ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Senior snipe Eli Heidenreich caught five passes for 146 yards and became Navy's all-time receiving yards leader, backup quarterback junior Braxton Woodson ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter in relief of senior Blake Horvath (21 carries, 68 yards; 8-15 passing for 147 yards and one touchdown) and the Midshipmen defeated No. 25 South Florida 41-38 on Saturday.

Senior fullback Alex Tecza carried 12 times for 126 yards, including an early 76-yard score, and caught Horvath's lone touchdown pass as Navy (8-2, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) secured at least a half-game lead in the conference.

Heidenreich has 1,794 career receiving yards and moved past Rob Taylor's 1,736, compiled from 1965-67.

"First of all, thanks to our fans for coming out," said Navy head coach Brian Newberry.  "It was a sold-out crowd and they were awesome.  Hats off to South Florida.  That's a really good football team.  Their quarterback is really, really good.  I have a ton of respect for Coach Golesh and their staff and what they have been able to do in a relatively short time.  Their roster and their culture is really strong."

Byrum Brown threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 136 yards and two more scores for South Florida (7-3, 4-2), which scored 22 points in the fourth quarter yet lost its second consecutive road game. The Bulls also lost ground in their bid to reach the conference championship game.

"First of all, for our seniors, in a lot of ways, it was a huge opportunity for our program, and we didn't get it done," said South Florida head coach Alex Golesh. "A lot of credit to Coach Newberry. This group from Navy is tough, gritty and won a lot of games over the last two years. To go and play on the road against a really good football team in conference, you have to play really high-end football. At times, we did; at times, we didn't. A lot of credit to them. They are tough. They're gritty. The quarterback is tough and gritty. We got outplayed at some critical times.

After Heidenreich earlier career-long 82-yard catch from Horvath set up Brandon Chatman's 4-yard touchdown run to make it 14-3 at the end of the first quarter, his 32-yard catch from Woodson was a crucial moment during an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ended with Woodson's 20-yard scoring run to make it 34-24.

On Navy's next possession, Woodson ran 64 yards for the Midshipmen's third play of 60 or more yards to make it 41-30.

"The comfort comes from practice," said Woodson.  "Just getting a thousand reps in practice, seeing different looks, different possibilities in blitzes, I was able to go in and execute."

"I am so proud of this football team," said Newberry.  "I told them after the game, this is the football team I have been waiting to see all year long.  That's not to say it was perfect; it certainly wasn't, especially in the second half.  But I was so proud. What they did was come out and compete fearlessly.  That was the message this week: cut it loose, compete your tails off, play for each other, play for these seniors.  I can't say enough good things about this group.  What they have done throughout their time here has been to do things the right way.  Worked their tails off, stayed the course, stayed with it.  This is exactly what they deserve: to go out like this in their last home game. I couldn't be happier."

South Florida: At UAB next Saturday.

Navy: At Memphis on Nov. 27.

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