Blake Horvath completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Eli Heidenreich in the fourth quarter as Navy rallied to a 17-16 victory over Army in the 126th edition of the storied rivalry Saturday in Baltimore, Md.
Horvath’s clutch pass over the middle came on fourth-and-goal with 6:32 left to complete a comeback from nine points down in the second half.
“What a game,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “Hats off to Army. They’re a tough group. They’re resilient. They played their tails off. It wasn’t pretty. It didn’t look good at times, but our guys found a way, and they’ve done that all year.”
Newberry continued: “I’m super proud of our players, just the resilience, the guts, the fight; couldn’t be more proud. Glad these are the guys on both sides that are going to lead and serve and be warfighters if necessary.”
It was the second straight year that Horvath was the protagonist as the Midshipmen handed the Black Knights a bitter defeat.
Horvath rushed 34 times for 107 yards and a touchdown and completed 7 of 14 passes for 82 yards for Navy (10-2).
“He’s an absolute warrior,” Newberry said. “Didn’t play his best game today. The kid doesn’t flinch, plays the next play. He did that and found a way to win the game for us.”
Cale Hellums carried 25 times for 100 yards and a touchdown for Army (6-6). Hellums also completed 5 of 10 passes for 82 yards but suffered a costly interception in the fourth quarter, which set up the winning score.
Six plays after Phillip Hamilton’s interception gave the Midshipmen possession at the Navy 49, Alex Tecza bolted 24 yards to move the Midshipmen to the Black Knights 5.
Four plays later, Horvath fired in the end zone to Heidenreich, who is the school’s all-time leader in receiving yardage. Heidenreich finished the game with 72 yards on six receptions.
After a three-and-out possession for Army, Navy took possession and made a pair of first downs to wrap up the win and improve to 64-55-7 in the series.
On the game’s opening possession, Horvath accounted for 65 yards of the 75-yard scoring march. Horvath’s 5-yard touchdown carry put the Midshipmen up 7-0.
On Army’s first possession, Hellums directed a 75-yard drive that he capped with a 2-yard touchdown run to tie it up early in the second quarter.
Dawson Jones gave the Black Knights the lead with a 20-yard field goal with 3:45 left in the half.
With just 20 seconds left in the period, Army’s Jack Bousum, who grew up minutes from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., recovered a Horvath fumble to set up a 45-yard field goal by Jones, which made it 13-7.
The score was 16-10 at the end of the third quarter after the teams traded field goals, including a career-long 48-yard boot by Jones, which was set up by an interception by Justin Weaver.
“The only bad thing about this game is that somebody has to sing (their school anthem) first,” Newberry said.
In last year’s 31-13 Navy win, Horvath rushed for 204 yards and accounted for four touchdowns on the ground and through the air.
–Field Level Media
