Brock Phillip perhaps did not draw up his first varsity start, and St. Francis debut, to transpire quite like Thursday night’s did.

He could not have scripted a better ending.

St. Francis’ senior quarterback, a transfer from Geneva, threw a four-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to Dario Milivojevic with 12 seconds left.

Phillip led two touchdown drives in the final seven minutes, as St. Francis rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Kenwood 38-34 in the season opener at Gately Stadium.

“With all the emotions going around with my first start and everything, I had a lot to prove with this team,” Phillip said. “I’m excited with what we’re going to do.”

Phillip, a backup quarterback last season for Class 6A runner-up Geneva, won a three-man competition for the St. Francis job this summer.

He threw touchdown passes of 50 yards to Tanner Glock, who had nine catches for 160 yards, and 58 to Milivojevic Thursday to stake St. Francis to a 14-0 lead a minute into the second quarter.

Kenwood, though, scored the next 28 points, and led 34-24 into the fourth quarter.

Phillip’s 11-yard TD run with 6:51 left pulled St. Francis to within 34-31. And then he led the game-winning drive set up by Rob Petersen’s blocked punt.

Phillip completed 19 of 27 passes for 334 yards with a fourth TD pass to Michigan State recruit Zach Washington.

Phillip, who had been sacked five times during the game, called his number for four runs on the final drive. His 3-yard run on fourth-and-1 set the stage for the winning throw three plays later.

“First varsity start, didn’t play much last year. For him to come out and do what he did, I thought he showed great composure,” St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. “At the end he was asking for the ball, asking to run the ball. That’s what a leader does, that’s what a captain does. He did everything we asked him to do and he will just get better.”

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St Francis at Kenwood Academy St. Francis's Dario Milivojevic (12) celebrates a touchdown during football game between St. Francis at Kenwood Academy on Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 in Chicago. (Gary E Duncan Sr. for Shaw Local)

On the final throw, Phillip delivered a quick strike on a slant to Milivojevic in 1-on-1 coverage.

“It’s 1-on-1, I had a nickel linebacker pressing, we called this play,” said Milivojevic, an SIU recuit who had five catches for 107 yards. “It’s a win route, inside slant and I won.”

St. Francis won a wild, nearly three-hour marathon to kick off the season on Chicago’s south side.

The Spartans, after leading 14-0 early, lost a fumble that led to quarterback Kenyonte Louis’ 4-yard TD run that tied it 14-14 with 6:40 left in the second quarter.

Kenwood later recovered a squib kickoff that bounced off a St. Francis’ player leg. Kenwood’s final touchdown, a 9-yard Louis run in the final minute of the third quarter, was made possible by a St. Francis pass interference penalty on a fourth-down incompletion.

“We were facing a lot of adversity,” Milivojevic said. “Coach Bob said at the end we’re going to block this punt, we’re going to get the ball back and we’re going to win this football game. All we had to do is fight back and that’s what we did.”

Kenwood, which came seconds away from a rare win for a Chicago Public League school over a CCL/ESCC opponent, led 21-14 at half and for much of the second half. And rode the talents of its senior quarterback.

Louis, previously the CCL/ESCC Red Offensive MVP for De La Salle before transferring to Kenwood, rushed for 129 of his 139 yards in the first half, with three TDs for the game.

He also threw for 184 yards, 48 on a dime to Lawrence Carr down the left sideline for a 28-14 lead two minutes past halftime.

“He’s dangerous with his legs, he’s got a cannon for an arm and they have athletic guys who can go get the football in the air,” McMillen said. “It’s a good football team. I think we took for granted that they’re a CPS school but CPS football has got a lot better. Kenwood showed it tonight.”

It’s just Week 1, but McMillen and the Spartans will take the much-needed comeback win with the grind ahead. St. Francis’ CCL schedule includes three games against defending state champions.

“Our seniors stepped up; they took over today. Big plays at big times,” McMillen said. “We talked about never giving up, if we want to be a championship team we have to be able to come back through adversity. Down 14, the kids kept battling.

“These first two games are games we have to get better, and then we get Loyola and the gauntlet.”