ANNAPOLIS— Dashaun Peele set a school record with two interceptions returned for a touchdown, and the defense forced five turnovers overall to carry #25 Navy (6-0, 4-0 AAC) to a 51-17 win over the visiting Charlotte 49ers (3-4, 2-1).
"With a lot of injured players back, and the quarterback back today, you knew it was going to be a challenge," said Navy head coach Brian Newberry. "I'm really proud of the way we played on the defensive side of the football today."
Navy's defensive performance came at the perfect time, as the offense had trouble moving the ball consistently. Charlotte outgained the Mids, 363-288. However, Navy rarely had far to go, with an average starting field position of their own 44-yard line thanks to the turnovers. Quarterback Blake Horvath finished with 117 yards and three touchdowns on 7-13 passing, while Alex Tecza ran for 68 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
With the win, Navy is now bowl-eligible for the first time since 2019. It's their first 6-0 start since 1979. It's also the first time since 2019 that Navy has scored 50 or more points twice in a season.
Navy opened the scoring with a 46-yard pass from Horvath to Tecza. On third and nine, Tecza was uncovered in the left flat and up the sideline to the end zone. The fullback started the drive with a 26-yard run on an option dive on the game's first play.
"It was a good play call," Tecza said of his touchdown. "It was just a little swing pass. I think I was the second read on that. As soon as I started running the route, I knew I was going to be open. I think all the defenders tracked over to the other side of the field, and no one had the angle on me."
The fast start was important for the Navy offense.
"We really put an emphasis on the fast start and getting off to a good start with our offense," said Horvath. "We went a lot of games not being able to get any points in that first drive. And so being able to start off really fast with a great run by Alex and then to be able to capitalize on a great play call, and them being a little bit aggressive defensively, I think that was really big. And then it helps the defense out, allows them to play more free and do some things now that it's not a tie game anymore."
Charlotte picked up a first down on their first possession after a pass interference penalty on Rayuan Lane, but that was all they could do. Justin Reed sacked Max Brown for a seven-yard loss on second and nine, and Brown couldn't scramble for the first down on the next play. Michael O'Shaughnessy's punt only went 13 yards, giving Navy the ball at midfield.
The Mids only needed five plays to score again. This time, Tecza did it on the ground, scoring from 12 yards out on a fullback belly play to make it 14-0. Two plays earlier, Horvath connected with Eli Heidenreich on the left sideline on a 14-yard pass that moved the Mids to the Charlotte 18. Tecza scored two plays later.
He scored again four plays after that. The first of those plays was a Kyle Jacob interception on a slant over the middle, which gave Navy the ball at the Charlotte 17. The offense moved the ball to the two-yard line, and Tecza punched it in from there to blow the game open. Navy had a 21-0 lead with 6:20 remaining in the first quarter.
"It's awesome that the defense had five turnovers today," said Jacob. "We play really hard, and we practice really hard, and I think that's what it comes down to, just the way you prepare and practice. If you just do that, when you come out in the field, things are going to come to you and I think that today they did."
The next three Charlotte drives also ended in turnovers, leading to 17 Navy points. The Mids turned a Hashaun Wilson fumble into a field goal. Lane intercepted a pass over the middle on the next drive, which led to a pass from Horvath to tight end Cody Howard for an 11-yard touchdown.
Howard's touchdown was his first of the season after missing time due to injury.
"It was a long road back," he said. "A lot of rehab, a lot of recovery. And then to finally, today, come out on this field, and for my family and friends and to finally see me get in the end zone, just to make them happy, it makes me feel awesome."
"A lot of people don't know all the stuff he's been through," said Horvath. "He's a tough dude."
Charlotte then brought in Trexler Ivey at quarterback, but he had a pass intercepted by Peele, who returned it 61 yards for another score. With 10:24 remaining in the second quarter, Navy led 38-0.
"I don't really know what to say," Peele said of his interceptions. "I just feel like I was in the right place at the right time. Throughout the week, we were working on those plays that I got the picks on. Coach says, 'See the drill in the game.' So I just took advantage of the opportunities."
Charlotte finally had something go their way on the ensuing kickoff, which Henry Rutledge returned 79 yards to the Navy 16. However, they had to settle for a Stephen Rusnak field goal and trailed 38-3 with 8:49 left in the half.
After Navy went three and out on the next possession, Charlotte took over on their 16 following a 47-yard punt by Riley Riethman. Max Brown returned at quarterback and picked up a first down on a 12-yard run over the right side. Later in the drive, Brown found Colin Weber on the right sideline on a double-reverse pass that went 28 yards. Brown then hit O'Mega Blake in the back corner of the end zone from 20 yards out to cut Navy's lead to 38-10 with 3:09 left in the second quarter.
On their next drive, the Mids moved the ball into Charlotte territory, but they were forced to punt after reaching the 42-yard line. The Niners took the ball at their nine with 1:14 before halftime, but time ran out.
Charlotte drove into Navy territory on their opening drive of the second half, but Peele broke up Brown's fourth-down pass at the 27 to end the threat. A personal foul on Charlotte gave the Mids the ball at their 46, but they went three and out. Riethman's 46-yard punt was fielded by Rutledge, where he was promptly met by Lane. On third and two from the 12, Colin Ramos stopped Cartevious Norton in the backfield for a two-yard loss, and Charlotte was forced to punt.
The Mids took over on the Charlotte 40 and scored four plays later when Horvath found Brandon Chatman in the end zone from 19 yards out on a post pattern. The PAT was no good, and Navy had a 44-10 lead with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter.
Charlotte didn't give up, though. On the next drive, Brown had completions of 21 and 48 yards before connecting with Duane Thomas Jr. from 13 yards out to make the score 44-17 with 2:55 to go in the quarter.
Navy went three and out again on the ensuing drive, and Charlotte took over with good field position after the punt, starting at their 47. But on first down, Peele stepped in front of Blake on a deep throw over the middle to intercept the pass. He weaved 84 yards to the end zone for his second pick-six of the day, setting a school record. With 1:31 remaining in the third quarter, Navy held a 51-17 lead. Newberry brought in the reserves for the fourth quarter, and neither side scored the rest of the way.
While pleased with his team's fast start, Newberry felt they had to learn to put opponents away.
"We talk about it all the time," he said. "Fast start and a stronger finish. The thing that drives me a little bit nuts is, we've gotten off to some fast starts, we got leads early, but we've got to learn just to put people away and to take that momentum and to keep it going. We kind of start to pull back a little bit. We don't quite know how to finish people yet. It's something I'm going to talk about to our team on Monday, but when we've got people down, we've got to keep them down and keep our foot on the gas. We've had opportunities to do that this year and haven't for whatever reason. So I've got to get a handle on that."
