BIRMINGHAM-- Navy has shown big-play ability this season, but one thing that they haven’t seen as much of is the methodical, time-consuming drives they’re known for. They got a little of both today. The Mids had drives of seven and 14 plays in the first half before Blake Horvath found Nathan Kent for a 77-yard bomb to open up a 21-3 lead. Navy (4-0, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) never looked back on the way to a 41-18 win over UAB (1-3, 0-1) at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. Horvath had another stellar performance, with 309 total yards and three touchdowns. Justin Reed led the defense with seven tackles, two sacks, and three TFLs, while Rayaun Lane added 12 tackles. UAB quarterback Jacob Zeno had 202 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Navy coach Brian Newberry was pleased how his team responded after last week’s win over Memphis.
“I talked to them last night about this being a trap game, coming off of one of the biggest ones we’ve had around here for five years. We’ve got the Air Force game on the horizon, six weeks exams, a lot of things going on. First road game against a team that plays historically really, really well at home. It's a big-time football team, so I was really proud. That's a big-time win for us.”
UAB took the opening drive into Navy territory but couldn’t score. Running back Lee Beebe Jr. had an 18-yard run that moved the Blazers to midfield. Then, a pass interference penalty on Lane gave them the ball at the Navy 40. Facing fourth and three on the 33, though, defensive tackle Landon Robinson broke through the offensive line to sack Zeno for a six-yard loss.
Navy took over and marched 61 yards on seven plays for a touchdown. Colby Dempsey was called for a pass interference penalty that moved Navy to the UAB 25. Two plays later, Horvath took an option keeper over the right side for 20 yards to give the Mids an early lead. It was the first score on the opening possession for Navy this year.
The Blazers moved into Navy territory again on their second possession, converting on fourth and one from their 49. The drive stalled after the conversion, though. Lane broke up a pass on first down, and after Colin Ramos forced third and long with a tackle for loss on the next play, Justin Reed then sacked Zeno for a loss of six yards. UAB was forced to punt.
Reed had a career day for the Mids.
“I was just glad I could be able to make those plays and be in a position that my team trusted me to go out there and help out our team in any way,” he said. “It was a great feeling to be able to do things like that, and I'm glad I was able to do that for my team. I just want to be able to contribute.”
After taking over on their 16 yard line, Navy launched a methodical 14-play drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock, ending with Tecza rumbling six yards into the end zone. The Mids would have faced fourth and short from the UAB 28, but a personal foul on the Blazers moved the ball half the distance to the goal, and Tecza scored two plays later. Nathan Kirkwood’s PAT made it 14-0 Navy.
UAB responded with a long drive of their own, getting a field goal to make the score 14-3 with 1:11 left in the half. Zeno extended the drive with his legs, picking up a third and five on a scramble. He also had a key completion on fourth and three from the Navy 31. The drive stalled, though, when his pass to Iverson Hooks fell short on third and four, and Jonah Delange put the ball through the uprights from 35 yards out on fourth down.
The Mids took possession from their 25 and lost two yards on an option pitch. With 40 seconds left before halftime, Nathan Kent got loose behind the secondary. Horvath found him over the middle and the long-striding receiver took it from there scoring from 77 yards out to give Navy a 21-3 lead at the break.
“We knew they loved to go cover one a lot, and when you've got an Olympic sprinter running a post route, you're going to give him a chance,” said Horvath. “Kent got held a little bit in the beginning. I just liked his space, though, and I just put it up to make a play, which he did. I'm really happy for him.”
Another big passing play on the opening drive of the third quarter blew the game open for Navy. Facing third and nine from the 26, Horvath faked right before throwing a screen pass to Eli Heidenreich on the left flank. The snipe took the ball 74 yards to the end zone, and Navy had a 28-3 lead only 1:24 into the second half. There was a flag thrown for an illegal crackback block, but after a short discussion, the officials waived off the penalty.
UAB advanced to the Blazer 44 on the ensuing drive, but a false start on third and five set them back five more yards and they couldn’t complete a third and ten pass. They punted and Navy took possession at their 23-yard line. They moved to the UAB 28 but had to settle for a 45-yard Kirkwood field goal, which made it 31-3.
The Blazers finally showed some life on their next possession. Zeno found Hooks on a post route over the middle from 39 yards out to finally get UAB into the end zone with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter. The Blazers made the two-point conversion but were called for pass interference and had to settle for kicking the extra point, which made it 31-10 Navy.
UAB had a chance to make it a two-score game late in the third quarter, but Mbiti Williams Jr. intercepted a deep Zeno pass at the five-yard line to end the threat.
“We gave up a big play and a quick score, which you can't do in that situation,” said Newberry. We got to close down the middle of the field and had a mental bust there. But it's like the week before. There were some breakdowns, we got on our heels a little bit, and somebody found a way to make a play. Last week it was Ray Lane. This week it was Mbiti making a really good play right there.”
The Mids then drove 94 yards on eight plays, with Daba Fofana running through arm tackles for the last 16 yards to score. Navy had a 38-10 lead with 10:32 to play, but UAB wasn’t done fighting. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Zeno found Terrell McDonald for a 67-yard catch and run that brought the Blazers to the Navy 8. Beebe punched it in two plays later, and after the two-point conversion it was 38-18.
They wouldn’t get any closer. The Mids took the ball with 9:09 to play and ran off almost seven minutes of game time, driving 46 yards on 12 plays to score on a 46-yard Kirkwood field goal. After converting on fourth and one near midfield, Newberry brought in the reserves, who ran the next seven plays. After the kick, it was 41-18 with 2:14 remaining. UAB drove the field against the Navy second team, but cornerback Justin Ross intercepted a Zeno pass at the goal line on the game’s final play.
Overall, Newberry was pleased with his teams effort, but feels like they can do even more.
“I think this tells me a little more about our team than even the previous week did,” he said. “I’m just really excited for our players and proud of the work. Going back to six weeks [exams], it’s always been a hard week for us. I got them out on Monday and they went to work prepared like it was every other week. We were able to compartmentalize.
“The great thing is we can be a lot better offensively and defensively. We’ve got to clean up some perimeter blocking, got a lot of missed assignments. Defensively, block destruction, tackling. I thought was not up to par today. There’s things we got to get better at, but I’m really proud.”
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