The Brother Martin Crusaders opened the LHSAA Division I select football playoffs with a 17-16 victory over the Liberty Patriots on Friday night at Tad Gormley Stadium.

With less than 90 seconds to go and Liberty driving to try to keep its season alive, a tipped pass on fourth down near the Brother Martin sideline appeared as if Liberty’s Isaiah Neal caught it at the Crusader 8-yard line. After a huddle by the referees, the play was ruled incomplete, and Brother Martin took over for the final time to run out the clock.

“Our guys battled, we just weren’t clean and we missed a lot of things tonight,” Brother Martin coach Mark Bonis said. “But defensively, we stepped up.”

Brother Martin scored both of its touchdowns in the first half but was held to a field goal that didn’t come until the

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