Navy secured a 34-31 victory over Air Force in Annapolis, Maryland, marking the first game of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy series. The Midshipmen recorded 517 total yards, with 339 coming through the air. Air Force totaled 460 yards, split between 249 passing and 211 rushing yards.
The game’s scoring began with Navy’s Nathan Kirkwood making a 39-yard field goal. Air Force responded with ten consecutive points—a seven-yard touchdown run by Liam Szarka and a 24-yard field goal from Jacob Medina—taking an early lead at 10-3. Navy then tied the score on the first of three touchdown passes from Blake Horvath to Eli Heidenreich and later took a halftime lead of 17-10 following another connection between Horvath and Heidenreich.
After halftime, Szarka scored again for Air Force to tie it at 17. Navy regained the lead on a Horvath rushing touchdown, but Air Force answered when Szarka threw a touchdown pass to Bruin Fleischmann, leveling the score at 24 apiece. In the fourth quarter, Horvath connected once more with Heidenreich for Navy to go ahead, but Szarka responded with a long touchdown pass to Jonah Dawson that tied the game again. A late Kirkwood field goal put Navy ahead for good with just under seven minutes left; Air Force’s last drive ended in a turnover near midfield.
Horvath led Navy offensively by rushing for 130 yards and one touchdown while completing 20 of his 26 passes for three touchdowns and totaling 339 passing yards. Heidenreich caught eight passes for 243 yards and three scores. For Air Force, Szarka completed eleven of nineteen passes for two touchdowns and rushed for another two touchdowns while gaining a total of 152 rushing yards. According to program records, he is now the first player in team history to have three consecutive games with at least 200 passing yards and over 100 rushing yards in each contest. Fleischmann also had career-best numbers with six receptions totaling 166 yards and one touchdown.
