Navy football has gotten some spectacular performances from many quarterbacks over the years.

Current starting quarterback Blake Horvath put his name alongside Roger Staubach, Keenan Reynolds and others after delivering a game to remember on Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Horvath accounted for more than 400 yards of offense in leading Navy to a stunning 56-44 upset of Memphis, the preseason favorite to capture the American Athletic Conference championship.

Horvath was simply sensational in rushing for 211 yards and four touchdowns, while passing for 192 yards and two other scores. Horvath’s 402 total yards of offense rank third in program history behind quarterback Will Worth, who accounted for 428 against South Florida in 2016.

“I thought Blake was outstanding today as far as his decision-making and throwing the ball on target and his ability to run,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “I’m blown away by his progress in a year. He’s been able to get us into the right plays, make the right decisions and run the offense. He’s playing at a really high level right now.”

Horvath took an option keeper 90 yards for a touchdown to cap the prolific performance and give Navy a seemingly insurmountable 19-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. However, Memphis made things interesting by scoring two touchdowns in the final 6:49 and had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the final minute.

“I’m exhausted, physically and emotionally. I’m worn out from the highs and lows of that football game,” Newberry said.

Snipes Eli Heidenreich and Brandon Chatman also had big games for Navy, which rolled up 566 total yards of offense. Heidenreich caught four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, while adding 41 rushing yards. Chatman had three receptions for 81 yards and a score.

The Midshipmen amassed 361 rushing yards with fullback Alex Tecza contributing 58 on 10 carries. Navy needed every yard and every point it could muster because its defense could not stop an equally high-powered Memphis attack.

Quarterback Seth Henigan was the catalyst as Memphis amassed 632 total yards of their own. Tailback Mario Anderson dove over from the 1-yard line to make the score 49-44 with 1:22 remaining in the game. Memphis’ Cameron Miller recovered the ensuing onside kick, giving the Tigers the ball at their own 46-yard line with 1:20 to go.

However, Rayuan Lane sealed the win for Navy, intercepting a Henigan pass over the middle and returning it 86 yards for a touchdown.

“I’m really proud of Ray. We were on our heels and had given up two touchdowns. He found a way to make a play and put an exclamation point on it,” Newberry said.

Inside linebacker Colin Ramos recorded a career-high 20 tackles for Navy (3-0), which is off to its best start since 2017. Inside linebacker Kyle Jacob totaled 11 tackles for the Mids, who remain tied atop the American Athletic Conference with Army, each at 2-0.

When all was said and done, it was one of the wildest games in Navy football history. It was also a real statement game as the Mids, who were picked to place 11th out of 14 teams in the AAC preseason poll, announced themselves as a legitimate contender.

“I’m just really happy for our players. They deserve a win like this. It’s a monumental win for our program and the things we want to do, so I’m ecstatic about that,” Newberry said. “I think it’s definitely a statement. [Memphis] is a team that was picked to win our conference. It’s a team that won 10 games a year ago and had a lot of people back. It’s a game you need to win if you want to win the conference, so yes it’s a great win.”

First-year offensive coordinator Drew Cronic has brought his “millennial” version of the Wing-T to Annapolis and so far the results are historic.

Navy has scored 143 points through three games, the most since 1918 when they totaled 150 through three games.

“I thought Coach Cronic called an incredible game. He attacked them in all the right ways and kept them off-balance the whole way. It’s really incredible the job he’s done,” Newberry said. “I love how hard we’re playing on offense. We’ve been deadly efficient and lights out.”

There was a palpable sense of disappointment among the partisan crowd after Memphis marched downfield for a touchdown on the game’s first possession, then Navy followed going thee-and-out. went three-and-out on its opening drive.

But Navy’s defense came up with a critical stop, then Horvath led the Mids on an impressive 10-play, 77-yard touchdown drive. Horvath connected with tight end Thomas Scully for a 20-yard pickup on third-and-9, then Heidenreich ripped off a 16-yard gain to set up first-and-goal.

On second-and-goal from the 5, Cronic called a quarterback sweep to the right side. Horvath saw an impenetrable wall of defenders so he reversed course and went left, scurrying untouched into the end zone.

Memphis had its own answer, a 57-yard touchdown run from Brandon Thomas, but Navy outscored Memphis 21-3 the rest of the first half. Horvath connected with Heidenreich for a 39-yard score, Chatman rushed one in from 12 yards out and Horvath followed a 46-yard gain with a 3-yard score to make it 28-17 Navy at halftime.

Navy got the ball to start the second half and promptly added another touchdown to move ahead 35-17. Horvath rolled right with seemingly the entire Navy offense going that way. Horvath then stopped and threw the ball back to the left flat where Chatman was all alone. Chatman used his speed to finish a 46-yard catch and run for the score.

Memphis made clear it was not going away, putting together two touchdown drives to get within 35-30 with 1:11 left in the third quarter.

Navy came back with another Horvath touchdown run before the defense stood tall, stopping Memphis on downs inside the Mids’ 10 when Andrew Duhart broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth down. On the very next play from scrimmage, Horvath broke loose for a 90-yard touchdown run that seemingly put the game away.

“I hope we have some believers now. After Bucknell and Temple, people were not 100% certain what our offense could do. We knew the whole time what we could do. We had a lot of confidence in ourselves coming into this game,” Horvath said. “To put up 56 points against a team that only let up 12 points to Florida State … I don’t know what else to say.”