ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Senior running back Alex Tecza rushed for 111 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries, while senior quarterback Blake Horvath threw for 168 yards and a touchdown and ran for 72 yards and two touchdowns in Navy's (2-0, 1-0 in the American) 38-24 win over UAB (1-1, 0-1) on Saturday in front of 28,325 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in the conference opener for both teams. The win was Navy's 750th in school history.
 
The win marks the first time that Navy has started the season 2-0 in back-to-back years since 2016-17.
 
The game was delayed twice for a total of two hours and six minutes in the first half due to severe thunderstorms in the area. 
 
"I want to say thanks to all the fans and the Midshipmen who stuck around through the almost six-hour process tonight," said Navy head coach Brian Newberry.  "I really appreciate those folks sticking around; some good fans that did that. I know the mids didn't plan on being out there for six hours, but they hung around and supported us. I am really appreciative of that.
 
"I am so happy to get a win," continued Newberry.  "I was proud of our team for finding a way at the end. It was sloppy at times, but good football teams find a way to win. We struggled defensively tonight. I don't think that's any secret, especially in the first half, but offensively, we were in rhythm. We didn't punt in the first half, scored on every possession. I thought we played really well offensively.
 
Both teams scored every time they had the ball in the first half.  Navy won the coin toss and decided to take the ball, a move that paid off as the Mids went 75 yards in five plays, capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Horvath to take a 7-0 lead.
 
UAB answered with a 51-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Kitna to Iverson Hooks to tie the game at seven.
 
Eli Heidenreich put the Mids back up by seven with a nine-yard touchdown run with 3:06 left in the first quarter, but the Blazers answered again on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kitna to Corri Milliner 46 seconds into the second quarter.
 
Just four plays later, Horvath threw a perfect strike to junior wide receiver Luke Hutchison for a 63-yard touchdown to give Navy a 21-14 lead. It was Hutchison's first career touchdown catch.
 
UAB would answer for a third time just 57 seconds later on a 12-yard touchdown run by Jevon Jackson to tie the score at 21 with 11:19 left in the first half.
 
The Mids were the first to blink in the touchdown fest, settling for a 27-yard field goal by Nathan Kirkwood after reaching the UAB four-yard line.
 
The Navy defense, however, would answer the call, holding the Blazers to a 40-yard field goal by Jonah Delange as the first half expired after UAB had the ball first-and-10 at the Navy 18.
 
Junior linebacker Nolan McCamy teamed with Landon Robinson to stop Jackson for a two-yard run on first down and then McCamy hurried Kitna into throwing an incompletion on second down. Sophomore corner Justin Ross dropped Milliner short of the chains on third down, forcing the Delange field goal.
 
The defensive stand at the end of the first half was a harbinger of things to come as the Mids would not allow a point the rest of the night.
 
UAB had a chance to take its first lead of the game as it took the second-half kickoff and quickly moved to the Navy 18, but Robinson and Luke Pirris dropped Solomon Beebe for no gain on first down, junior corner Ira Oniha stopped Beebe on second down for two yards and Robinson tackled Isaiah Jacobs for a two-yard loss on third down, forcing a 36-yard field goal by Delange, which he missed wide left.
 
Navy could not take advantage of the missed field goal as the Mids were forced to punt on the ensuing series, but sophomore corner Phillip Hamilton got the ball right back for the Navy offense as he punched the ball out of Hooks' hands after Kitna hit him with a 14-yard pass.  The ball was recovered by junior safety Giuseppe Sessi to give the Mids the ball at the UAB 29-yard line.
 
Six plays later, Horvath scored on a four-yard run to put the Mids ahead for good, 31-24, with 4:12 left in the third quarter.
 
After UAB was forced to punt, Navy moved right down the field thanks to three runs by Tecza that totaled 55 yards, the capper being a one-yard touchdown run to make the score 38-24 Navy.
 
UAB had a couple more opportunities to cut into the Navy lead, but MarcAnthony Parker picked off Kitna for his first-career interception and then Hamilton got his first-career interception, picking off Kitna in the end zone to seal the win.
 
"I didn't see Navy make any changes on defense," said UAB head coach Trent Dilfer. "We felt like we could have scored every time we got the ball, we just turned it over there in the second half. We threw a couple of interceptions, which were totally uncharacteristic of us. The last month in practice, the ball hardly ever touched the ground and the decisions had been crisp. We made two poor decisions. So, I don't think it was as much them, we just once again kind of fell apart and we need to find a solution for that."
 
"Hats off to UAB," said Newberry. "I think it's a much-improved football team from last year. I think Coach Dilfer does a really nice job. I think the things that people don't see is how he mentors his guys in his program, how involved they are in the community there in Birmingham, and I have a ton of respect for him and the things he's trying to do with that program."
 
Navy will travel to Tulsa next weekend for an 8 PM (ET) kick that will be televised by ESPN+ and broadcast on the Navy Radio Network.