In an all-star football game that featured 127 points, a quarterback with seven touchdowns and an unbelievable 42-0 lead for one squad, it’s a bit ironic that a defensive play would be the game-defining moment.

But that was the case in Thursday’s McDonald’s All-Star Football Classic at Andrew Leh Stadium at Nazareth High School.

After the Gold Team (comprised of players from Phillipsburg, Palisades and Northampton County) erupted for a 42-0 lead in the second quarter, the Red Team stormed back to take the lead in the fourth quarter. That was due in large part to a rule that allowed Red to receive the ball after each touchdown in the second half.

Red (consisting of players from Lehigh, Carbon and Monroe counties) then fell behind late, but was 51 yards away from a go-ahead touchdown with under a minute to play. Gold’s Daloni Caldwell of Easton, however, recovered a stripped fumble of Red quarterback Blake Levengood to seal a 65-62 victory for Gold.

“We were a little down at halftime,” said Northwestern’s Dylan Snyder. “[Dieruff’s] Devante [Robinson] gave us some words of encouragement, and we came out and kicked some butt.”

Snyder was one of three Tigers to suit up for the Red Team in the 46th annual event. Andrew Sorensen, Brandon Miller and Harry Hall also had a chance to represent Northwestern one last time. And so did Red head coach Josh Snyder, the Tiger head coach who played in the game when he was a senior at Northwestern Lehigh.

“When they called and asked me to be the coach, I jumped all over it,” Josh Snyder said. “I quickly called some guys that I was familiar with that are excellent coaches. We went pretty hard. We threw a lot at them.”

Gold’s explosive start was due in large part to Liberty quarterback Doug Erney shredding Red’s defense. Three passing scores and another rushing touchdown for Erney, who finished with over 400 passing yards and seven total touchdowns, made it a 28-0 advantage in the blink of an eye.

That lead grew to 42-0 with under four minutes to play in the half after Saucon Valley quarterback Zach Thatcher connected with Becahi’s Nate Stewart for a 98-yard bomb, followed by a strong plunge from two yards out by Saucon Valley running back Evan Culver. Levengood got Red on the scoreboard finally on their next possession, and then he hooked up with Parkland’s Nolan Ridgway for 64 yards on the very next play to make it 42-14.

Erney came through with his fifth score of the half minutes later on a 19-yard dash up the middle of the field, seemingly ending Red’s attempt at any comeback. But that’s when the tides started to turn.

“We felt like a lot of the plays we had them in the first half, but either protection broke down, or a drop here, or an overthrow here,” Josh Snyder said. “We just couldn’t connect. I told them at halftime to stick with it and be patient.”

Salisbury’s Tevon Weber was responsible for four consecutive Red Team touchdowns that stretched into the first play of the fourth quarter, cutting Gold’s lead to 49-42. The last two matched the highlight plays that Erney was putting up in the first half. Weber threw a 66-yard strike to Spartan wideout Ethan Price (238 receiving yards), followed by a bomb from 62 yards out to Nick Kovalchick of Whitehall.

Levengood (over 380 total yards) then added two touchdowns. He connected on a 50-yarder to Ridgway (180 receiving yards), and then an 81-yarder to his high school teammate Price to put Red ahead for the first time with 8:32 remaining on the clock.

Erney and the Gold team responded with three minutes to play with Stewart’s (269 receiving yards) third touchdown reception of the game. A two-point conversion put Gold ahead with 2:59 to play. The two teams would trade off scores over the next 1:52, but Red would have its opportunity down by three with more than a minute to play.

That’s when the game’s biggest play, the forced fumble and recovery, left Red just short of a game-winning drive and sent Gold to the victory.

“I said the good thing is every time we score now we get the ball back, so we’re still in this thing,” Josh Snyder said. “Our defense had a turnover and a couple stops that got us back in the game. Our guys made huge plays on offense and took what the defense gave us.”

Playing the actual game and representing their schools was only one part of the story for the dozens of high school seniors selected to participate in this year’s 46th annual McDonald’s Classic. They formed a bond with players across the entire Lehigh Valley that they’ll remember for quite some time.

It was also the final time those four Tigers will take the field together. All four were part of a District 11 championship team as juniors and a district playoff team last fall.

“It’s going to be the locker room with all of the buddies, just having fun and joking around,” Dylan Snyder said. “That’s honestly probably going to be the thing I miss the most about it.”