Blake Horvath hadn’t just been hearing it all game. He’d heard it for years.
The Navy quarterback watched from the backfield as running back Alex Tecza picked up the game-sealing first down, securing the Midshipmen’s 17-16 victory in the 126th Army-Navy Game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Horvath sprinted upfield in celebration before turning to the Black Knights’ sideline and waving goodbye in a release of pent-up emotion.
“They want to talk all their crap during the game and act like they’re so tough,” said Horvath, a senior playing in his penultimate college football game. “The excuse last year was that they played a conference championship game before us and then this year, we’ll see what it is. But I just think it’s — the disrespect we sort of felt the entire time I’ve been here from them, just comments made.”
Navy picks up the first down and the celebration is on. pic.twitter.com/VpGOKKfJE2
— CBS Sports College Football
(@CBSSportsCFB) December 13, 2025
A few kneel-downs later, the final whistle blew and the Midshipmen rushed the field. But some shoving between the Navy offense and Army defense forced the two sides to be separated before retreating to their respective corners for the singing of their alma maters.
“There’s a lot of emotion around this game,” Army senior linebacker and team captain Andon Thomas said. “There were a couple of shoves here and there. Probably got out of hand. It’s not a good representation of who we are. But, you know, it got out of hand. The emotions are high, especially when you lose. But it’s just kind of part of the game.”
Horvath took exception to Army’s reaction after the game, making a jab at the Black Knights’ specialty jerseys and doubling down on his goodbye wave.
“They want to talk all their crap during the game and then at the end of the game, act like, ‘Oh, why are you doing this? Why are you doing this?’ Like, yeah, you got it coming,” Horvath said. “So, just saying goodbye. Capping off another [Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy] win. They can go and work on it again. Whatever the date of the game is next year, they’ll put that on the back of their jerseys.”
Horvath overcame several mistakes in the game — including two turnovers — to help guide Navy to the comeback victory. The Hilliard, Ohio, native threw the game-winning touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal with 6:32 left to play, firing a slant to slot receiver Eli Heidenreich to give the Midshipmen their first lead since early in the second quarter.
In a physical game typical of the run-heavy matchups Army-Navy provides, the Black Knights rebounded from an early 7-0 hole to jump out in front 16-7 advantage midway through the third quarter. But Horvath capped off his already historic Navy career with two scoring drives in the fourth quarter to finish a perfect 4-0 against his fellow service academies.
“This is the hardest-fought game that there is,” Army coach Todd Monken said. “It’s hard for both teams. At the end when they know it’s over and they had it won — things are being said — hand gestures are being made … everybody gets pissed off. They’re pissed. We’re pissed. This happens and so it’s hard when you have all of this emotion and you put so much into the game.
“I don’t think anything came of it. Just high emotion. It’s the hardest fought game there is. Nobody wants to win the game, a game, any game, more than the guys on the field today.”
Navy coach Brian Newberry echoed similar sentiments.
“I didn’t think it felt like a chippy game outside of the norm,” Newberry said. “The emotions are high and this is as fierce of a rivalry as there is, but I think there’s a mutual respect, overarching mutual respect, that makes this rivalry a little different. I don’t know what happened after the game, I have no idea. I’d be surprised if one of our guys started that.”
Reporter David Ausiello contributed to this report. Have a news tip? Contact Matt Weyrich at mweyrich@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/ByMattWeyrich and instagram.com/bymattweyrich.