Woodson, Navy Ground Game Overwhelm Towson in 42-15 Victory

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Navy opened its 2026 season in dominant fashion Saturday afternoon, rushing for more than 500 yards and pulling away from Towson for a 42-15 victory at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Senior quarterback Braxton Woodson delivered the biggest performance of the afternoon, rushing 23 times for a career-high 200 yards and three touchdowns. Navy finished with 506 rushing yards and 527 total yards while controlling possession for nearly 40 minutes.

Towson showed flashes offensively, particularly through quarterback Andrew Indorf, but the Tigers could not consistently slow down Navy’s option attack or sustain enough drives of their own.

Navy improved to 1-0, while Towson fell to 0-2.

Navy Sets the Tone Early

Navy wasted little time establishing its running game.

Woodson capped the Midshipmen’s opening scoring drive with a 38-yard touchdown run with 10:21 remaining in the first quarter. Navy went 75 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, running back Vic Listorti broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run. The nine-play, 88-yard drive extended Navy’s advantage to 14-0 and established the pattern that would define the afternoon.

Towson’s defense struggled to prevent explosive runs while also dealing with Navy’s ability to stay ahead of the chains.

The Midshipmen rushed 73 times during the game and averaged nearly seven yards per carry.

Towson Answers Through the Air

Towson found its offensive rhythm early in the second quarter.

Indorf connected with Aaron Enterline for a 48-yard touchdown just eight seconds into the period, trimming Navy’s lead to 14-6. The Tigers missed the extra point, but the play showed Towson could attack Navy vertically.

Navy immediately answered.

Jackson Gutierrez finished an 11-play, 64-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Midshipmen ahead 21-6.

Towson responded again when Indorf found Jacob Zollar for a 30-yard touchdown with 7:50 remaining in the half. The Tigers again failed to convert the extra point, leaving Navy’s advantage at 21-12.

Towson had suddenly made it competitive.

Indorf completed 13 of 18 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. Enterline finished with two receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Jarvis Jones added 60 receiving yards and Zollar finished with 42 yards and a score.

But Navy delivered a major response before halftime.

Woodson capped a 50-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with just 24 seconds remaining, sending Navy into the locker room with a 28-12 advantage.

That late touchdown shifted the momentum back toward the Midshipmen.

Navy Takes Over After Halftime

Navy essentially put the game away with a methodical opening possession of the second half.

The Midshipmen marched 75 yards in 13 plays and consumed more than seven minutes before Gutierrez scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run.

That drive represented exactly what makes Navy difficult to defend.

The Midshipmen controlled the clock, consistently converted manageable downs and prevented Towson’s offense from getting opportunities.

Towson answered with a 40-yard Zaydaan Faridi field goal that reduced the deficit to 35-15, but the Tigers would not score again.

Navy responded with another long possession in the fourth quarter.

Woodson completed his career afternoon with a 4-yard touchdown run, finishing a 12-play, 65-yard drive that consumed more than six minutes. Nolan Bartley’s extra point produced the final 42-15 margin.

Woodson Leads Dominant Navy Ground Attack

Woodson was clearly the offensive star.

The senior averaged 8.7 yards per carry while producing touchdown runs of 38, eight and four yards.

Listorti provided another major threat, rushing 11 times for 81 yards and a touchdown. Landon Walker added 49 yards on only four carries, while Gutierrez scored twice near the goal line.

Navy attempted only six passes.

Woodson completed three for 21 yards.

The passing numbers barely mattered because Towson never found an answer for the Midshipmen’s rushing attack.

Navy ran 79 offensive plays compared with Towson’s 39 and held the ball for 39 minutes, 50 seconds. Towson possessed the football for only 20:10.

The Midshipmen also finished with 527 total yards compared with Towson’s 246.

Neither team committed a turnover.

Towson Offense Shows Explosiveness

The final score was lopsided, but Towson produced several encouraging offensive moments.

Indorf completed more than 72 percent of his passes and averaged more than 11 yards per attempt. His touchdown connections with Enterline and Zollar both came from at least 30 yards away.

Towson’s problem came on the ground.

Kemarrion Battles led the Tigers with only 25 rushing yards on eight carries. Towson finished with just 39 rushing yards overall.

That made it difficult for the Tigers to maintain possession and created an enormous disparity in offensive opportunities.

Navy ran twice as many offensive plays and repeatedly kept Towson’s defense on the field for extended stretches.

Navy Continues Series Dominance

Saturday marked only the second meeting between the two Maryland programs.

Navy defeated Towson 41-13 in their first meeting in 2008, meaning the Midshipmen have now scored at least 41 points in both games against the Tigers.

Towson entered Saturday facing a difficult stretch in its schedule. The Tigers opened the season with a 21-18 loss to Maine and now travel to Columbia to face South Carolina on Sept. 12.

It is only the second season in Towson history in which the Tigers are scheduled to face two FBS opponents.

Navy, meanwhile, begins its 2026 campaign with exactly the kind of performance it wanted after winning 11 games last season.

MSB Take

For Navy, this was about as convincing of an opening statement as the Midshipmen could have made.

Losing several major offensive contributors from last season created legitimate questions entering 2026, but Woodson immediately showed that Navy’s rushing attack remains extremely dangerous.

A quarterback rushing for 200 yards in an offense already designed to stress defenses with multiple ball carriers creates enormous problems for opponents. Navy did not need to throw the football because Towson never forced the Midshipmen away from what they wanted to do.

For Towson, the score looks ugly, but there were positives.

Indorf showed he can create explosive plays against an FBS defense, and Towson had multiple moments during the second quarter when it threatened to make this a competitive game.

The bigger concern is the rushing defense and the inability to get off the field. Allowing 506 rushing yards will be difficult to overcome against anyone.

Towson now faces another major challenge against South Carolina, while Navy leaves its opener with a 1-0 record and plenty of evidence that its ground attack remains one of the most difficult systems in college football to defend.