FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — In the Armed Forces Bowl, Navy quarterback Blake Horvath read the play flawlessly and converted it into the longest touchdown run in school history, spanning 95 yards.
“By somebody that’s not really that fast,” Horvath remarked following Friday’s 21–20 victory over Oklahoma.
Horvath’s historic run late in the third quarter tied the game at 14-all, but the Midshipmen (10-3) had already fallen behind by two touchdowns less than ten minutes into the contest. With 4:34 remaining, he gave them the lead with a 6-yard touchdown, and with six seconds remaining, Navy’s defense prevented an Oklahoma 2-point conversion.
“They probably over-pursued the 95-yarder,” Horvath remarked. They just felt I may get a pull because of some of the traits they displayed previously.
Horvath went right up the middle into the open field after feigning a handoff on the read-option play. Around the Sooners 20, Brandon Chatman stopped a defender who was pursuing.
Horvath was first declared short until a replay review led to the score, but he stretched the ball past the goal line by the time another opponent, cornerback Woodi Washington, caught up and began to bring him down.
According to Horvath, Brandon Chatman truly went above and above to get his butt down the field. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him busting his butt. And to be honest, without him and the offensive line blocking, it’s hardly even my touchdown.
Johnny Sai’s 93-yard run versus Duke in 1963, during the Roger Staubach era, was the Midshipmen’s longest play to date.
Horvath became just the second Navy player to have two 90-yard touchdown runs in a single season when he also scored a 90-yard touchdown run against Memphis. The other was quarterback Malcolm Perry, who had 92 and 91-yard runs in 2017.
Fullback Alex Tecza stated, “That’s a play we know can hit big and it did, and it’s definitely exciting to see.” Just chasing him was wearing me out. It’s fantastic. That is what he has been doing all year.
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