Navy Puts Up 56, Shocks Memphis

The Memphis Tigers should have won. They had possession of the ball for 35:55 minutes compared to 24:05 for Navy. They had 659 total yards of offense compared to 566 for the Midshipmen. They were even 9.5 point favorites before the game. Yet when it was over, the Navy Midshipmen managed a shocking 56-44 victory over the heavy favorites in front of 31,268 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. on Saturday afternoon.

It seemed like everything was going according to expectation on the first possession. Memphis received the kickoff and marched 65-yards down field.  Quarterback Seth Henigan found wide receiver Roc Taylor downfield for a 22-yard pick up on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and later hit receiver Demeer Blankumsee for an additional 13 yard which helped set up a seven yard run up the middle by running back Mario Anderson Jr., for a touchdown. Kicker Caden Costa hit the extra point to give the visiting Memphis Tigers the early 7-0 lead with 11:13 left in the opening quarter.

In the meantime, Navy, led by quarterback Blake Horvath, went three-and-out on its first possession with a one-yard run and a sack for -8 yards to net -7 yards on their opening drive, forcing Riley Riethman to come on to punt.

Memphis didn’t fare any better on their second possession. Blankumsee was hit with a false start on their first play, making for a 1st-and-15 from their 33-yard line. Henigan hit Anderson for a one-yard gain, and then the quarterback scrambled for 10 yards before Joshua Sloan came on to punt on 4th-and-4.

The Midshipmen got things rolling on their second possession. Horvath was able to hit tight end Thomas Scully up the middle for a 20-yard pass, the first career catch for the 6-2 senior from Austin, Texas. Running back Eli Heidenreich scampered on the left side for a 16-yard gain. On the 10th play of the drive, Horvath rushed on the right side for a five-yard touchdown run. Kicker Nathan Kirkwood made the extra point and the game was tied 7-7 with 3:11 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers didn’t take long to answer. On 2nd-and-3 from the Memphis 43, running back Brandon Thomas took the handoff from Henigan and broke a run up the middle into the open field for a 57-yard touchdown. Costa’s extra point was good, and Memphis went up 14-7 with 1:21 left in the first frame. The Tigers went 75 yards on four plays in just under two minutes.

Navy was not to be outdone. They started on their own 25-yard line. Running back Brandon Chatman rushed right for three-yards. Then Horvath found Chatman on a deep pass for a 27-yard gain. Heidenreich rushed to the right for a six-yard gain to the Memphis 45-yard line when the quarter came to a close. On the first play of the second quarter, Horvath hit Heidenreich for a 39-yard touchdown pass. Kirkwood’s extra point tied the score 14-14 with 14:54 left in the half. The Midshipmen marched 75 yards on four plays in 1:27.

The Tigers mishandled the kickoff, forcing them to start at their own four-yard line. Thomas ran up the middle for one yard, and Henigan was sacked by Midshipmen linebacker Colin Ramos for a one-yard loss. Sloan kicked a 48-yard punt to the Navy 48-yard line where Heidenreich called for the fair catch.

Running back Isaiah Bryant rushed for a 36-yard gain that would have put the Midshipmen deep into Tiger territory, but it was called back after wide receiver Luke Hutchison was called for holding. On the next play, running back Alex Tecza ran up the middle for a 19-yard gain, followed by a 13-yard pass play from Tecza to the quarterback Horvath. On the seventh play of the drive, Chatman rushed to the right for a 12-yard touchdown score. The Kirkwood extra point was good making the score 21-14 in favor of the Midshipmen with 9:37 left in the half.

Memphis started the next drive on their 25-yard line. A 22-yard pass up the middle from Henigan to Roc Taylor was the longest play of the drive. Henigan worked the offense in small chunks between two and six-yards at a time. After 15 plays and 7:23 off the clock, the Tigers had to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Costa. That made the score 21-17 in favor of Navy with 2:14 left before the midgame break.

Horvath didn’t waste any time in getting the offense going. After a three-yard rush by running back Daba Fofana, Horvath broke open a 46-yard run up the middle, spinning twice through traffic to extend the play, getting tackled deep into the Tigers territory. Four short yardage plays and an incomplete pass later, Horvath hit Heidenreich for a 14-yard pass on the right that brought the Midshipmen to the three-yard line. Horvath ran it in on the next play for the touchdown. After Kirkwood’s extra point, Navy led 28-17 at the half.

After the going three-and-out in the first possession, Navy scored four consecutive touchdowns in the first half.

When play resumed, Navy began with the ball on their 25-yard line. Chatman rushed left for two yards, then rushed right for nine more. Horvath hit Heidenreich for a nine-yard pass, then Tecza ran up the middle for nine more. On 1st-and-10 from the Memphis 46-yard line, Horvath hit Chatman for a short pass on the left side at the 31-yard line, which he took all the way to the end zone. Kirkwood’s extra point made it 35-17 with 12:24 left in the third quarter of this high scoring affair.

It may have looked like Memphis was going to roll over, but the Tigers didn’t believe that. They knew they still had a second half of football to play. Henigan passed to wide receiver Koby Drake for a 23-yard gain, and then a deep pass down the middle to Roc Taylor for a 37-yard touchdown. Costa’s extra point brought the score to 35-24 in favor of Navy with 10:37 left in the third quarter. It was Henigan’s 41st consecutive game with a touchdown pass.

Navy ran into difficulty on their next possession. After hitting tight end Cody Howard with a 23-yard reception, and watching running back Amin Hassan run up the middle for 15 yards, the Tiger defense stopped the Midshipmen from running up the middle, forcing Riethman to come on to punt the ball to the Memphis five-yard line.

At first the Tigers were playing to additional field position as Thomas rushed up the middle twice for five yards and 11 yards respectively. Henigan hit wide receiver Jyaire Shorter over the middle for a 21-yard gain. Thomas rushed up the middle for 19 more yards on two carries. Navy cornerback Andrew Duhart was called for a facemasking penalty. On the 12th and final play of the drive, Anderson rushed up the middle for a five-yard touchdown run, capping a 95-yard drive that took 5:28 off the clock. Instead of bringing on Costa for the extra point, the Tigers opted for a two-point conversion. Henigan threw a pass intended for Roc Taylor, but Duhart knocked it away. The score was 35-30 in favor of Navy with 1:11 left in the third quarter.

The Midshipmen didn’t take long to make their attack. On the first play from scrimmage, from their own 25-yard line, Heidenreich rushed for a six-yard carry. Then Horvath took off up the middle for a 69-yard touchdown run. However, the replay official ruled that Horvath stepped out of bounds at the nine-yard line for a 60 yard gain instead. After Tecza rushed up the middle for two yards, Horvath took the ball into the end zone on a seven-yard touchdown run. Kirkwood’s extra point made it 42-30 in favor of Navy with 14:56 left in the game.

Not used to playing from behind this late in the game, the pressure was mounting on Memphis. Henigan was able to connect with Drake for a 16-yard reception. Then Anderson took the ball up the middle for 11 yards. Henigan hit Drake for another 16-yarder into Navy territory. On first-and-goal from the 10-yard line, Thomas rushed up the middle for no gain and then lost the ball. Defensive tackle Kendall Whiteside forced the fumble for Navy, but it was recovered by Memphis tight end Brendan Doyle at the 10-yard line. After two incomplete passes, the Tigers decided to go for it on fourth down. It was Duhart who stepped in for Navy again and deflected the pass away from Taylor for a turnover on downs. After 14 plays and 64 yards, Memphis came away empty while in the red zone.

It took one play from Navy to end up in the end zone. Horvath found a seam while running through the offensive line and shortly found himself in an open field sprint for 90-yards for the touchdown score. Kirkwood’s extra point made it 49-30 in favor of Navy with 8:22 left in the contest.

The Tigers still didn’t give up. Anderson rushed up the middle for 37 yards. Then Shorter caught a 34-yard reception from Henigan but was wiped away when the replay official determined that he landed out of bounds at the two-yard line. Two plays later Henigan passed deep to Marcello Bussey for a 36-yard touchdown. Again Memphis tried a two-point conversion and failed as the pass went to the back of the end zone. It was now 49-38 with 6:49 remaining.

In order to get back into the game, the Tigers tried an onside kick. It was recovered by Tecza, giving Navy excellent field position near midfield. After three running plays, the Midshipmen were faced with 4th-and-1 at the Memphis 38-yard line and decided to go for it. Just after the offensive line got set, right guard Cam Nichols flinched and got called for the false start. Riethman came onto the field to punt it away.

Memphis began their next drive on their own 20-yard line. Running the no huddle offense out of the shotgun formation, Henigan masterfully led the Tiger offense on yet another sustained drive. He hit Drake for 12 yards, then Anderson for eight more. A short pass up the middle to Bussey gained six more yards, then a strike to Shorter for a 26-yard gain. After 12 plays, it was 4th–and-goal at the one-yard line, the situation that football players dream about being in when they are children. Henigan hikes the ball and hands it off to Anderson who went airborne over the goal line for the one-yard touchdown. Anderson limped off the field, but the touchdown was secured. They tried another two-point conversion and this one, a Henigan pass to Drake at the back of the end zone, ended up with the same result as the previous two attempts. Drake was unable to haul it in before going out-of-bounds. The 13-play 80 yard drive took 3:03 off the clock. Navy led 49-44 with just 1:22 left in regulation.

Costa tried another onside kick and this time it was successful and Memphis retained possession. Henigan had 82 seconds to drive 54-yards and the Tigers could win the game. Anderson rushed up the middle for eight yards. Henigan threw an incomplete pass intended for Blankumsee, then dumped off three short passes for less than ten yards each.

With 1st-and-10 on the Navy 26-yard line, Henigan took a bad pass from center, picked it up and threw it away avoiding a sack in the process. On the next play, Navy safety Rayuan Lane III picked off Henigan’s pass at the 14-yard line and ran it back 86 yards for the pick-six touchdown. He even lingered inbounds to let the clock tick down a few extra seconds before crossing the plane of the goal line for the touchdown. Kirkwood’s eighth and final extra point of the game was good making the score 56-44 in favor of the Midshipmen with just 23 seconds left in regulation.

Navy kicked a squib kick to try to take some time off the clock which set up Memphis near midfield. Freshman quarterback Harris Boyd came in for one play, a short pass up the middle to wide receiver Brady Kluse for a 14-yard gain. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on offensive lineman Jonah Gambill pushed the Tigers back to midfield. Henigan returned for a 13-yard pass to Kluse who ran out-of-bounds at the 36-yard line with one second left. Henigan tried a Hail Mary pass that was broken up at the one-yard line. The final score was 56-44 in favor of the Navy Midshipmen.

Blake Horvath went 9-for-12 with 192 passing yards, two sacks and two touchdowns for the Midshipmen. Alex Tecza was 1-for-1 with 13 passing yards, while Eli Heidenreich was 0-1 passing with no yards.

Horvath led Navy in rushing with 12 carries for 211 yards and four touchdowns. Tecza carried 10 times for 58 yards; Heidenreich carried six times for 41 yards; and Brandon Chatman finished with five carries for 24 yards and one touchdown.

Heidenreich led Navy with 4 receptions for 68 yards and one touchdown; while Chatman pitched in for three carries, 81 yards and one touchdown.

“I’m exhausted – physically and emotionally. First of all, hat’s off to Memphis. That’s a really good football team. They’re going to win a lot of games moving forward,” said Navy head coach Brian Newberry. “I’m really really happy for our players. They deserve a win like this. It’s a monumental win for our program and the things we want to do.”

“It’s definitely a statement. This is a team that was picked to win our conference, a team that won 10 games a year ago and have a lot of people back. It’s a game you need to win if you want to win the conference. It’s a breakthrough win for us,” Newberry added while noting that there is more work to do in order to get ready for their next opponent.

Seth Henigan went 32-for-56 for 371 yards passing for Memphis with one interception, one sack and two touchdowns. Harris Boyd went 1-for-1 for 14 yards in his only play of the game.

Mario Anderson Jr., carried the bulk of the rushing duties for the Tigers with 17 carries for 117 yards and three touchdowns. Brandon Thomas added 12 carries for 125 yards and one touchdown.

Koby Drake paced Memphis with nine receptions for 102 yards, while Roc Taylor added six receptions for 100 yards and one touchdown.

“Clearly not the night we wanted in any way, shape or form. It hurts. It’s painful. It’s frustrating. A lot of work to be done. [I’m] really, really, not happy with the result,” said Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield. “It’s my fault. Point the finger at me. Obviously I didn’t have them prepared and we got to find ways to be better. Clearly we had no answer.”

Memphis now leads the all-time series 6-4, though the loss broke the six-game streak of road wins for the Tigers.

Navy has won five consecutive home games and this is the first time they’ve had a 3-0 start to the season since 2017. The 143 points scored by the Midshipmen in the first three games of the 2024 season is the most since 1918 when they scored 150 points in that span that year.

The Navy Midshipmen (3-0 overall, 2-0 conference) visits the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers (1-2 overall, 0-0 conference) on Saturday for a Noon ET game. The Memphis Tigers (3-1, 0-1 conference) host the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (1-3 overall, 0-1 conference) at 7:30 p.m. ET also on Saturday.