Navy’s Blake Horvath, Air Force’s Liam Szarka make for intriguing quarterback matchup

The names that crept their way into conversations during media interviews this week pointed toward a theme for Saturday’s matchup between Air Force and Navy.

Dee Dowis. Ricky Dobbs. Tim Jefferson. Keenan Reynolds. Kale Pearson. Malcom Perry. They were all mentioned (as were others). They were all difference-making quarterbacks.

This matchup features a pair in the Midshipmen’s established Blake Horvath and Air Force’s fresh-out-of-the-box Liam Szarka that, just might, compare favorably with any of them.

“I think it applies for him, absolutely,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said of Horvath after naming a list of qualities universal to strong service academy quarterbacks.

“He’s custom-made for what they’re doing right now,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said of Szarka.

Navy quarterback Blake Horvath (11) celebrates with Navy tight end Cody Howard (83) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Army, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Horvath has already earned his spot on the short list of great quarterbacks in his program’s history. The senior’s 169.4 career quarterback rating is the best for a service academy quarterback with at least 150 attempts. He has thrown just seven interceptions in 189 career passing attempts. His 1,353 passing yards last year on the way to a Commander-in-Chief’s trophy were the most at Navy in nine years, and he coupled that with 1,246 rushing yards. Only Reynolds, in 2015, and Chris McCoy, in 1997, had thrown and passed for 1,200-plus yards in a season for the Midshipmen.

On top of that, Horvath holds a 3.96 GPA as an operations research major is a semifinalist for the 2025 Campbell Trophy, known as the “Academic Heisman.”

“You have to be a threat and you have to make good decisions at quarterback if you want to definitely be effective and see success in this game,” Horvath said when describing the attributes of a sound service academy quarterback. “It’s all an art. It’s not as much a science.”

Navy quarterback Blake Horvath (11) picks up yardage during the first quarter of an NCAA football game against UAB on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Annapolis, Md. (AP Photo/Mike Buscher)

Horvath ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns and completed 9-of-15 passes for 134 yards last year in a 34-7 thumping of Air Force at Falcon Stadium.

Szarka doesn’t have the track record of Horvath, but what the Aurora native has done in a four-game sample compares with anything Air Force has seen at the position.

He has passed for 638 yards and five touchdowns, rushed for 296 yards and four touchdowns and did this while making just one start as he shared time and came off the bench through the first three games of the season.

The pace he has set would have him throw for 1,914 yards (which would be the most for Air Force since Bob Parker in 1970) and rush for 888 yards (which would be the most for a Falcons QB since Chance Harridge in 2003).

Air Force Falcons quarterback Liam Szarka (9) runs through the Hawaii Warriors defense to the Warriors 7-yard line to set up a Falcon touchdown during the first half Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

Some of those stats are undoubtedly inflated because Air Force has played from double-digit deficits for most of the past three games, but he has also been asked to pass against defenses that expected it – as opposed to the offense’s typical approach of using play-action passes to surprise opponents.

But, again, what he’s done so far has occurred while playing wire-to-wire in a game only one time.

Szarka has shown the ability to throw over defenses and to use his legs to scramble to buy time, work through a progression of receivers and still throw accurately.

“Like Blake, for us, he’s a very effective runner,” Newberry said. “He’s a good passer. He can throw the deep ball, he gets it out quick, he makes the right reads. Takes care of the football, for the most part.

“Really impressed with how he runs the offense.”

Air Force quarterback Liam Szarka (9) looks to pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Utah State, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Logan, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

Szarka’s success has been the positive surprise of the season for Air Force, particularly when considering he didn’t officially win the solo spot until Week 4.

“We kind of knew obviously in spring ball but maybe a little bit last year as a freshman, we kind of heard that he was a dude and had some good skills,” said Cade Harris, who leads Air Force with 439 receiving yards.

That checks out with what tight end Bruin Fleischmann had told The Gazette about Szarka in July.

“I think he’s the most well-rounded of what we have,” Fleishmann said of Szarka when discussing the team’s quarterbacks at Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas. “He’s a runner. He’s a tough guy, so he can handle all that stuff. Pressure doesn’t get to him, which is huge at the quarterback position. And he can sling the ball. The only thing that he’s struggling with is something he’s not at fault about, he’s just young.

“He’s super versatile in whatever we need him to do. He’s that stereotypical service academy quarterback.”

Coming off a game against Hawaii in which he set an Air Force record with 417 total yards (278 passing, 139 rushing), Szarka now has a chance to prove his worth in front of a sold-out War Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

Awaiting on the other side will be one of the best to do it for Navy.

Years from now, there’s a strong possibility one or both of these names might come up when discussing the next wave of quarterbacks at Air Force and Navy.