2025 marks PressBox’s ninth annual Best Of edition celebrating the top people, performances and moments of the year.
The COVID-19 era wasn’t particularly kind to Navy football. The Midshipmen went 11-23 from 2020-2022, struggling to compete against teams that had access to players with extra eligibility and transfers who no longer had to sit out a year. So when longtime coach Ken Niumatalolo was fired following the 2022 season, it was easy to wonder what direction the program was heading.
Then-athletic director Chet Gladchuk opted to promote defensive coordinator Brian Newberry to head coach, a decision that has paid serious dividends. The Mids went 5-7 in Newberry’s first year as coach, but in 2024, they went 10-3 and brought home the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. The 2025 season has been another hugely successful one for Navy, which won 10 of its first 12 games of the season and retained the CIC Trophy behind seniors like Brandon Chatman, Eli Heidenreich, Blake Horvath, Landon Robinson and Alex Tecza.
The Mids can’t augment the roster via the transfer portal, build around fifth- and sixth-year veterans or offer NIL opportunities to players. They have found a way to not just make it work but excel.
“These days with the transfer portal, certainly we have guys who could have put their name in there and had some options and been able to make some money,” Newberry told PressBox prior to the 2025 season. “But they see the value in a degree from the Naval Academy, they love their brothers here. They know that while we don’t do NIL and those kinds of things here, the NIL here is on the back end of getting that degree and serving their country and it’s something that’s going to last them for the rest of their lives.”
Best Engine
The best Navy squads of recent vintage were powered by Ricky Dobbs, Malcolm Perry, Keenan Reynolds and Will Worth. You can now add Blake Horvath to that list. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound quarterback had thrown for 1,390 yards and nine touchdowns and run for 1,040 yards and 14 scores heading into the Mids’ game against Army on Dec. 13. He became the first Navy quarterback to ever throw for 1,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, operating coordinator Drew Cronic’s hybrid Wing-T offense to perfection.
Best Celebration
What’s better than recording a single-game program-record 243 receiving yards? How about celebrating one of your touchdowns with your father? That was the case for Navy slot back Eli Heidenreich after he scored a 60-yard touchdown to give the Midshipmen a 31-24 lead against Air Force in October. Heidenreich’s dad David was standing behind the end zone with some friends. “As I’m running up, I kind of see a few of them and I knew kind of what they were wearing, so I jumped right up, and he was right there,” said Heidenreich, who claimed the program’s all-time receiving yards record later in the season. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It was a really special moment. He was smacking me on my helmet.”
Best Decision
Navy fell behind, 31-24, with 1:16 left in regulation at Temple in October … only for quarterback Blake Horvath to run for a 51-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 with 39 seconds left. That left head coach Brian Newberry with a decision: Kick an extra point and play for overtime, or go for two and the win in regulation? Newberry chose the latter. The Mids initially showed an unusual formation, forcing the Owls to burn their final timeout. The two-point conversation was successful when Horvath rolled right and found senior running back Alex Tecza in the end zone for a 32-31 lead, a score that held up.
Best Relief Appearance
Navy football was trying to stay in the American Conference championship chase in November when star quarterback Blake Horvath was twice forced to leave the Mids’ game against South Florida in the second half due to cramping. Backup Braxton Woodson was called on to help get Navy to the finish line, and he did just that by running for 20- and 64-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a 41-38 victory. “I didn’t flinch. I was able to just go in and execute,” Woodson said after the game.
Best Thanksgiving
This season marked the first time Navy played on Thanksgiving since it defeated VMI in … 1898! The Mids celebrated with a 28-17 win at Memphis. The victory was highlighted by a vintage Navy second half in which the Mids held the ball for 23:22 — seniors Blake Horvath and Alex Tecza ran for touchdowns — and shut out the Tigers. The Mids sacked quarterback Brendon Lewis four times in the second half, highlighted by senior outside linebacker Luke Pirris getting to Lewis on two consecutive plays.
Best Fumble Recoveries
Down 16-10 in the fourth quarter of its annual rivalry game against Army in December, Navy had second-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Blake Horvath attempted to sneak for a touchdown but fumbled instead. Eli Heidenreich recovered the fumble, then caught the game-winning touchdown two plays later. The Mids were trying to put the game away on their next possession when Horvath briefly lost the ball upon being hit. The ball popped up in the air and Horvath caught it to set up fourth-and-1. Alex Tecza converted it to close out a 17-16 win in Baltimore.
See Also:
• Glenn Clark: Not Everyone Gets Army-Navy, But The Rest Of Us Know Better
• How Blake Horvath Remains Cool, Calm And Collected For Navy Football
• Navy Football’s Eli Heidenreich: Leaping Into Dad’s Arms ‘Really Special Moment’
• Navy QB Braxton Woodson On Staying Ready As Backup, Path To Annapolis
Photo Credits: Kenya Allen/PressBox
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