BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Junior quarterback Blake Horvath accomplished 9 of his 11 go makes an attempt for 225 yards and a couple of touchdowns, whereas speeding for 84 yards and a landing to steer Navy (4-0, 3-0 within the AAC) to a 41-18 rout of UAB (1-3, 0-1) in entrance of 21,536 followers at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
Navy is now 4-0 for the primary time since 2017.
“I am really proud of the way we fought today,” mentioned Navy head coach Brian Newberry. “With that being said, I think we can play better and there is a lot of stuff that we can clean up on both sides of the ball.”
Navy jumped out to a 7-0 first quarter lead because the Mids scored on the opening drive for the primary time this 12 months. Horvath directed a 7-play, 61-yard drive over the primary 3:33 of the sport, with Horvath capping it off by faking a pitch and taking it to the top zone from 20 yards out.
After the protection compelled a punt on UAB's subsequent possession, the MIds went on its longest drive of the 12 months time clever, milking 7:56 off the clock on a 14-play, 84-yard drive capped off by a 6-yard landing run by Alex Tecza to make it 14-0 Navy.
UAB then went on an extended drive of its personal, taking 7:45 off the clock on a 15-play, 57-yard drive however the Navy protection held within the pink zone and compelled a 35-yard area purpose by Jonah Delange to make the rating 14-3.
Navy obtained the ball again with 1:11 left within the first half and it seemed like they might simply run out the clock because the Mids ran an choice pitch to Brandon Chatman for a two-yard loss on first down. Not so quick. On the following play, Horvath threw an ideal strike to Nathan Kent for a 77-yard landing go and the MIds would take a 21-3 lead into the locker room.
Navy made it 28-3 on the primary drive of the second half when Horvath tossed a display go to Eli Heidenreich, who took it 74 yards for a landing. Heidenreich was sprung by a devastating block by guard Ben Purvis two yards down the sector and Heidenreich did the remainder outrunning the Blazers secondary.
It is believed to be the primary time in class historical past that Navy had two landing passes of greater than 70 yards in the identical recreation.
“All the credit goes to Nathan Kent, Eli Heidenreich and the offensive line,” mentioned Horvath. “When you are throwing to an Olympic-caliber sprinter and have all day to throw on the first one and on the second pass I threw it one-yard and Eli did the rest with the help of Purvis destroying a guy and even Kent was hustling his butt off downfield to help throw a block for Eli. They made my job easy.”
The Mids completed off the Blazers thanks to 2 Nathan Kirkwood area targets, the primary tying his career-high of 45 yards and the second setting a brand new career-high from 46 yards, and a 16-yard landing run by fullback Daba Fofana that completed off a eight-play, 94-yard drive.
Navy ran for 227 yards and threw for 225 yards on the day. Heidenreich had 3 catches for 108 yards to steer the receiving corps, whereas Horvath led all rushers with 84.
Safety Rayuan Lane III led the Navy protection with a career-high 12 tackles and two compelled fumbles, whereas Justin Reed recorded seven tackles, a career-high three tackles for a loss and a career-high two sacks to go alongside with a brought on fumble. Mbiti Williams Jr. and Justin Ross each had interceptions, it was the primary profession interception for the freshman Ross.
Navy will journey to Colorado Springs subsequent Saturday to tackle the Air Force Falcons within the first leg within the battle for the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy. Navy has not gained at Air Force since a 28-21 extra time win in 2012.
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