Heidenreich’s Record-Breaking Day Lifts Navy Past Air Force

Eli Heidenreich etched his name into Navy football history on Saturday, while Blake Horvath delivered a career performance to lead the Midshipmen to a dramatic 34-31 win over rival Air Force before 37,517 fans - the 10th-largest crowd in Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium history.

Heidenreich tied and then broke the program’s single-season touchdown receptions record with a pair of spectacular long scoring plays, finishing with eight catches for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Horvath was equally dominating, passing for 339 yards and three scores while rushing for 130 yards and another touchdown, accounting for 469 yards of total offense.

“I thought Blake (Horvath) was tremendous today,” Navy head coach Brian Newberry said. “Eli Heidenreich played out of his mind. He's a special player. He had a bunch of records today. I thought we offensively did some really, really good things today outside of the penalties and outside of the one turnover. Proud of our guys. Great to get a win. Again, hats off to Air Force. Couldn't have more respect for those guys.”

Eli Heidenreich

The Midshipmen struck quickly on their opening possession. On the very first play, Horvath found Heidenreich streaking down the middle for a 36-yard gain, setting the tone for the afternoon. Navy moved inside the 25 but stalled, settling for a 39-yard field goal by Nathan Kirkwood for an early 3–0 lead.

Air Force responded immediately with a 75-yard
drive capped by Liam Szarka’s 7-yard touchdown run. The drive’s opening play - a 61-yard keeper by Szarka - was the longest run surrendered by Navy this season and marked the third time this year the defense allowed points on the opponent’s opening drive.

Navy’s next drive ended in disaster when Horvath fumbled on a 14-yard scramble, giving the Falcons a short field. But Jacob Medina missed a 35-yard field goal, allowing Navy to dodge further damage.

Trailing 10-3 midway through the second quarter, Horvath engineered two quick-strike scoring drives. First, after a 43-yard kick return by Isaiah Bryant set up Navy near midfield, Horvath connected with Nathan Kent for 36 yards and then hit Heidenreich on a 19-yard scoring strike to tie the game at 10.

Blake Horvath

Minutes later, after Air Force punted, Horvath found Heidenreich over the middle, and the senior sprinted 80 yards to the end zone. That score gave Navy a 17-10 lead with 4:02 left in the half and tied Heidenreich with the school record of 13 touchdown receptions.

Defensively, Landon Robinson and Julien Moutome combined for a sack late in the half to stop a Falcon drive and preserve the lead heading into the locker room.

Air Force came out of halftime and marched 70 yards on nine plays. Szarka scored his second rushing touchdown from a yard out to tie the game at 17. The sophomore quarterback was a dual-threat all day, finishing with 152 rushing yards and 249 passing yards with two touchdowns through the air.

Navy answered with its most methodical drive of the day. Starting from their own 3-yard line, Horvath led an eight-play, 97-yard drive, capped by his 59-yard touchdown run. Kirkwood’s extra point made it 24–17.

The Falcons weren’t done. Szarka completed a 37-yard pass to Bruin Fleischmann to set up an 18-yard touchdown strike on the opening play of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24-24.

On the ensuing drive, Horvath and Heidenreich delivered again. Facing 2nd-and-long from their own 29, Horvath dropped back and connected with Heidenreich who raced 60 yards for his record-breaking 14th touchdown reception, giving Navy a 31-24 lead with 12:55 remaining.

Air Force answered two minutes later when Szarka found Jonah Dawson for a 53-yard touchdown, knotting the score at 31-31.

With the game on the line, Navy’s offense drove 60 yards in nine plays. Kirkwood’s 34-yard field goal with 6:47 left proved to be the difference.

From there, Navy’s defense delivered the crucial stop. Robinson’s penetration on first down set the tone, and Navy forced a fumble at the Falcon 49 with 3:07 left. The Midshipmen drained the remaining clock to seal their fifth win of the season.

Robinson finished with 1.5 sacks, while Luke Pirris led the defense with 12 tackles. Navy’s front line held Air Force scoreless on its final two drives after the teams traded scores on five consecutive possessions.

In addition to the action on the field, the Brigade of Midshipmen set a new Guinness World Record during the game, with 3,068 people doing pushups simultaneously for one minute, breaking the Air Force Academy’s previous mark of 2,926 set in 2023.

With the victory, Navy improved to 5–0 and retained control of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy race. The Midshipmen will travel to Philadelphia next week to face Temple. Air Force (1–4) travels to Las Vegas to battle UNLV.