NAZARETH - Fun and happiness are words that have been synonymous with McDonald’s over the years.

On Thursday night at Nazareth High School’s Andrew Leh Stadium, the atmosphere was like one big birthday party at the PlayPlace as an almost capacity crowd was on hand to watch the 50th annual McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All Star Classic.

The weather was picture perfect as the Red Team defeated the Gold Team, 42-24.

The Red Team - consisting of players from Lehigh, Carbon and Monroe Counties - didn’t waste any time getting its offense going after it was able to establish solid field position on its opening two possessions.

Starting from the Gold 40, a 19-yard run from Emmaus’ Brandon Camire helped setup his one-yard plunge a play later.

The Red was then able to intercept Gold quarterback Matt Garatty on the ensuing possession when East Stroudsburg North’s Shane Gagnon stood his ground on a crossing route and returned the interception all the way down to the Gold 12-yard line.

A few plays later, East Stroudsburg South’s Will Fish hit Villanova commit and teammate Christian Sapp for a seven-yard hookup to get Red out to a 14-0 advantage.

However, the Gold - comprised of players from Northampton County as well as from Phillipsburg and Palisades High School - was able to mount a bit of a comeback in the second quarter. A special rule in the classic is if a team is down by nine points or more and scores, then that team gets the ball back.

After a 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter by Gold’s George Ferrey, the Gold received the ball and took advantage, scoring on its next drive on a 46-yard pitch and catch from Garatty Collin McKeague - his favorite target on the day. The Gold then struck again, this time on a 35-yard hookup between Garatty and McKeague to give the Gold a 17-14 lead with 7:48 remaining in the half.

But the Red answered the Gold run and went to the air again, using yet another Cavalier connection - this time from Fish to receiver Evan Roche - for a 43-yard touchdown to take both the momentum and the lead back.

The Red never lost the lead again thanks to a strong second-half defensive performance led by two Times News area players - Northern Lehigh’s Joe Abidelli and Josh Schaffer.

Abidelli made his presence felt with an interception near the goal line.

“It was an awesome feeling to get that interception. That was my first ever interception,” said Abidelli. “This was just a great night. We came out here and gave it everything, and for me it was just fun to come out here and get some hits in.

“I played in the East-West game last week, and I was more in coverage. Today, I was able to just come out and tackle guys, which was so much fun.”

The Red held the Gold squad to just seven second-half points, and a big reason for that was the play of its front four, which kept pressure on Garatty throughout the game.

“We have some big and strong guys up front on our side, and we knew our alignments and our jobs, and we went out there and got it done,” said Schaffer. “Playing in front of a full stadium tonight was amazing, and this is something you never forget.

“You get to meet so many guys you would never think of meeting because of this game, and I’m just glad we could finish up our high school careers getting a win.”

AREA ALL STARS ... Joining Abidelli and Schaffer were fellow Bulldog JD Hunter, and Palmerton’s Timothy Iles.

LEADERS ... Fish threw for 204 and four scores, while Garatty threw for 417 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Cavalier connection of Sapp and Roche combined for 198 yards receiving and four touchdowns. McKeague had the biggest night at receiver, hauling in six catches for 162 yards.