The Crusader football team suffered a painful 14-12 loss to Speedway Friday night at the University of Indianapolis.

Within the first four minutes of the game, senior Nick Branson suffered an apparent arm injury. His teammates knelt, and the cheerleaders and fans stayed quiet while he was loaded into an ambulance about 20 minutes after he was hit.

The injury didn’t stop the Crusaders, though. With 2:57 left in the first quarter, senior Ollie Bauer intercepted a Speedway pass. Senior Joe Doucleff later scored a touchdown, giving Scecina a 6-0 lead with eight minutes left in the second quarter.

Speedway tied the game with a touchdown with 51 seconds left in the half.  By the fourth quarter, the Sparkplugs had scored another touchdown, taking a 14-6 lead. Scecina responded when Senior Ben Dugan scored with 4:53 left in the game, but the team couldn’t complete the two-point conversion that would have tied the game.

The team’s next game is at Park Tudor Friday at 7 p.m.