In an all-star football game that featured 127 points, a quarterback with seven touchdowns alone 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 of 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.

“It was crazy how we were down so much, and then all of a sudden we started coming back,” Emmaus’ lineman Eric Miller said. “I couldn’t believe it. It was 42-0 and we came back.”

Miller was one of two Hornets to make the McDonald’s Red Team roster. The other was lineman Jared Romig.

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 a 42-14 ball game.

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.

“Coming out of halftime when we scored, the momentum just shifted completely to us,” Miller said. “The other team wasn’t prepared, and we came out firing harder and faster than them. It stinks that we couldn’t finish it at the end, but it was impressive.”

Salisbury quarterback Tevon Weber (234 passing yards) 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 fit the mold of highlight plays that Erney was putting up in the first half-first 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 of his own-first a 50-yarder to Ridgway (180 receiving yards), and then an 81-yarder to his high school teammate Price-that 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 traded scores over the next 1:52, but Red had it’s 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.

“This is a good way to end it, to play for the Hornets one more time and represent,” said Miller, who will play at Kutztown University next fall.

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 a pretty cool experience to meet other players from around the EPC and the Colonial League,” Miller said. “It was interesting meeting some of the people. People on like Parkland and Whitehall, who I never thought I would be friends with because they were always our rivals, I ended up talking to them and becoming friends with them.

“It was a cool experience.”