Dario Milivojevic said he felt like he blew the coverage on a big gain by Belvidere North late in the first half.

But the St. Francis senior safety also tracked down Blue Thunder receiver Nathan Alexander at the 2-yard and punched the ball loose, allowing fellow safety Tanner Glock to recover the ball in the end zone to preserve a two-touchdown lead going into halftime of Saturday’s Class 5A semifinal.

It was the third of five turnovers the Spartans forced in the 35-13 victory over the Blue Thunder, finally breaking through after semifinal losses the previous three years.

“It was a blown coverage on my part,” Milivojevic said. “But it’s been the story of our season. We just never quit. I never gave up on the play, went back and punched the ball out.”

Milivojevic and Glock got it done on both sides to help the Spartans (10-3) dispatch the Blue Thunder (12-1), who wrapped up the most successful season in school history.

Milivojevic had a third-quarter interception with his team ahead 28-6 to help seal the win. He also had three catches for 30 yards and the forced fumble.

Glock not only recovered Milivojevic’s forced fumble, but caught three touchdown passes, including the first two scores of the game for the Spartans.

“It was just honestly a blown coverage, but a great hustle by Dario,” Glock said. “He blew his coverage, but hustled and never gave up on the play, ended up punching it out at the 1-yard line, and I happened to be there to recover it.”

The Blue Thunder, powered all season by a ground-based, multi-back, ball-control offense, drove into the red zone on their first drive of the game. But Javonte Williams intercepted quarterback Andrew Bucci to set the tone early.

The Spartans scored on the ensuing drive on a 3-yard screen from Brock Phillip to Glock.

“The kid is just an unsung hero,” McMillen said about Glock. “He just goes out there and does whatever we ask him to do. He’s a Division I football player, and people in schools need to start seeing that. He can play offense, defense. He’s a true athlete.”

Erick Roman capped a long Belvidere North drive with a 6-yard run on third-and-goal to cut the score to 7-6, but a quick drive by the Spartans pushed the lead back to 14-6 after another screen from Phillip to Glock, this one from 9 yards out with 5:50 left in the second quarter.

The Spartans pinned the Blue Thunder back at the 5 on the kickoff, but the Blue Thunder worked the ball out near midfield. A bad pitch to Roman was recovered by Cooper Pakutis, and three plays later Phillip was in the end zone after a 15-yard run with 1:09 left in the half.

The Blue Thunder seemed poised to score right before the half after the perfect play-action pass from Bucci to Alexander, but Milivojevic prevented it from happening.

“It always feels like we’ve been able to bounce back,” Milivojevic said. “Sometimes we have slow first quarters. Sometimes we’re slow coming out the second half. But we always find a way to bounce back. That’s kind of led us to all these victories we’ve been having, especially deep into the playoffs like we are now.”

Drew Kegebein had a late fumble recovery, the fifth turnover forced by the Spartans.

McMillen said the St. Francis defense has been solid all year even if it’s been overlooked. The Spartans enter the title game giving up 27 points per game.

“Our defense hasn’t gotten much credit this year because of how many points we’ve given up,” McMillen said. “Our defensive coordinator [Jared McGriff-Culver] works his butt off to make sure, game in and game out, we’re prepared and ready to go. These guys did an unbelievable job.”

Belvidere North outgained St. Francis 355-266 in the game, including 288-120 on the ground. The Blue Thunder ran 19 more plays than St. Francis.

Bucci ran for 79 yards to lead Belvidere North. Bucci and Roman had the touchdowns, and Roman finished with 58 yards rushing.

Phillip was 13 of 15 for 146 yards and two touchdowns, plus ran for 49 and a score. Tivias Caldwell Jr. ran for 49 yards and a touchdown. Glock had five catches for 78 yards, and Zach Washington had six catches for 54 yards.

“It feels amazing, you know,” Glock said. “We’ve been here the past three years but never broke through it. Tonight we put it all together, left it all on the field, and we’re finally going to go there.”