Blake Horvath threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 130 yards and another score to guide Navy to a 34-31 win over Air Force on October 4, 2025, before a sold-out crowd of 37,517 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The victory kept the Midshipmen undefeated at 5-0 and positioned them ahead in the pursuit of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, which they captured last season.
Horvath connected with Eli Heidenreich on all three touchdown passes, with Heidenreich amassing eight receptions for 243 yards, setting school records for receiving yards in a game and career touchdown catches at 14. Horvath’s 469 total yards established a Navy record, and his passing yards ranked fifth in program history, the most since 1994.
Air Force sophomore quarterback Liam Szarka countered with 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns, plus 212 passing yards and two scores. Tight end Bruin Fleischmann led the Falcons with six catches for 166 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons fell to 1-4.
As always, thanks to our fans and thanks to the Brigade. It was a beautiful day and a great turnout. Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium was in full blossom today and that was a fun atmosphere and a great thing to be a part of, said Navy head coach Brian Newberry.
Hats off to Air Force. We have a ton of respect for Coach Calhoun, his staff and those players. Those guys signed up to do the same thing our guys are doing, continued Newberry. We just have a ton of respect for them and the way that they fought and clawed. Being a 1-3 team coming in here, you wouldn’t have known it because that’s a pretty good football team right there.
That was one heck of a football game. Right?, said Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun. For everybody here, both squads; they laid it on the line. It was a tremendous game. We didn’t come here to be close.
I can’t say enough good things about Blake, said Newberry. He’s special and he makes us go. He’s obviously a phenomenal young man, but a special player. I’m glad he’s on our side. I can’t say enough good things about him. He never flinches, he never panics, he never presses. He just goes and plays. He’s calm, cool and collected and is just a special talent. He’s a winner and that permeates the rest of our team.
It wasn’t me (all of the yards), said Horvath. I am throwing to a wide open Eli Heidenreich, wide open Eli Heidenreich, wide open Eli Heidenreich. All of those yards are coming from him. Just a lot of guys making plays. Our offensive line…they (Air Force) have a good defensive line. I thought it was the blocking and the ability to get open. Their secondary is a weakness, and we knew we could exploit it with one of the best athletes in college football in Eli Heidenreich.
Eli kept getting one-on-one coverage, which we took advantage of, said Newberry. He’s another special player. He’s a guy who can line up at wide receiver or slot or running back or wildcat quarterback, and is just a phenomenal football player. When we target him – I think it was eight targets, eight catches today- and put the ball in his hands, good things tend to happen.
He (Blake Horvath) just puts it where it needs to be, said Heidenreich. He does the fundamentals. We practice that all summer. It is nice to see that hard work in the offseason comes to fruition.
He hit some throws, man, said Calhoun of Horvath. Obviously, #22 is a heck of a player too. We have to be closer in coverage. We have to get closer to the quarterback, especially if we bring seven guys. We have to be able to make that thing come out of there sooner. At least make it harder.
Navy opened with a 39-yard field goal by Nathan Kirkwood, set up by a 36-yard Horvath-to-Heidenreich pass. Air Force responded with a seven-yard Szarka touchdown run after a 61-yard rush. A Horvath fumble gave Air Force possession at the Navy 38, but the Midshipmen defense held, and Jacob Medina missed a 35-yard field goal.
Air Force extended to 10-3 on a 24-yard Medina field goal in the second quarter. Navy tied at 10-10 on a 19-yard Horvath-to-Heidenreich touchdown pass. Two plays later, an 80-yard strike to Heidenreich gave Navy a 17-10 halftime lead.
Air Force tied at 17-17 in the third on a one-yard Szarka run. Despite starting at their three-yard line after a kickoff slip by Isaiah Bryant, Navy drove 97 yards, capped by Horvath’s 59-yard touchdown run for a 24-17 edge.
Air Force knotted it at 24-24 early in the fourth on an 18-yard Szarka-to-Fleischmann pass. Navy regained the lead at 31-24 on a 60-yard Horvath-to-Heidenreich touchdown. The Falcons tied again at 31-31 on a 53-yard Szarka-to-Jonah Dawson pass.
Kirkwood’s 34-yard field goal put Navy ahead 34-31 with 6:47 left. Air Force drove to the Navy 47, but on third-and-nine, Jaxson Campbell batted a pitch, and Landon Robinson recovered the fumble at the Navy 49.
The defense just needed to get a stop and I was able to look at my visual key and deflect the ball, said Campbell. It is really rewarding to do that.
I got off the block and I see the ball. It tipped up in the air, and I thought, ‘Maybe I can grab it,’ said Robinson. I put my arms up in the air and caught it. I just tucked it away. It was awesome to see the ball in the air and finally get the takeaway we needed.
Navy ran out the clock, sealing it with an eight-yard Horvath pass to Jackson Gutierrez on fourth-and-one.
Navy totaled 517 yards, marking five straight games with at least 450 yards, a program first. The win extended Navy’s home streak to 76 games when leading after three quarters, the nation’s longest.
I think it’s a very humble 5-0 group, said Newberry. I think there’s so much room for improvement. I’ve expressed some frustration after wins in the course of this year, and there are certain frustrations about the way we played today in certain phases. Our guys know and understand that we have to get better and we’ve got to clean some things up, because if we don’t, it’s going to cost us in a tight game like this at some point. When we play really good football teams, we don’t have to be perfect, but we have to be dang near close.
The victory was Navy’s eighth straight dating to last season and the first back-to-back wins over Air Force since 2012-2013. Navy has started 5-0 in consecutive years for the first time since 1978-1979 and holds a 30-15 record against Air Force and Army in the last 45 meetings. Newberry’s 20-10 start ranks as the best 30-game opening for a Navy coach since Wayne Hardin from 1959-1961.
The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, awarded since 1972 to the top service academy football team, requires wins over both rivals. Air Force leads with 21 titles, Navy has 17, and Army 10, with five shares, most recently in 2021. Navy needs a win over Army in December to claim it outright again.
In Southern Maryland, ties to Navy run deep through Naval Air Station Patuxent River in St. Mary’s County, home to Naval Air Systems Command and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. The base, nestled where the Patuxent River meets the Chesapeake Bay, supports aviation research and development, employing thousands in the region. The Southern Maryland Navy Alliance advocates for the community and base, ensuring support for naval operations that align with the academy’s mission. Local high school teams, like Patuxent, have played state championships at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, fostering community connections to Midshipmen athletics.
Horvath’s season stats through the game include 839 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions, with a 69.0 quarterback rating. Heidenreich has 20 receptions for 413 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 20.6 yards per catch. Navy’s offense has powered the undefeated start, with Horvath rushing for over 1,000 yards this season, the first since 2019.
The Midshipmen next face Charlotte on October 18 before continuing American Athletic Conference play.
