The Navy Midshipmen football team opened their 2025 season with a 52-7 rout over the Virginia Military Academy Keydets Saturday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 30,014 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
The Midshipmen won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. Lance Gossett booted the opening kickoff to VMI running back Aslin Shipe who straddled the VMI 12-yard line, caught the ball in the air and landed out of bounds. The call on the field was that he was out of bounds but upon further review, it was determined that he had given the fair catch signal deeming it to be a touchback. VMI began the opening possession at their 25-yard line.
Running back Leo Boehling rushed three times for seven yards, and quarterback Collin Shannon threw a pass short left to wide receiver Noah Grevious for five-yards, but otherwise the opening drive stalled. After six plays for 14 yards gained, punter Ben Shrewsbury kicked his first punt of the season 31 yards. Navy took over on their 30-yard line.
The Midshipmen went to work immediately with their running game on their first possession of the ballgame. Running backs Eli Heidenreich and Alex Tecza took most of the snaps. Heidenreich rushed twice for 19 yards, including one for 15 yards. Tecza rushed four times for 16 yards. Quarterback Blake Horvath scampered for five yards on a quarterback keeper. Sophomore running back Michael Barrow rushed left for a seven-yard touchdown. It was Barrow’s first career touchdown in the first career drive of his first career game. Nathan Kirkwood’s extra point was good and Navy led 7-0 with 6:00 left in the first quarter. The drive went 11 plays, 70 yards and took 5:45 off the clock.
On VMI’s next possession, Shannon was sacked by nose guard Landon Robinson and linebacker Jaxson Campbell for a seven-yard loss. This put the Keydets back to the VMI 17-yard line. Shipe rushed up the middle for four yards and Shannon found tight end Cade Cox for a five-yard strike to regain some of the lost yardage. Facing 4th-and-8 from the VMI 26, Shrewsbury launched a 45-yard punt which running back Brandon Chatman returned to the Navy 47-yard line.
Navy ran six plays on their drive – four rushing plays and two pass plays. Tecza rushed up the middle twice for seven yards. Horvath rushed up the middle for a nine-yard gain. Horvath threw incomplete to Chatman at the VMI 25-yard line, and hit Heidenreich for no gain. A delay of game penalty on the Midshipmen moved them out of field goal range, forcing Jacob Carlson, the sophomore kicker from Plano, Texas, to come on for his first ever punt as the starting punter. He booted a 36-yarder which hit at the VMI one-yard line and bounced backwards where it was downed at the four-yard line by the long snapper, Rayne Fry, as the quarter came to a close.
The Navy defense was becoming too much for the Keydets offensive line to handle. Boehling rushed up the middle for two yards. Shannon passed short left to wide receiver Owen Sweeney for four yards more. Then Shannon was sacked for a seven-yard loss by defensive tackle Kendall Whiteside. Shrewsbury came on for his third punt of the half, a 37-yarder to the VMI 40-yard line which Chatman returned for five yards.
The Midshipmen continued to pound the ground. Heidenreich rushed to the right side for a 25-yard gain to get to the Keydets 10-yard line. Then he rushed to the right again for a four-yard gain. Chatman rushed off the right side for a six-yard touchdown, but it was called back after Tecza got called for a holding penalty. Two plays later, Horvath hit Heidenreich in stride for an 18-yard touchdown. Kirkwood’s extra point put the Midshipmen ahead 14-0 with 11:07 left in the half.
Starting at the VMI 18-yard line, Shannon began the drive with three passes, an eight-yard completion to Sweeney, a seven-yard connection to tight end Morgan McPhaul and a 12-yard strike to wide receiver Malik McNeely. However, his next pass went incomplete, intended for McNeely but was broken up by Navy cornerback Justin Ross at the Navy 48-yard line. After two running plays with Shipe for nine-yards, the Keydets went for it on 4th-and-1. Shannon was sacked for the third time in the half, this time by linebacker MarcAnthony Parker, for an 11-yard loss, and turned it over on downs.
In good field position starting at the VMI 43-yard line, Navy continued rushing the ball. Chatman rushed twice for 15 yards. Tecza rushed twice for 17 yards. Horvath threw a five-yard completion to wide receiver Luke Hutchison. On 2nd-and-2 at the VMI six-yard line, Tecza rushed up the middle for a touchdown. Kirkwood’s extra point now gave the Midshipmen a 21-0 lead with 5:53 left in the half. Navy ran six plays for 43 yards and took 2:31 off the clock.
The Keydets switched quarterbacks for a few plays on their next possession, which started at their 25-yard line. JoJo Crump threw and incomplete pass intended for McPhaul, then rushed to the right for three yards. Shannon came back in on third down and connected with Grevious across the middle for 14-yards, and then hit wide receiver Julio Carrecter on the right side for a five-yard pick up. After overthrowing Sweeney and then losing four-yards after Shipe was taken down by linebacker Luke Pirris on a broken play, Shrewsbury booted another punt, this time to the Navy 5. Chatman returned it to the Navy 22 yard-line after gaining 17 yards.
The Keydets defense was weakening. On 1st-and-10 from the Navy 22-yard line, Tecza rushed through the left side for a 22 yard pick up. Then Heidenreich rushed up the middle for nine yards. Tecza rushed up the middle picking up five more yards. Horvath then threw a 35-yard strike to Heidenreich to the VMI seven-yard line. Chatman rushed for three yards on the next play, and then Navy called a timeout with 53 seconds left. Heidenreich ran in for a four-yard touchdown. After Kirkwood’s extra point, the Midshipmen held a comfortable 28-0 lead at the halftime break.
Navy opened the third quarter from their 23-yard line and with a change at quarterback. With a four touchdown lead, Horvath was finished for the day and Braxton Woodson came in as the signal caller. His first play from scrimmage was a quarterback keeper up the middle for an eight yard gain as Navy continued to pound the ground. Tecza took a handoff up the middle for 10 yard. Heidenreich rushed for four more.
Slowly and steadily the Midshipmen ran plays and chewed the clock. Chatman. Tecza. Charles Robinson. All carried the ball. Woodson did complete a 12-yard pass to Nathan Kent and a 10-yarder to Tecza, but also threw two incomplete passes, one intended for Heidenreich and one intended for Kent at the back of the end zone. After 15 plays and 66 yards, the Midshipmen made it to the VMI 11-yard line where the drive stalled. Kirkwood kicked a 28-yard field goal to make the score 31-0 with 7:22 left in the third quarter. The drive took 7:33 off the clock.
VMI finally got on the scoreboard on their next possession. All it took was one play. Starting at their 25-yard, Shannon took a shot deep left to Owen Sweeney who hauled in the pass at the Navy 45-yard line and then ran into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown. Shrewsbury made the extra point and the score was now 31-7 in favor of the Midshipmen.
Running back Isaiah Bryant fumbled the kick return, which was recovered by running back Mikey Pearson III and advanced to the Navy 42-yard line. Woodson rushed up the middle on the first play of the drive, advancing 13 yards to the VMI 45-yard line, but the drive stalled otherwise. Carlson booted a 27-yard punt to the VMI 20-yard line, which was downed by Navy linebacker Job Grant.
The Keydets struggled on their next possession but got bailed out by Navy. After starting the drive at their 20-yard line, Shannon hit receiver Noah Grevious for 11 yards and the first down. He threw to Grevious again, this time at midfield, but the pass was incomplete. However, MarcAnthony Parker, the Navy linebacker whose sack earlier led to an 11-yard loss, was called for roughing the passer. After review, the officials assessed Parker with targeting and ejected him from the game. Parker will also miss the first half of next week’s game against University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Defensive end Julien Moutome and Landon Robinson combined to take down Shannon for a nine-yard loss on the next play. Shannon did attempt a pass deep right to wide receiver Destin Moore which would have been a first down, but Moore was unable to haul it in and dropped it at the Navy 45-yard line. Shrewsbury kicked a 65-yard punt back to the Navy end zone for the touchback.
Tecza rushed up the middle for a quick two yards. Woodson ran on the right side for four more yards. On 3rd-and-4 from the Navy 26-yard line, Woodson rushed through a hole up the middle and got into the secondary, scampering 74-yards for the touchdown. Kirkwood’s extra point put the Navy up 38-7 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Keydets continued to fight on. Shannon hit Carrecter for a five-yard gain, then threw deep left to Sweeney for a 27-yard pick up into Navy territory. Shannon hit Grevious for a nin-yard gain to the Navy 29-yard line. However, two penalties, a false start on offensive lineman Britin Witt and a delay of game penalty on the Keydets, coupled with another Landon Robinson sack on Shannon, brought Shrewsbury out for yet another punt, this time pinning Navy at their six-yard line.
Running back Shane Reynolds rushed up the middle for three yards and then VMI linebacker Camden Clinton got called for an unnecessary roughness penalty, giving the Midshipmen a first down at the Navy 24-yard line. Woodson took the quarterback keeper for a six-yard gain off the right side of the line, and then took the next play 68 yards up the middle for a touchdown. After Kirkwood’s extra point, the Midshipmen led 45-7 with 9:49 left on the clock.
VMI went three-and-out on their next drive after freshman running back Ebenezer McCarthy rushed left for seven yards, and running back Luke Schalow was stuffed up the middle for a one-yard loss. Quarterback JoJo Crump threw deep right for wide receiver Traveion Slaughter at the Navy 42-yard line but it was incomplete. Shrewsbury came on for another punt.
Navy used their third quarterback of the game, the third string sophomore Jackson Gutierrez, in the next series. Pearson took a handoff up the middle for a one-yard loss. Gutierrez rushed up the middle for nine-yards. Reynolds carried up the middle for three more yards and a first down. Gutierrez rushed against, this time for 22-yards near midfield. Running back TK Hodges rushed twice for 12 yards. After ten plays, the Midshipmen marched 65 yards in 5:57, which ended when Reynolds rushed up the middle for a touchdown. Kirkwood scored his final extra point and Navy led 52-7 with 2:42 left on the clock. VMI went three-and-out on their last series. Two Navy kneel downs later and the game was over.
The Midshipmen had 556 yards in total offense compared to 212 for VMI. Navy recorded five sacks for 42 yards lost. The Keydets did not record any sacks. Navy led in time of possession with 35:27 to VMI’s 24:33.
“Obviously good to get a win. One of our goals was to win the opener. It seems historically when we do that we have had some pretty good seasons,” said Midshipmen head coach Brian Newberry. “I thought there were some really good things out there, but like your first game of the year, we were a little sloppy. There are things we need to clean up moving forward.”
Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath went 6-for-7 for 66 yards and 1 touchdown, while Braxton Woodson went 3-for-7 for 26 yards, in passing. Eli Heidenreich paced Navy with six receptions for 65 yards and one touchdown. Nathan Kent, Alex Tecza and Luke Hutchison had one reception each.
“It is the first time for us seniors that we have been able to build upon something. We have been able to start a lot faster this year than other years,” said Horvath.
Woodson lead Navy in rushing with seven carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Tecza rushed 15 times for 89 yards and one touchdown; Heidenreich carried nine times for 70 yards and one touchdown; Shane Reynolds had four carries for 18 yards and one touchdown and Michael Barrow carried twice for nine yards and one touchdown.
“It was great (the 15 yards rushing allowed),” said Landon Robinson, who recorded two sacks in the game. “Coach (P.J.) Volker called a great game. We came out and we executed the game plan. We worked for two weeks on it and everything came together the way we scripted it.”
Keydets quarterback Collin Shannon went 16-for-25 for 197 yards passing and one touchdown on the day. Owen Sweeney hauled in seven receptions for 126 yards and VMI’s lone touchdown. Noah Grevious had four receptions for 39 yards; Malik McNeely took five receptions for 12 yards and Julio Carracter caught three passes for 10 yards.
“Well, the discouraging thing is how many times we got sacked. So, those are all negative yards, those are all plays where we’re going backwards,” said Keydets head coach Danny Rocco. “We had some efficiency throwing the ball, we did throw and catch some balls today. I think we showed we have a handful of guys that can be targets – candidates to be able to make some plays in the passing game – and they showed up today, so I think we do have some weapons.”
Leo Boehling led the Keydets in rushing with eight carries covering 21 yards, while Aslin Shipe touched the ball four times for 18 yards. Luke Schalow had three touches for nine yards total.
“I was hard and I was demanding, but I also was able to say something tells me something good is going to come from this game,” said Rocco. “It could just be the amount of guys that find themselves ready to compete and contribute to winning. Today, a lot of guys got on tape for the first time and this is a tough offense and defense to get to go against. I think there’s some hope despite the result and I think it’s our job to try to move that forward.”
Navy (1-0) hosts the University of Alabama-Birmingham (1-0) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. VMI (0-1) hosts the Ferrum Panthers (0-0) at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Alumni Memorial Field in Lexington, Va.
