baltimore– Blake Horvath To Eli Heidenreich,
This is the connection that led navy Such a memorable season, and two players again in the biggest game of the biggest game.
Horvath threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Heidenreich on fourth-and-goal with 6:32 remaining, and No. 22 Navy rallied to defeat Army 17-16 On Saturday. Heidenreich, the career and single-season leader in receiving yards for the Midshipmen, completed six of Horvath’s seven passes on Saturday.
“Who wouldn’t go to him?” Horvath said. “Talk about an all-time great in the Navy. You’ll be talking about Eli Heidenreich for years and years.”
Although this was clearly a passing position and Heidenreich was Naval’s top target, he was single-covered in the middle.
“Trying to put some pressure on them,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “Nice throw and nice catch.”
In the presence of President Donald Trump, Navy (10-2) got its second consecutive win over Army (6-6), and the Midshipmen won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the second consecutive season. The Black Knights have not defeated a Navy team ranked by the AP since 1955.
Horvath was fortunate to have the opportunity to throw the decisive touchdown pass. On 2nd and goal from the 1st, he lost the ball while attempting a hard push. army linebacker Eric Ford Got a chance to catch it, but the Navy was running behind Alex Texa Moved forward quickly to stop him and Heidenreich eventually fell to the ball at 8th.
“It’s probably the last thing you want to see at the 1-yard line is you turn around and the ball is bouncing behind you,” Heidenreich said. “I was holding down. I felt him push in, and out of my peripheral vision I saw him go after me.”
On the next play, Horvath was almost sacked, but he threw the ball to Texa as Horvath went down. The ball fell incomplete instead of being caught around the 15, which was also good for Navy as it made going for it on fourth down more viable.
“I felt like we had to do it,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “Despite the nature of what they do offensively, despite how well we played in the second half, you can’t get the ball back.”
Even after Heidenreich’s touchdown and the Army punt, Navy still had to avoid another turnover. On third-and-3 from the Army 43, Horvath lost control of the ball on a rushing attempt, but he caught it out of the air. It was loose again and the Black Knights recovered, but after a review, Horvath was ruled out for a second fumble – less than a yard from the first down.
Texa then ran for a first down, helping Navy wind down the clock, and Horvath appeared to wave goodbye on behalf of Army. There was a brief commotion near midfield after the final kneeling, before things eventually calmed down for the traditional singing of the alma maters.
“They want to talk all their trash during the game and act like they’re so tough,” Horvath said. “Last year the excuse was that they played a conference championship game before us. This year, we’ll see what it is.”
The Black Knights were trying to turn the tables on Navy, as a ranked Army team, which had recently won the American Conference title, had lost to the Midshipmen the previous year.
The teams exchanged touchdown drives to start the game, each lasting 13 plays, 75 yards and more than seven minutes. Horvath had a 5-yard scoring run and Army quarterback black helms Answered with a 2-yarder. Army’s first drive did not end until five seconds into the second quarter.
Then, it took some time for someone to reach the end zone again. Late in the second quarter, with Army leading 10–7, the ball slipped out of Horvath’s hand as he tried to pass. Army recovered a fumble at the 45 with 20 seconds remaining and drove into range for a 45-yard field goal. dawson jones,
Navy’s defense stepped up in the second half, but the Midshipmen still struggled with disaster. Horvath threw an interception in the third quarter that was initially returned in the end zone, but replay showed Justin WeaverHis knee was down when he picked off a pass at the Navy 32. The Black Knights were down to three when Dawson connected on a career-long 48-yard kick.
Navy’s wing-T attack has been explosive this season. The Midshipmen entered the day with an FBS-high 10 plays of at least 60 yards. Army mostly held them at bay, but Horvath broke free on a 37-yard run that led to a third-quarter field goal, making the score 16–10.
After Helms’ underthrown pass was intercepted. philip hamiltonGiving Navy the ball at the 50 with 11:19 to play, Texa’s 24-yard run made it first-and-goal from the 5.
Trump tossed the coin at midfield before the game, then returned at halftime to walk from the Navy sideline to Army One.
Navy next faces off against Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl on Jan. 2. Army will face UConn in the Fenway Bowl on December 27.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
