Navy football looked every bit like the option-based machine it has been built to be Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Quarterback Braxton Woodson rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns, the Midshipmen piled up 506 yards on the ground, and Navy rolled past FCS opponent Towson 42-15 in its 2026 season opener. All six Navy touchdowns came on the ground. The Midshipmen finished with 527 yards of total offense, 30 first downs and a commanding 39:50 time of possession in front of 32,654 fans.
Navy jumped out quickly. Woodson broke a 38-yard run on the opening drive, capping a six-play, 75-yard march that took just over three minutes. Vic Listorti followed with a 35-yard burst later in the first quarter to make it 14-0. Listorti finished with 81 yards on 11 carries.
Towson answered with two long passing scores from sophomore quarterback Andrew Indorf in the second quarter — a 48-yard strike to Aaron Enterline and a 30-yard connection to Jacob Zollar. Both extra-point attempts failed, leaving the Tigers trailing 21-12 after those scores. Jackson Gutierrez punched in a 3-yard run in between those Towson touchdowns, and Woodson added an 8-yard scoring run just before halftime to send Navy into the locker room up 28-12.
The Midshipmen opened the second half with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that consumed more than seven minutes. Gutierrez scored from 2 yards out for his second touchdown of the day. Towson managed only a 40-yard field goal by Zaydaan Faridi in the third quarter. Woodson’s 4-yard plunge with 8:39 remaining in the fourth quarter completed the scoring.
Navy attempted just six passes all afternoon, completing three for 21 yards. Fourteen different Midshipmen recorded at least one carry. The defense limited Towson to 39 rushing yards and recorded three sacks. Indorf finished 13-of-18 for 208 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers, who dropped to 0-2.
Head coach Brian Newberry’s team converted all three of its fourth-down attempts and controlled the line of scrimmage throughout. Navy has now won its season opener in each of the last several seasons in which it went on to play in a bowl game.
The Midshipmen (1-0) travel to Florida Atlantic next Saturday for their American Conference opener.
