The victory secured the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for Navy for the second consecutive year.
Navy quarterback Blake Horvath threw to Eli Heidenreich for the go-ahead touchdown with less than seven minutes remaining.
The Midshipmen have now achieved 10-win seasons in back-to-back years for the first time in program history.
Navy was listening.
After the Midshipmen climbed out of a 16-7 hole in the third quarter to beat Army 17-16 in the 126th meeting in this series, Navy quarterback Blake Horvath looked toward the Black Knights’ sidelines and waved: Goodbye, he said.
“They want to talk all their crap during the game and act like they’re so tough,” said Horvath, a senior. “Last year, the excuse was they played a conference championship game before us. This year, we’ll see what it is.
“I just think it’s the disrespect we sort of felt. Just comments they made. Just dumb. They want to talk all that crap during the game and then at the end of the game, it’s like, ‘Why’d you do this? Why’d you do that?’ You’ve got it coming. So just, you know, saying goodbye.”
Maybe even more motivated than usual for this rivalry, No. 25 Navy scored the game’s final 10 points, including the go-ahead touchdown with 6:37 to play, to score a dramatic victory.
With the win, Navy retains the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy given to the winner of the round-robin series between the Bowl Subdivision service academics for the second year in a row. The program last did so in 2012-13.
The Midshipmen and coach Brian Newberry have won 10 games in back-to-back years for the first time in program history. After nearly playing for the American championship and a potential College Football Playoff berth, Navy will face Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl.
‘It wasn’t the prettiest today,’ Newberry said. ‘A lot of mistakes, turnovers, missed opportunities. But really, really proud of our guys for finding a way. We’ve been in that situation before, and the guys didn’t flinch.’
To get past the Black Knights, Navy had to survive a series of potentially costly mistakes while leaning on a senior class headlined by Horvath, slot back Eli Heidenreich and All-America defensive tackle Landon Robinson, who keyed a defense that gave up just 27 yards in the second half.
‘Defensively, we had to adjust,’ Robinson said. ‘We had to lock in. We came together as a defense and we were able to get it done.’
After scoring on the game’s opening drive, Navy’s offense went quiet for the remainder of the first half and committed a crucial turnover to stake Army a 13-7 lead at intermission.
The Black Knights added another field goal to take a 16-7 lead after defensive back Justin Weaver intercepted Horvath early in the third quarter. Weaver originally made a 32-yard touchdown return. But in one of the game’s deciding moments, an official review showed his knee was on the ground when he made the interception. That was the first game-changing official review that went the Midshipmen’s way.
Navy added a field goal of their own later in the third quarter, capping a 13-play, 72-yard drive that saw Horvath run or pass on all but two snaps.
‘How calm he is, it’s felt by everyone,’ Heidenreich said of Horvath. ‘There are some times in this game when people would be freaking out. And it was never the case with our offense. And it all starts with him.’
The game shifted on a costly Army mistake. After forcing a Navy punt and taking over at their own 24-yard line with 11:54 left in the fourth quarter, the Black Knights gave the ball back to the Midshipmen on an interception by quarterback Cale Hellums, who missed an open receiver streaking downfield and then underthrew his intended target along the right sideline.
The Midshipmen went on a 50-yard drive capped by a Horvath touchdown pass to Heidenreich to go ahead 17-16. The touchdown was Horvath’s 10th through the air, giving him at least 10 touchdowns as a passer and a runner in each of his two seasons as the starter.
Navy’s defense then delivered a key stop on Army’s ensuing possession, drawing a holding penalty that pushed the Black Knights back near their own goal line and then nearly intercepting Hellums’ desperation third-down heave down the middle of the field.
Taking over with 4:50 play at their 38-yard line, the Midshipmen gained one first down but then nearly handed the ball back to Army after Horvath fumbled when fighting to convert a third-down run.
On further review, though, officials ruled Horvath was down by contact, leaving Navy facing fourth-and-short from the Army 40-yard line. Instead of punting, the Midshipmen went for the conversion: Horvath handed the ball to running back Alex Tecza, who bulled forward for the first down.
“The ball bounced our way a couple times,” Newberry said.
With the Black Knights out of timeouts, Navy was able to go into victory formation to seal the victory. Then Horvath waved goodbye, Army solemnly gathered for the school fight song and the Midshipmen, for the second year in a row, sang second.
‘They’ve worked their tails off,’ said Newberry. ‘They done things the right way. This group is going to leave a legacy behind that’s going to make us better moving forward.’