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, Maryland.
Horvath’s assist to center came in on fourth down 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 hearts out. It wasn’t pretty. It didn’t look good at times, but our guys found a way, and they did it all year.”
Newberry continued: “I’m super proud of our players, just their resilience, their courage, their fight; I couldn’t be more proud. I’m happy that these are the guys on both sides who are going to lead and serve and be fighters when necessary.”
It was the second year in a row that Horvath was the protagonist as the Midshipmen inflicted a bitter defeat on the Black Knights.
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. “He didn’t play his best game today. The kid doesn’t flinch, makes the next play. He did it 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 had a 24-yard completion to move the Midshipmen to the Black Knights 5.
Four plays later, Horvath fired into the end zone to Heidenreich, who is the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards. Heidenreich finished the game with 72 yards on six receptions.
After a three-down Army possession, Navy gained possession and made two first downs to close out the victory and improve to 64-55-7 in the series.
On the opening possession of the game, Horvath accounted for 65 yards on the 75-yard scoring march. Horvath’s 5-yard touchdown run gave the Midshipmen a 7-0 lead.
On Army’s first possession, Hellums led a 75-yard drive that he capped with a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game 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 just minutes from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., recovered a Horvath fumble to set up a 45-yard field goal by Jones, making it 13-7.
The score was 16-10 late in the third quarter after the teams traded field goals, including a 48-yard boot by Jones, which was set up by a Justin Weaver interception.
“The only downside to this game is someone has to sing (their school anthem) first,” Newberry said.
In Navy’s 31-13 victory last year, Horvath rushed for 204 yards and had four touchdowns on the ground and through the air.
–Field level media
