went for 6 catches, 86 yards, and 1 touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Providence Catholic QB/RB Duo Have Bright Futures</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite the loss you can definitely see that Providence Catholic could make it back to the state finals next year.&nbsp; A big reason for that is their backfield of 2028 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='992492' first='Dominic' last='Vita'] and 2027 running back Broden Mackert.&nbsp; Vita is a sophomore signal caller that displayed good arm strength and accuracy along with mobility.&nbsp; He had 137 yards and 1 TD on 7/11 passing.&nbsp; Mackett is a pounding back that runs with power as he had 17 carries for 126 yards and a touchdown.&nbsp; Western Illinois commit [player_tooltip player_id='801712' first='Xavier' last='Coleman'] was the big play threat on the outside on bubble screens and using his vertical speed for 4 grabs, 107 yards, and 1 touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->