[Baltimore Sun] No. 25 Navy football routs Charlotte, 51-17, to become 6-0 for first time since 1979
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Navy football made more history, reached more milestones and accomplished more goals Saturday in Annapolis. It took the Midshipmen just over one quarter of play to make it happen.
A trio of seniors — cornerback Dashaun Peele, safety Ray Lane and inside linebacker Kyle Jacob — led the charge as No. 25 Navy forced four first-half turnovers and the offense took advantage of short fields in building a huge early lead and rolling to a 51-17 rout of Charlotte.
Peele had interception returns of 61 and 84 yards as the Midshipmen forced five turnovers for the game. The Norfolk, Virginia, native is the first player in program history to deliver a pair of pick sixes in the same game.
Fullback Alex Tecza scored three touchdowns in the first quarter alone and Peele highlighted the first-half takeaway fest for the defense with his 61-yard interception return off a pass from backup quarterback Trexler Ivey as the Midshipmen raced out to a 38-0 lead and never looked back.
Lane recorded an interception and a forced fumble, while Jacob contributed an interception and fumble recovery for unbeaten Navy (6-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference), which became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2019.
Charlotte (3-4, 2-1) committed two turnovers on the first play of a consecutive possessions and a third turnover on the third play of the next. Navy scored 17 points off those takeaways with a pair of touchdown drives covering just 17 and 38 yards.
The Midshipmen are off to a 6-0 start for the first time since 1979 and only the seventh time in program history.
Junior quarterback Blake Horvath had another strong outing for Navy, completing 7 of 13 passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns. Tecza totaled 68 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries and also caught a 46-yard touchdown pass. Junior snipe Eli Heidenreich had three catches for 36 yards.
Inside linebacker Colin Ramos led the way with 11 tackles and Lane added nine (seven solo) for the Mids, who limited the 49ers to 187 total yards in the first half.
An announced sellout crowd of 35,094 on homecoming had barely settled into the seats at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium when Tecza took a handoff and burst through a huge hole on the right side for a 26-yard gain on an inside zone play.
Two plays later, Tecza snuck out of the backfield and found himself wide-open along the left sideline. Horvath hit Tecza in stride and the speedy fullback outraced two chasing defenders for a 46-yard catch and run to give Navy a 7-0 lead with less than two minutes elapsed in the game.
Charlotte picked up just one first down on its opening possession and a 13-yard punt by Michael O’Shaughnessy gave Navy great starting position at midfield. Horvath and company only needed five plays to cover that distance with Heidenreich catching a 14-yard pass and Tecza capping the drive with a 12-yard run to increase the advantage to 14-0 just past the midway mark of the opening period.
Charlotte starting quarterback Max Brown then made a major mistake on the first play of the subsequent possession, throwing the ball over the middle right into the arms of Jacob, who held on for his first career interception at the 17-yard line.
Navy only needed three plays to punch the ball into the end zone from there with Tecza getting 10 yards on first down then plowing across the goal line from 2 yards out. Kicker Nathan Kirkwood made his third extra point and suddenly it was 21-0 with 6:20 to go in the first quarter.
Tailback Hahsaun Wilson fumbled on the first play of Charlotte’s next possession with Lane ripping the ball out and Jacob falling on it at the 45. It appeared the Mids would tack on another touchdown after Horvath completed a 20-yard pass to Heidenreich on first down, but the drive stalled and coach Brian Newberry settled for a 22-yard field goal by Kirkwood that made it 24-0 with just over three minutes remaining in the first frame.
Things only got progressively worse for Charlotte with Brown throwing another interception on third down of its next possession. Outside linebacker Jaxson Campbell pressured Brown into a hurried throw and the ball went directly to Lane, who made an impressive pick by batting the ball down with one hand and then snagging it with two while falling to the ground.
That turnover set up the Mids at the Charlotte 38 and six plays later Horvath connected with tight end Cody Howard for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Horvath eluded a near sack by escaping the pocket then dumped the ball off to Howard, who cut sharply to avoid a defender and barreled into the end zone to make it 31-0.
Navy’s early onslaught continued on the subsequent possession with Peele reading the quarterback’s eyes, stepping in front of the intended receiver along the left sideline and racing untouched into the end zone to give the Midshipmen a commanding 38-0 lead at the 10:24 mark of the second quarter.
Charlotte finally got on the board thanks to a 79-yard kickoff return by Wilson, but even that felt like a bit of a letdown. After starting at the Navy 16, the 49ers could not pick up a first down and settled for a 39-yard field goal by Stephen Rusnak.
It was all academic from there with the only drama being what the final score and statistics would be.
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Game notes
• Horvath had several notable accomplishments in the contest, including becoming the first Navy quarterback to throw three touchdown passes in the same game since Keenan Reynolds did so in his first career start against Central Michigan in 2012.
• Horvath has 10 touchdown passes through six games, three shy of the single-season record set by Ricky Dobbs in 2010. Horvath has thrown for 100 yards or more in six straight games, tying a school record set by Jim Kubiak in 1984.
• Peele set a single-game school record with 145 yards worth of interception returns.
• Charlotte freshman quarterback Deshawn Purdie reportedly did not play because of an injury suffered against East Carolina. Hunter Bailey, who covers the 49ers for the Charlotte Observer, reported that Purdie hurt his non-throwing hand in the Oct. 5 contest but played through it. According to Bailey, Purdie, who led Milford Mill to the Class 2A state championship with an undefeated record, underwent surgery during the bye week.
This article will be updated.
No. 25 Navy vs. No. 12 Notre Dame
At MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Saturday, noon
TV: ABC or ESPN
Radio: 1430 AM
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