Watch: Navy Midshipmen Boss Speak After Beating Sooners in Armed Forces Bowl

The Navy Midshipmen head coach won his first bowl game as a head coach when they beat the Oklahoma Sooners.

Navy coach Brian Newberry stands before the Armed Forces Bowl football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Navy Midshipmen at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brian Newberry is an Oklahoma native, so the second-year Navy head coach got a little something extra out of the Midshipmen beating the Oklahoma Sooners, 21-20, in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday.

After a 5-7 first season at the helm in 2023, his first year after replacing long-time coach Ken Niumatalolo, he excelled in his second year at the helm as the Midshipmen finished the year 10-3.

It is Navy’s sixth 10-win season, with five of them coming since 2000. Newberry also joined the list of Midshipmen head coaches who won the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy, as the Midshipmen beat both Air Force and Army West Point this season.

He also extended the winning streak for the service academy schools in the Armed Forces Bowl to four games, and the service academies’ overall record in the game to 9-5.

Newberry had the chance to speak to the media after the game.

He grew up a Sooners fan in Oklahoma and went to his first Sooners game in 1985.

He played quarterback at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City, managed to get a scholarship at Baylor and helped the Bears to a co-Southwest Conference championship in 1992, his senior season. With Baylor he moved to defense and played safety.

That led to Newberry coaching on the defensive side of the football, as he began his college career as a graduate assistant at Southern Arkansas in 1999. He worked his way up the ladder to become Navy’s defensive coordinator in 2019 and then succeeded Niumatalolo as head coach.

Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath led the way in Navy’s victory, its first over an SEC team in a bowl game since the 1960s.

Horvath finished with 92 yards on 7-of-12 passing. He also rushed for a game-high 155 yards on 18 carries, including two touchdowns.

One of those scores was a 95-yarder that tied the game and turned out to be the longest run from scrimmage in Navy history and in Armed Forces Bowl history.

Alex Tecza rushed for 43 yards on 15 carries, including a touchdown. Eli Heidenreich rushed for 23 yards and Daba Fofana rushed for six yards on two carries.

Heidenreich caught two passes for 22 yards, while Brandon Chatman also caught two passes for 12 yards. Nathan Kent, Cody Howard and Isaiah Bryant each had one reception.

On defense, Colin Ramos had a team-high 12 tackles, with a tackle for loss, while Kyle Jacob had nine tackles and Kenneth McShan had eight tackles.