Rivalries are a part of sports in every school.

One of Emmaus' biggest rivals has always been Parkland.

But for two Hornet football players who were playing their last high school game, all of that was set aside during last Thursday's McDonald's Lehigh Valley Football Classic at Nazareth's Andrew Leh Stadium.

Hornet defensive lineman Micah Fick and kicker Dalton Landis were members of the Red team, which was composed of players from Lehigh, Carbon, and Monroe counties.

They took part in the 43rd annual event against the Gold team, made up of Northampton County, Palisades, and Phillipsburg (NJ). It's a memory they'll remember for the rest of their lives.

"You grow up basically hating the kids from Parkland, and by the end of these two weeks you're brothers with them and you're hanging out all the time," said Fick, who will play football at Mount Ida (Massachusetts) in the fall.

"I thought it was a great time, meeting all the players that you played against," said Landis, who will attend Penn State University's Berks campus in the fall. "Just becoming friends with everyone and letting go of rivalries and such."

In a game that is centered more around the game's final outcomea 13-8 victory for the Gold Teamplayers experienced a unique environment to end their high school playing days.

They met plenty of new faces over the course of the event, played in a game that was for charity and teamed up with players who were opponents during the fall season.

"It was a great experience," said Landis. "The level of play was extremely high, and I was really impressed by all the players, especially on our team. It was just a really good game to be in."

"The first day it's weird, but after that it's like you're brothers [and] you'd take a bullet for those kids," said Fick.

Red took a early 2-0 lead in the first quarter after Parkland's Paul Tajiri and David Wong helped secure a safety. Gold responded with 13 consecutive points and led 13-2 at halftime.

Phillipsburg's Alex Martin scampered 37 yards for the first score, and Wilson's Ryan Dailey found Nazareth's Anthony Gattaniella with 30 seconds remaining in the half.

Northern Lehigh's Dan Marsh scored on a quarterback sneak midway through the third to make it 13-8 after a failed two-point conversion, but a number of Red drives late failed to produce any more points.