Navy opened its 2025 season with a 52–7 rout of VMI on Saturday at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids dominated on both sides of the ball, piling up 556 yards of total offense while limiting the Keydets to just 15 yards rushing.
How It Happened
Navy struck first on its opening drive, marching 70 yards in 11 plays and capping it with Michael Barrow’s 7-yard touchdown run on his first collegiate carry. The Mids kept piling on in the second quarter: Blake Horvath found Eli Heidenreich for an 18-yard score, Alex Tecza added a 6-yard touchdown, and Heidenreich ran in from four yards just before halftime. Navy went to the locker room up 28–0.
Junior quarterback Braxton Woodson took over in the second half and quickly turned the game into a personal showcase. He led a 15-play drive for a field goal, then broke free for touchdown runs of 74 and 68 yards. Senior running back Shane Reynolds capped the scoring with a 4-yard run in the closing minutes.
VMI’s lone highlight came midway through the third quarter, when Collin Shannon connected with Owen Sweeney for a 75-yard touchdown up the left sideline. Otherwise, Navy’s defense dictated the game, holding the Keydets to 212 total yards and forcing five sacks.
Key Performers
- Braxton Woodson (QB, Jr.) — Career-high 180 rushing yards and two long touchdowns on just seven carries.
- Eli Heidenreich (Snipe, Sr.) — First career game with both a rushing and receiving touchdown, finishing with 135 all-purpose yards.
- Alex Tecza (RB, Sr.) — Added 89 rushing yards and a 6-yard score
- Landon Robinson (NG, Sr.) — Anchored the defense with two sacks, part of Navy’s five on the day.
- MarcAnthony Parker (LB, So.) — Career-high five tackles, including a sack. Penalized for targeting in the second half and will miss the first half of the UAB game pending appeal.
Quotable
Head coach Brian Newberry:
“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. 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.”
Quarterback Blake Horvath:
“It was the best I have felt after a game (after playing just the first half). I think there was a funny Tweet talking about Ohio State and their quarterback just needing to drive the Lamborghini; he doesn’t need to press the gas, he just needs to control it. That’s sort of how it was today. I didn’t need to do much. These guys were electric.”
Slotback Eli Heidenreich:
“I think the biggest thing with coach (Drew) Cronic is the way he is getting me the ball. Kind of getting creative, spreading it out and making it hard on the defense. I do attribute a lot to him. He is setting me up the right way.”
Nose guard Landon Robinson:
“It was great (the 15 yards rushing allowed). 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.”
VMI head coach Danny Rocco:
“I thought Navy played an extraordinarily error-free game. Every time early in the game, when it felt like we might be able to exchange blows or might be able to match scores, they’d make a play. They just refused to misfire or make mistakes and open the crack.”