Horvath Out As Tulane Knocks Navy

Navy quarterback Blake Horvath was knocked out of Saturday’s game with a rib injury and back spasms early in Saturday’s game as the Tulane Green Wave pitched a 35-0 shutout in front of an announced crowd of 38,914 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

Three of the game’s first four possessions ended in three-and-outs, as both teams had difficulty getting past the first down marker. Navy began a drive with 7:24 remaining in the scoreless first quarter with a 15-yard rush up the middle by Horvath to give the Midshipmen the second first down of the game. Running back Eli Heidenreich took a hand-off over the right side for a four-yard gain, putting the ball on the Navy 46 yard line. Horvath then rushed up the middle for nine yards and was taken down by Green Wave linebacker Tyler Grubbs on the play. Horvath was slow to get up and then walked slowly to the sidelines to be looked at by the athletic training staff, where he was being treated for back spasms.

Braxton Woodson, the sophomore quarterback, then came in to run the offense. Immediately he and his offensive line were not in sync as guard Ben Purvis was hit with a false start penalty. Running back Daba Fofana ran up the middle for five-yards. Woodson rushed for a yard, and then completed a pass short right to wide receiver Luke Hutchinson for a five-yard gain. However, on 4th-and-4 from the Tulane 39-yard line, Woodson was intercepted by Tulane linebacker Sam Howard.

The Green Wave took advantage of the Navy miscue by going 63 yards on five plays. Quarterback Darian Mensah completed a pass short down the middle to wide receiver Dontae Fleming who sprinted to the Navy 19-yard line where he was brought down by cornerback Dashaun Peele after a 44-yard gain. This set up a 14-yard rush up the middle for a touchdown by Mensah. After Patrick Durkin converted the extra point, Tulane led 7-0 with 1:07 left in the first quarter.

The Midshipmen didn’t appear to have much fortune in the next possession at first. Three plays and the quarter ended with punter Riley Riethman setting up for a punt on 4th-and-4 from their 31-yard line. However, Tulane defensive back Micah Robinson jumped offsides. The five-yard penalty gave Navy the first down.

Running back Alex Tecza rushed right for an 11-yard gain, followed by a three-yard run by running back Amin Hassan to make it 2nd-and-7 at midfield. Tight End Jake Norris was flagged for a false start penalty pushing the back to their 45-yard line. Woodson and Tecza put together a robust rushing attack gaining 20 yards on the ground in the next six plays. Navy opted to go for it on 4th-and-3 from the Tulane 35-yard line. Woodson three incomplete to the Tulane 30-yard line intended for running back Brandon Chatman, but it was broken up by Green Wave safety Caleb Ransaw. Navy turned the ball over on downs with 10:12 remaining in the half.

This time it was Navy’s time to bail out Tulane. Mensah hit wide receiver Mario Williams with a short pass, which Williams stretched to a 21-yard gain into Navy territory. Running back Arnold Barnes III rushed up the middle twice for nine-yards with a Mensah incomplete pass sandwiched between. It was 4th-and-1 at the Navy 35-yard line when Mensah rushed right for two-yards for the first down. Navy picked up a holding penalty on the play advancing the ball an additional 10 yards. It was now 1st-and-10 from the Navy 23-yard line. Six plays later, running back Mahki Hughes rushed up the middle for a 14-yard touchdown run. Durkin’s extra point made it 14-0 in favor of Tulane with 4:00 left until halftime.

Horvath reentered the game for the next possession. On first down, he was immediately brought down in the backfield by linebacker Matthew Fobbs-White for a nine-yard loss. It was now 2nd-and-19 from the Navy 19-yard line and Horvath pitched to Chatman, who was hit by safety Kevin Adams III for a one-yard loss. Tecza took the next handoff up the middle for a six-yard gain and Navy was forced to punt, going three-and-out on the possession.

Tulane had two minutes to run their offense before halftime. Mensah passed short right to Fleming, who advanced 12-yards to the Tulane 40-yard line. Mensah the attempted a pass deep right to Fleming, but it was incomplete. Midshipman safety Rayuan Lane III was flagged for a pass interference penalty, giving the Green Wave a fresh set of downs at the Navy 45-yard line. Hughes rushed right for seven yards, but that was negated on the next play when Mensah was sacked by Midshipmen linebacker Colin Ramos for a seven yard loss. Mensah rushed right for six yards to the Navy 39-yard line. Punter Will Karoll booted a 27-yard punt to the Navy 12-yard line. The Green Wave held a 14-0 lead at halftime.

When play resumed in the third quarter, the Green Wave rushed up the middle repeatedly, chewing off valuable time off the clock with each snap. It started with a Mensah pass to Williams for a 13 yard gain, then Hughes ran up the middle twice. Mensah passed deep to wide receiver Shazz Preston for 27 yards, then Hughes rushed up the middle six consecutive times. Barnes III ran up the middle twice for no gain at the Navy one-yard line. With 3rd-and-goal, Hughes took the handoff and was initially hit in the backfield by Lane and Luke Pirris, but crawled over the goal line in a second effort. Durkin’s extra point gave Tulane the 21-0 lead with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter as the 13 play, 65 yard drive took 8:45 off the clock.

When Navy took over for their next possession, Woodson returned as quarterback as Horvath was listed as being out with a rib injury that he had sustained just before halftime. However, nothing that the Navy offense did seemed to work. After five plays, they gained 11 yards and Riethman came back out to punt.

After two nine-yard rushes up the middle for Arnold Barnes III, Mensah threw an incomplete pass intended for Preston. However, they were called for a holding penalty which made it 1st-and-20 from their 27-yard line. The drive ended with a Karoll punt four plays later as the third quarter came to a close.

Two penalties, a false start by Purvis and an illegal substitution hampered the Midshipmen in their next drive. In order to try to make things happen, Woodson deep right for wide receiver Nathan Kent, and then short right to Brandon Chatman, but both passes were incomplete. Riethman punted yet again.

Meanwhile, Tulane stuck to what worked – the ground game. Barnes rushed up the middle for 25 yards on two carries. Mensah passed to Williams for 12 yards. Barnes and Hughes combined for 15 yards on three carries before Mensah broke open a rush off the left side for a 22-yard gain, giving Tulane a first down at the Navy 6-yard line. Quarterback Ty Thompson came in for a play and rushed up the middle for five yards, before Mensah threw a one-yard pass to tight end Alex Bauman for the touchdown. Durkin’s extra point was good and the Green Wave now led 28-0 with 9:19 remaining in the game.

If the Midshipmen thought the game was rough so far, it just got worse. On the first play from scrimmage in their next possession, starting at their own 25-yard line, Woodson rushed on the right side and was clearing the edge when Tulane defensive end Deshaun Batiste forced a fumble. It was recovered at the Navy 20-yard line by Sam Howard, who had picked off a Woodson pass earlier in the game.

Barnes rushed up the middle for three yards and Mensah ran for 16 more but was stopped short of the goal line. Tulane challenged the call, thinking that Mensah crossed the goal line, but the call was confirmed. Mensah tossed a pass to Barnes on the next play for the touchdown. Durkin’s extra point gave the Green Wave a 35-0 lead with 7:38 left in the contest.

The Midshipmen continued to fight as best they could, but when Woodson rushed up the middle for a two yard gain midway through the drive, it would become their first and only third down completion of the game. Nonetheless, the possession ended on another Riethman punt as the Midshipmen could not find a clear path to the end zone. On their final possession, Tulane ran six plays to run the clock down and seal the victory.

“Really good win. A team win. [We were] dominant in a lot of areas against a really good football team. That’s a quality team we beat today,” said Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. “That [third quarter opening drive] dictated that we were going to finish the game the right way. That was a great start in the second half by our offense, for sure.”

Said Navy head coach Brian Newberry, “Well, we got our butts kicked. Hats off to Tulane. I knew that was a really good football team coming into this game, and they were every bit of that today. They outplayed us. They out physicaled us. Things we knew we had to do we didn’t get done. I’m really disappointed.”

The Green Wave was led by Darian Mensah, who went 10-for-14 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions. Mario Williams pulled down three receptions for 46 yards, while Dontae Fleming hauled in two passes for 56 yards. Makhi Hughes rushed 22 times for 82 yards and Arnold Barnes III carried 12 times for 62 yards. Mensah added eight carries for 57 yards on the ground in the effort. Sam Howard pulled in one interception and recovered one fumble for the defense.

“There’s no better feeling than to be the guy to lead your team to victory. I’ve been wanting this since I was a little kid. All I can do is thank God,” said Mensah. “I fell that those boys up front have been dominating all year, so I give them a lot of credit for why we have been playing so well offensively.”

Braxton Woodson went 3-for-10 in passing for 13 yards and one interception for the Midshipmen. Luke Hutchinson hauled in two receptions for eight yards, and Alex Tecza pulled down one for five yards. Tecza led the ground effort with seven carries for 31 yards, Blake Horvath carried five times for 25 yards and Woodson rushed 13 times for 24 yards.

“It was a lack of execution. We really couldn’t get things going. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties with false starts and things like that, turnovers as well,” said Woodson. “Against a good opponent, you don’t really give yourself a chance if you have turnovers and penalties.”

The Tulane Green Wave (9-2, 7-0) have a bye week before hosting the Memphis Tigers at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving. They will face the Army Black Knights (9-0, 7-0) for the AAC championship on Friday Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET at a location yet to be determined. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

Navy (7-3, 5-2) also has a bye week before they head to a Noon ET matchup at East Carolina (6-4, 4-2) on Friday Nov. 29. They wrap up their season on Dec. 14 in the 125th Annual Army-Navy game at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. at 3 p.m. ET.