The Battle Between Two Branches; Land In The Midshipmen’s favor
LANDOVER, MD– Blake Horvath, junior for the Naval Academy, stunned the crowd with a star studded performance. Horvath absolutely dominated in yesterday’s game, and it was everything the Navy was going to need from him to beat a talented No. 22 ranked Army team.
Astonishing Atmosphere
From the get-go, the atmosphere was second to none. This classic rivalry between two military branches brought all the energy that was needed. Going into the game, Army were the favorites, but in a classic rivalry the rankings went out the window and the Naval Academy proved that to be true. Time and time again, we see the favorites go under in these close-knit matches.
Key Highlights
The struggles came offensively for the Black Knights. Too many turnovers on the offensive side allowed for the Midshipmen to gain tremendous field position, which resulted in scoring. Bryson Daily, quarterback for the Black Knights, completed less than half his passes [7/16- 48.3%] and threw for only 1 touchdown while committing 3 interceptions. In a fast and aggressive game like yesterday’s you simply cannot throw less than 50% completion with 3 interceptions and expect to win a rivalry game.
On the other side of the field though, the star studded performance from the Navy’s Junior Quarterback, Blake Horvath, shined when the lights were brightest. Horvath threw for 100+ yards and a touchdown, but on the rushing side he rushed for 204 yards over 25 carries with 2 touchdowns. Horvath completely exposed the Black Knights run defense and was able to run all over them throughout the game. The play of the day, passing wise, came from Horvath as well as he threw a 52 yard seed to the Midshipmen’s running back, Eli Heidenreich, for a touchdown.
The Midshipmen never lost control of this game, they continued to slam their foot on the gas and they never showed any means of stopping. This is the play style we saw from the Academy all year, but this by far is one of their more meaningful games as it came from their brothers in one of the other branches.
A true classic, and the wins and awards keep tacking on for the Midshipmen. After winning the Joe Moore Award- which goes to the nation’s top offensive line- and winning a conference title, they can now add this game to their extended resume.
Looking Into The Future
Army: Faces Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl on December 28. Which is a new opponent for the Black Knights after Marshall recently backed out of the game. Army is still hopeful they can stay within the AP’s top 25 ranked teams and capture a bowl victory.
Navy: Is set to face off against Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl on December 27, and they look to continue to add to their remarkable resume to complete their historic 2024 season.
Cameron Williams
DiSportsPhotoAgency
Senior Writer
