By Bobby Narang
By now, St. Francis head football coach Bob McMillen is getting used to weekly comebacks by his team. For the second straight Friday, the Spartans mounted an impressive comeback to pull off an improbable high school victory at home.
September 22, the Spartans trailed, 21-7, to Joliet Catholic Academy in CCL/ESCC crossover play, but despite struggling to stop the Hilltoppers’ running game, St. Francis turned it around in the second half to pull out a 33-28 victory.
Against Joliet Catholic, St. Francis senior quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and running back TyVonn Ransom sparked the comeback.
Seven days later, September 29, Milovojevic, a Ball State University recruit, was at the center of another sterling come-from-behind victory. On Homecoming night, Milivojevic, who was named the Homecoming King, fueled a stunning turnaround after halftime against undefeated IC Catholic in Conference action.
With the Spartans down 27-14 late in the third quarter, Milivojevic patiently brought his team back from the double-digit deficit.
He capped a 13-play, 81-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown strike to his brother, sophomore wide receiver Dario Milivojevic, with 19.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lead the Spartans to a 35-34 victory over the Knights.
“Alessio is an amazing quarterback,” McMillen said. “He did a great job leading us back. What a great, great, and unbelievable football game. We talked about earlier that if we tied the game, we would go for the win. Alessio is a competitor and a leader. We tried not to panic because it was a long time. Our defense didn’t look good early. Our kids played well and did the same thing against Joliet Catholic. I’m proud of these boys. It was a war out there. We both had injuries. I’m happy for the St. Francis community.”
IC Catholic head coach Bob Kreft said his team will learn from the tough loss, the first in six games, but credited the Spartans for their comeback.
“That was a tough football game,” Kreft said. “It was hard fought, and sometimes it doesn’t go your way. The players played really hard. We have to play better. We gave their quarterback too much time to throw, and when you give him that much time, he will beat you. He’s a good football player.”
Milivojevic said he’s been tossing passes to his brother for years, so he knew exactly who to look for on the decisive play of the game. He completed 25-of-37 passing attempts for 289 yards and two touchdowns to go with two rushing touchdowns. The Spartans (4-2, 1-1) secured the victory by converting a two-point play, when Milivojevic hit DeShaun Williams in the end zone.
“On fourth down, we drew something up, with the guy coming all the way back because they were losing guys coming all the way across the field, so I hit my brother for a touchdown,” Alessio said. “The last (PAT) play we had a perfect play and it was a perfect cross to DeShaun for a touchdown. My line was amazing all day, and I’m so grateful to have them on my team.”