For a split-second, Blake Horvath was suspended in midair, desperately trying to recapture a football that had been knocked from his grasp.

The only thing he had time to think: “Oh crap.”

If he had longer to consider his predicament — like a freeze-frame record scratch — Horvath might have wondered also, “Why me?” or “Oh no, not again.”

It had been that kind of afternoon for Navy’s senior quarterback, who was putting together one of his ugliest performances in perhaps the most consequential game of his career. Fumbling on third-and-3 with the lead late in the fourth quarter would have been the crowning hiccup against Army, an opponent he would give anything to beat.

But as he had all game long, Horvath kept his cool. He recovered the ball that had squirted from his hands, and reached a little farther toward the first-down marker.

Of all the gifts possessed by Horvath, one of Navy’s all-time great quarterbacks, his cool head is probably the most important.

It wasn’t even until after the 17-16 win — after singing the alma mater in the sea of midshipmen, after spraying water in the locker room, after a roaring rendition of “Anchors Aweigh” — that running back Alex Tecza even realized how close the game had come to tumbling out of Horvath’s hands … again.

“Oh really?” Tecza said at the post game press conference, his eyes widening in surprise.

With a 20-3 record as a starter, Horvath has led Navy past many an obstacle. But on Saturday, it seemed the most important person standing in the way of the team’s success was Horvath himself.

He fumbled deep in Army territory in the second quarter, then threw a pick in the third. In the fourth quarter on Army’s own 1-yard line, Horvath tried to sneak in — but the ball was knocked from his hands by Black Knights linebacker Andon Thomas (one of several Army ’backers who made Horvath’s afternoon particularly painful).

Tecza first made a tackle of linebacker Eric Ford (a Laurel native) who had both of his hands on the ball, then slotback Eli Heidenreich recovered it far behind the line of scrimmage.

“It could’ve been a disaster,” coach Brian Newberry said. “The ball was sitting there forever on the turf.”

But Navy has faith in its quarterback. And Horvath has faith in himself.

For as much as he can sling the ball or make defenders miss as a runner, the trait that his teammates find the most important is his ability to move on from his mistakes. Navy trailed for much of the second half and Horvath accounted for the team’s two turnovers — “some bad decisions by our quarterback being an idiot,” he deadpanned in explanation — but the team felt the same confidence in him and from him at the game’s finish.

“You see guys with their heads down, like, ‘What’s going on?’” Tecza said. “They kind of have a wide-eyed look. And he’s just so calm, cool and collected all the time. He’s gonna own up to his mistake, and then move on. I’ve never seen a leader like that.”

It would not have happened without the team around him. The defense locked up the Army offense for just 47 yards of total offense in the second half, and Phillip Hamilton picked off Cale Hellums to spark a scoring drive. While Horvath led with 107 rushing yards, Tecza added 50 and Heidenriech had 100 yards of total offense in a tight-fisted, time-possession tug of war.

But when Horvath needed to deliver, he did.

Two plays after the near-fumble at the goal line, Horvath threw a fourth-down strike across the middle to Heidenreich for a touchdown — by far his best throw of the day after looking unsteady with his arm (7-for-14) throughout the game.

“I trust him as much as I trust any player in our program,” Newberry said. “When we need a play, he makes them. There was no hesitation asking him to throw it in that situation.”

It was as a gritty a performance as you’ll see from a winning quarterback, but Horvath and Navy found a way to win, in spite of the mistakes from their biggest star. His roller coaster of a performance still got the Midshipmen where they wanted to go.

And after Tecza made the game-clinching first down, it was Horvath who was waving goodbye cheekily to the Army sideline.

“They want to talk all their crap during the game and then at the end of the game, act like, ‘Oh, why are you doing this? Why are you doing this?’ Like, yeah, you got it coming,” Horvath said. “So, just saying goodbye. Capping off another CIC [Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy] win. They can go and work on it again.”

It only takes Horvath a split-second to recover his confidence — something that has defined his ugly moments and his great moments at Navy alike.