On Saturday, the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) Midshipmen labored towards protecting ahold of the coveted Commander-in-Chief trophy (CIC) this yr. Every soccer season, the CIC is awarded to the winner of the American school soccer sequence among the many three service academies: USNA, the U.S. Navy Academy (West Level), and the U.S. Air Drive Academy.
The Midshipmen at present have custody of the trophy and performed their first recreation within the sequence towards Air Drive on Saturday.
The sport continued to be forwards and backwards, with Navy finally securing the victory 34-31.
Regardless of their run-heavy choice techniques, the Midshipmen and Falcons mixed for a whopping 977 yards in a back-and-forth showdown outlined by explosive play after explosive play. Heidenreich was the most important consider that regard. His 243 receiving yards have been by far a Navy single-game report and broke a mark that stood since 1967 when Rob Taylor racked up 179 yards. In truth, the senior rewrote the historical past ebook with loads of time to spare as he set the report with 10:59 to play. He additionally grew to become the academy’s all-time receiving landing chief with 14 profession scores.
Quarterback Blake Horvath joined uncommon firm, too. In the perfect recreation of his profession, the second-year starter accomplished 20 of his 26 go makes an attempt for 339 yards and three touchdowns, inserting him fifth in Navy single-game historical past for passing yards.
Navy head coach Brian Newberry informed CBS relating to Horvath and Heidenreich, “They’re playmakers.”
“You gotta get the ball to your playmakers, and so they did an exceptional job right this moment.”
Secretary of Conflict Pete Hegseth was in Annapolis for the sport and, earlier than visiting the victorious Navy group within the locker room, he joined the Mids within the stands and was greeted with enthusiastic cheers.
Watch:
AMERICA’S SECRETARY OF WAR!!!! pic.twitter.com/O3mxxEgdsF
— DOW Fast Response (@DOWResponse) October 4, 2025
Secretary Hegseth additionally joined the Mids in a storied custom of doing pushups after every scoring drive, and helped set a brand new Guinness WORLD RECORD with 3,068 folks doing push-ups concurrently for one minute.
. @SECWAR joined the Naval Academy as they set a brand new Guinness WORLD RECORD with 3,068 folks doing push-ups concurrently for one minute. pic.twitter.com/f2LDRFuuXX
— DOW Fast Response (@DOWResponse) October 4, 2025
Secretary Hegseth then joined the group to share within the victory, and the ambiance was electrical!
. @SECWAR took a go to to the @NavyFB locker room AFTER defeating Air Drive 34-31.
It was ELECTRIC… pic.twitter.com/ipBsjfdCl7
— DOW Fast Response (@DOWResponse) October 4, 2025
He shared a couple of phrases following Navy’s victory.
Secretary Hegseth shared, “ what? Nothing else issues. You bought it finished. You bought it finished.”
“In truth, the perfect wins are those the place it takes you whereas. Protection doesn’t present up straight away. Offense doesn’t present up straight away. Hear, you’re listening to this from an all-conference honorable point out. Vast receiver, 4 Slate Excessive Faculty, Minnesota. I didn’t go deep. I ran slant rounds proper throughout the center. Let me let you know, I couldn’t respect extra what you probably did. You pounded via the sport.”
He continued, “Once you wanted a cease on the finish, you bought the large cease. Once you wanted a primary down, you bought the primary down. That’s going to be your life, not simply on this recreation, however for the remainder of your life whenever you’re carrying a unique uniform.”
“There’s going to be sh**ty days. There’s going to be powerful days. There’s going to be frustrations. You’re going to have unhealthy leaders. You’re going to have good leaders, clear missions, and missions with no readability in any respect.”
“And what you do in these moments is what’s going to be the distinction between life and loss of life for the boys, for the Individuals, for the sailors, for the Seals, for the Marines that you simply lead sooner or later. You might be their compass. They’ll look to you identical to you look to your quarterback or your linebackers or your personal line to say, ‘Hey, I’m on you. I’m in your again. We’re going north.’”
“You probably did that right this moment.”
“I really like the Air Drive. They don’t have it on you right this moment.”
“It’s an honor to be your Secretary of Conflict. You might be within the Conflict Division. I don’t know if you happen to noticed, I gave a bit speech on Tuesday. That’s proper. He’s huge. That’s proper. No extra beardos. Two PT assessments, regardless of who you’re. Requirements, self-discipline, accountability, readiness, all of the stuff you hear out of your professors, from the sup, out of your coach, and out of your commanders. It’s the fundamentals. It’s blocking and tackling a management of command. That’s what you’re studying right here. That’s what your formations want. That’s what the nation wants.”
“All I do know, and I by no means did something close to what all of you may have finished right here at this academy, at this establishment. All I do know after I was a younger, rifle platoon chief, all I wished to know is that my commander had my again. After I needed to do tough issues, after I needed to do issues in harmful locations in the course of the evening, did they’ve my again, even when I make a mistake?”
“Let me let you know this. From President Trump to all of you, we now have your again. The nation has your again. Your management has your again.”
“Keep on with it. Combat like hell. Do what you probably did within the subject right this moment, and America won’t ever, ever go fallacious.”
“I hope and pray. All glory to God, I hope and pray that sometime considered one of my sons or daughters decides to make the choice you made on the age you made it. You set one thing greater than your self. You selected one thing greater than your self on day one. Meaning one thing. You may have my respect due to it, and I’m going to work my ass off together with all people we work with to ensure you have all the pieces you want everytime you want it within the formations you may have.”
“Gents, males, warriors, go Navy.”
Watch:
. @SecWar @PeteHegseth gave a postgame locker room speech after Navy’s 34-31 victory over Air Drive pic.twitter.com/CGfS14agKC
— Tami Radabaugh (@TRadabaughDOW) October 4, 2025
