Quarterback Blake Horvath rushed for 115 yards, while Eli Heidenreich contributed 100 yards in both rushing and receiving, helping Navy secure a 34-7 win over Air Force on Saturday in the opening game of this season’s Commander In Chief series.
In their 1,400th game, Navy showcased their usual strong ground game with 329 rushing yards and a defense that limited Air Force to 273 yards. The Midshipmen have won the Commander In Chief Trophy 11 out of the last 12 times they’ve beaten Air Force.
Horvath scored two rushing touchdowns, and Heidenreich added one rushing touchdown, with his 51-yard run setting up another score in the fourth quarter.
This was the first time since 2003 that Navy had two players rush for over 100 yards and one player with over 100 receiving yards.
Heidenreich is believed to be the first player in Navy’s history to rush for 100 yards and receive for 100 yards in the same game, finishing with exactly 100 rushing yards and five receptions for 101 yards.
Navy rushed for 185 yards in the first half, highlighted by Nathan Kent’s 34-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play. They led 21-7 at halftime.
Air Force scored on a 45-yard pass from Quentin Hayes to Tre Roberson in the second quarter. Hayes completed 5 of 6 passes for 115 yards, while the Falcons (1-4) rushed 48 times for 158 yards.
Now 5-0 for the first time since 2017, Navy got 134 passing yards from Horvath, who completed 9 of 15 passes.
This was the fourth time this season that Navy held an opponent to three touchdowns or fewer.
