The top senior high school football players in the Lehigh Valley got one last chance to suit up and take the field last Thursday night in the 47th Annual McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic.

Three Emmaus players were part of the Red team, which lost 37-34 to the Gold team.

“We all banded together and put 100 percent effort,” said Emmaus defensive back Brian Mantone. “We played for a great cause. At the end of the day we want to win, but when you play for a great cause and put everything in that you have, you can walk away and sleep well at night.”

Hornet teammates Drew Schwindenhammer and Ryan Fritz joined Mantone in the game.

“Everybody hopes they play in it,” said Fritz. “When we figured out we were nominated and got chosen, it’s an honor and it’s humbling as well because it’s a prestigious game and it’s for a great cause.”

The Red team was comprised of players from Lehigh and Monroe county high schools, while the Gold team was made up of players from Northampton County and Philipsburg and Palisades high schools.

The Red took the early lead when Pleasant Valley’s Mike Mitchel scored on a five-yard run three plays after hauling in a 61-yard reception.

Red quarterback Jake Cirillo (East Stroudsburg South) then hit Fritz for a two-point conversion pass to make it 8-0.

Freedom quarterback Joe Young got the Gold team within 8-7 when he ran for a 30-yard touchdown with 7:17 left in the first quarter.

But Mitchell, who caught seven passes for 147 yards, scored again on Red’s next possession. The junior college-bound running back caught a 22-yard pass from Palmerton’s Garrett Pershey for a touchdown. Pershey hit Northwestern’s Trevor Cunningham for a two-point conversion and a 16-7 lead.

The Red increased its lead when Cirillo hit East Stroudsburg South teammate Dakota Kross for a 29-yard score with 1:54 left in the second quarter. A failed extra point kick kept the score at 22-7 after the touchdown. The score capped a 14-play, 89-yard drive that started with a 10-yard Schwindenhammer reception and included a 3-yard catch by Fritz.

Gold cut the lead with 45 seconds left before halftime when Easton quarterback Ben Nimeh threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Young, who was used as a receiver a few times in the game, to make it 22-14 at intermission.

The defenses took over for most of the third quarter before Golf finally scored with 1:40 left in the period when Northampton’s Colin Schucker threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nimeh to tie the game at 22-22.

The Red answered when Central Catholic quarterback Ethan Persa found Southern Lehigh’s Tim Walter for a 25-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter for a 28-22 lead.

Gold took its first lead of the game on Young’s one-yard run with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter for a 29-28 advantage.

Red responded two possessions later when a three-yard drive was capped by Persa’s 60-yard touchdown pass to Palmerton’s Mike Stasko for a 34-29 lead with 4:42 left.

But Young and the Gold team would not be denied. He carried the ball three times on his team’s final possession and completed all three of his passes, including a 12-yard touchdown strike to Nick Petros (Notre Dame) that put his team ahead with 40 seconds left in the game.

Despite the loss, players on both teams remained on the field long after the game as competitors on both sides made friends with some rivals from other teams during the week of all-star practice.

“It was weird coming together with guys we were used to going up against and then becoming teammates and forming strong bonds with them,” said Mantone. “We all just came together as a big group.”

“Definitely made a bunch of friends,” said Fritz. “Football brings people together like no other sport so I’ve got some more brothers now.”