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    • Marine QB Blake Horvath learned the ropes in high school football in Ohio
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    Marine QB Blake Horvath learned the ropes in high school football in Ohio

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    In leading the Navy football team to a 6-0 start, former Hilliard Darby standout Blake Horvath has successfully combined running a complex offense with fulfilling his academic and service responsibilities as a student at the Naval Academy.

    The eyes of the nation will be on Horvath on Saturday when the No. 24 Midshipmen take on No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The match is at noon and will be broadcast on ABC.

    After being named Navy’s quarterback as a sophomore last October, Horvath was lost for the season after breaking the thumb of his non-throwing left hand against North Texas on Oct. 7.

    But the 2022 Darby graduate, who saw no action as a freshman, never lost confidence during his recovery. After a solid spring, he’s put up impressive numbers in Navy’s new hybrid offense, which combines elements of the wing-T, triple option and spread option.

    “I’ve grown a lot in a lot of different ways,” Horvath said. “The biggest way has just been as a leader of a college football team. It’s very different from high school. I have to operate things. The biggest person who showed me that is my quarterback coach, Ivin Jasper. He pulled me along a bit and taught me a lot of things. … It’s been a journey, but I’m trying to make the best of it and enjoy it.”

    Horvath has completed 46 of 72 passes for 888 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception. He has also rushed for a team-best 621 yards and 10 TDs on 79 carries.

    His success has made him a midseason candidate for the Heisman Trophy, the award given to the nation’s best player.

    “Blake has been a great player for us and has been a huge part of our success this year,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “More importantly, he is just a great young man and he is everything that the Naval Academy values ​​and embodies, and he is a great leader for us. He’s a super smart kid, a great teammate. He inspires the guys around him and there aren’t enough good things to say about Blake.”

    Hilliard Darby set Horvath on a course for success in the Navy

    Horvath got an introduction to the naval attack by mentoring Darby’s version of the wing-T. He set Darby program records for rushing touchdowns in a season (28) and career (49), career touchdowns (57) and rushing yards in a season (1,722).

    “That created some kind of comfort on offense,” Horvath said. “Often it is difficult to learn the option and different things. It takes a lot of time, so it was great for me to come in with the baseline and the basics of knowing how to work in that system. The most important thing I had to do was grow as a passer.”

    Darby coach John Santagata was confident Horvath would excel at Navy.

    “He understands the options component of what they do,” Santagata said. “The inside springs, the centerlines, the centerline triples and the other stuff under center, he’s been doing (those things) since he was in seventh grade. Which has therefore allowed them to take it to the next level and implement some other schemes, such as with the shotgun, to make the attack even harder to defend.

    Horvath’s experience and skills have led Navy to score 44.8 points per game.

    “Blake has a really good ability to do the things we do under center, to read it and make the right reads and get the ball shared,” Newberry said. “Then he can turn up the heat and become a professional quarterback as well. That’s what makes him so good.”

    Family is important to the Navy’s Horvath

    Horvath’s parents, Alan and Laura, have attended numerous Navy games. Laura also continues a tradition she started when her son played at Heritage Middle School, baking brownies, cookies and other treats for the team.

    Her only request is that offensive linemen get the desserts first.

    “I just feel like the offensive line is the most important people on the team and they get little to no recognition for it,” she said. “They are very selfless and I was always – I provide treats, but you always have to let your linemen go first and make them feel like the important people that they are.”

    Blake Horvath showed off the baked goods during a Zoom call with the media on Wednesday.

    “She’s one of the best bakers I’ve ever met,” he said. “Maybe I’m a little biased. She’s been doing this for a long time because I’ve played quarterback my whole life, so if I stay healthy, she wants to show her appreciation to the linemen.

    Laura is also impressed with how her son has balanced his Naval Academy and football duties.

    “He is a very determined person,” she said. “If he has a goal, I never really knew that he wouldn’t achieve that goal he had in mind.”

    Horvath, an operations research major, has a GPA of 3.53. He was a member of the National Honor Society at Darby.

    Horvath is looking forward to the challenge of competing against Notre Dame. His parents will be present.

    “It’s really huge to play in a meaningful game against Notre Dame that carries a lot of implications,” he said. “A big thing for coach Newberry and the team this year is that we want to be relevant. You don’t want to be just another game that Notre Dame has to play, just another game that everyone has to play. You want to be a game that is relevant within the national status of college football, so we are very excited as a team.”

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