COLORADO SPRINGS — Navy football exorcised a lot of ghosts on a sunny, steamy Saturday on the Air Force Academy campus.

Quarterback Blake Horvath directed an offense that piled up more than 400 yards for the fifth time this season, while inside linebacker Kyle Jacob spearheaded a determined defensive effort as Navy defeated Air Force, 34-7, before a sellout crowd of 39,441 at Falcon Stadium.

“We talked about making a statement today. Not just winning the game, but making a statement. I thought we did that,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “It’s indicative of the direction of our program right now. I’m really happy we did it the way we did today — pretty convincingly.”

Horvath passed for 134 yards and rushed for another 115 as Navy beat Air Force on its home field for the first time since 2012. Jacob notched 10 tackles as the Midshipmen made the Falcons earn what limited yards (273) and points they got.

Snipe Eli Heidenreich had another big game with 101 receiving yards and 100 rushing yards for unbeaten Navy (5-0), which is off to its best start since 2017. Outside linebacker Jaxson Campbell totaled seven tackles and two sacks, while cornerback Deshaun Peele came up with a clutch interception that helped the Mids seize control early.

“I couldn’t be happier with the win. I couldn’t be happier for our players and our seniors in particular,” Newberry said. “It’s a pretty special deal for those guys, who talk about leaving a legacy. That’s a big step in that direction.”

Navy captured the first leg of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the first time since 2019 and must now beat archrival Army on the second Saturday in December to bring it back to Annapolis. The Black Knights are also 5-0 and off to their best start since 1996.

“I told our guys my heart’s half full right now. We’ve got half that thing right now, and we’ll worry about the other half later,” Newberry said. “We’ve put ourselves in position to accomplish the most important goal of the program.”

Navy ended a five-game losing streak in Colorado Springs, dating to a 28-21 overtime victory over Air Force when record-setting quarterback Keenan Reynolds was a plebe. Saturday’s win marked the most points the Midshipmen have scored at Falcon Stadium since 1978, when they put up 37.

Meanwhile, it’s the fewest points for Air Force in the series since it lost to Navy, 10-7, in 1977.

“They played really, really well. I think, really, in all three phases,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “It’s hard to win when you only score seven points in a game.”

Speedy wide receiver Nathan Kent provided an early spark for Navy by taking a reverse 34 yards for a touchdown on fourth down. Fullback Alex Tecza put the game away by taking a pitch and galloping across the goal line for his second touchdown of the game with just under seven minutes to go.

Navy came into the contest averaging 46 points and 466 total yards and was not far off those figures against an Air Force (1-4) club that has defended as well as any opponent. The Mids finished with 463 total yards.

“These games are really determined by the physicality of the guys up front and I think our offensive line did an unbelievable job today. The movement they were getting up front was unreal. It was really easy to run behind,” said Heidenreich, who is believed to be the first Navy player to total 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in the same game.

Horvath completed 7 of 9 passes for 100 yards and rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns as Navy took a 21-7 halftime lead.

The Midshipmen had four double-digit gains in marching 87 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown on their second possession. Heidenreich picked up 18 yards on a sweep, then Horvath took a keeper for another 17 yards.

Slotback Brandon Chatman made a great catch while backpedaling for a 24-yard gain that set up first-and-goal from the 1-yard line and Horvath took it over from there to give Navy a 7-0 lead at the 6:25 mark of the first quarter.

Peele intercepted an ill-advised pass by quarterback John Busha and returned the ball 21 yards into Air Force territory. Facing fourth-and-3 from the home team’s 34-yard line, offensive coordinator Drew Cronic dialed up a trick play that was perfectly executed.

Horvath pitched to Kent for a reverse, and the world-class sprinter raced 34 yards untouched into the end zone to increase the lead to 14-0 with 2:34 to go in the opening period. It was a well-designed play that got the entire Air Force defense flowing left and there was no one on the right side of the field.

“I think it forced [Air Force] to play a little bit outside their game. It also gives us more comfort and ability to do things without stress. It makes everybody better to have that cushion,” Horvath said of taking the early two-touchdown lead.

After punting twice and turning the ball over, Air Force finally got something going on its fourth possession. Sophomore Quentin Hayes replaced Busha at quarterback and provided a spark.

A personal foul penalty against Navy safety Ray Lane gave the Falcons a first down in enemy territory and Hayes found wide receiver Tre Roberson open over the middle.

Lane fell down while trying to make the tackle, and that enabled Roberson to complete a 45-yard catch-and-run that cut the deficit to 14-7 early in the second quarter.

An offensive pass interference penalty against Kent nullified a 57-yard touchdown pass to Heidenreich on the ensuing possession and Navy was forced to punt. However, the Mids immediately forced a three-and-out and were right back in business.

Horvath connected with Heidenreich on completions of 22 and 25 yards to get Navy into the red zone. Heidenreich did a tremendous job of dragging his toe on the second catch with an incompletion being overruled on replay review.

“I sensed the sideline coming. I really had to stretch all six feet of my body to get that toe in. I barely scraped it, but I wasn’t sure if it was [inbounds] or not,” said Heidenreich, who had five catches on five targets.

Four plays later, Horvath scooted across the goal line from 2 yards out to restore the advantage to two touchdowns with just over 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

Any hopes for a miraculous comeback by Air Force were extinguished when Campbell sacked Hayes for a 14-yard loss on fourth-and-5 deep in Navy territory. That was one of many big plays for the Navy defense, which also got seven tackles from end Justin Reed.