The 2025 Illinois High School Association football state championships continued Tuesday and Wednesday with four games rescheduled from Saturday after a winter storm hit Illinois.
The Class 5A and 6A games were Tuesday at Hancock Stadium in Normal, with games on the Illinois State University campus. The 7A and 8A games were Wednesday in DeKalb, on the campus of Northern Illinois University.
Here is a game-by-game look at each the championship games.
Class 8A: Mount Carmel 20, Oswego 3
DEKALB — Chicago Mount Carmel extended its Illinois record with a 17th state championship — but the Caravan had to work to make it happen.
Mount Carmel (14-0) needed nearly the entire game to shake upset-minded Oswego, who forced the Caravan into nine punts — just four fewer than it had its previous 13 games.
Mount Carmel led 7-3 at halftime on a 1-yard TD run from quarterback Emmett Dowling. The Caravan extended their lead early in the third, when Cullen Winters blocked a punt that was recovered by Gavin Conjar and returned 11 yards for a touchdown at 8:19.
Mount Carmel put the game away in the fourth, using a 12-play, 82-yard drive that took 5:50 off the clock and ended with a 4-yard TD pass from Dowling to Marshaun Thornton.
Dowling finished 16-for-31 for 109 yards and a TD. He rushed for 23 yards and a score.
Oswego (11-2) was held to 143 yards and six first downs. The Panthers had the ball inside the Mount Carmel 30 just three times, those drives ending with a field goal, turnover on downs and an interception.
Quarterback Drew Kleinhans finished 10-for-29 with 108 yards and an interception. His 23 rush yards led Oswego.
Class 7A: Brother Rice 16, St. Rita 0
DEKALB — Chicago Brother Rice scored on the first drive — and defense took care of rival St. Rita the rest of the way in the Class 7A championship game at Huskie Stadium.
Brother Rice (13-1) had 12 tackles for loss and six pass breakups while holding St. Rita to 160 yards on the way to its second state title and first since 1981. The Catholic League schools are located about 6 miles from one another on the south side of Chicago. This was the second all-time playoff meeting and first since a 1985 quarterfinal.
Brother Rice quarterback CJ Gray ran for 80 yards and a TD on the first drive. Jaylin Green added 104 yards on 23 carries.
St. Rita (9-5) averaged 2.6 yards per play, with running back Brandon Johnson (1,130 20 TDs coming in) held to 54 yards on 13 carries.
Class 6A: Fenwick 38, East St. Louis 28
NORMAL — Oak Park Fenwick shocked national power East St. Louis to win the Class 6A state championship.
Jake Thies had 161 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns — plus a pivotal late-game interception — to send Fenwick (11-3) to its second state title and first since 2021.
Fenwick went ahead 31-28 with 2:45 remaining on a 31-yard field goal from Noah Sur, the capper to a 6-minute, 24-second drive.
ESL (10-4) took over on offense, but Thies intercepted quarterback Ronnie Shanklin and returned the ball 39 yards to the 3. One play later, Fenwick QB Jamen Williams stepped in for a touchdown to seal the game.
Williams finished 8-for-14 with 155 yards and two TDs, adding 38 yards on the ground and the late TD. Cameron Garrett and Jimmy Watts added TDs for Fenwick.
Myson Johnson-Cook led ESL with 181 rushing yards and two TDs, while Ahmad Coleman added 102 yards and a TD on 11 carries. Shanklin finished 17-for-27 with 158 yards and two interceptions.
Class 5A: St. Francis 39, Providence 35
NORMAL — Quarterback Brock Phillip scored in a keeper from 1 yard out on fourth down with 11 seconds remaining, lifting Wheaton St. Francis to victory in a back-and-forth Class 5A state championship game.
St. Francis (11-3) earned it second title and first since it defeated Metamora for the 5A title in 2008. The Spartans had lost in the semifinals the last three seasons.
This time, Phillip led a game-winning drive that covered 62 yards over 17 plays — and took nearly 6 minutes off the clock. The QB finished with 144 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 23 carries, adding 226 yards through the air. Phillip’s top targets were all-staters Dario Milivojevic (6 catches, 86 yards, TD) and Zach Washington (4 catches, 113 yards).
Providence (10-4) had gone ahead 35-32 with 6:16 remaining, when quarterback Dom Vita scored his second rushing TD — and the game’s fourth lead change.
All-state running back Broden Mackert led Providence with 126 rushing yards and a TD. Vita added 56 rushing yards and threw for 137 on 7-for-11 passing. All-state receiver Xavier Coleman had four catches for 107 yards and a TD.
New Lenox Providence (10-4) came in with 10 state championships, the last in 2014.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 2025 IHSA football state championship recap: Class 5A-8A roundup
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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