Navy goes ‘old school’ to sink Royal in BYU Alumni Game

On a field decorated with players whose glory years at BYU span over four decades, it was a combination between a 1999 quarterback and a 2005 running back that made the difference.

Charlie Peterson’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Fahu Tahi with 19 seconds remaining lifted Team Navy to a 25-20 victory over Team Royal in the annual BYU ‘touch’ football Alumni Game at LaVell Edwards Stadium Friday night.

When sideline reporter and current BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff asked what he saw on the play, Tahi gasped and gave BYUtv an honest answer: “I didn’t see anything. It just fell into my arms and then I fell down to the ground,” said Tahi, who caught his last touchdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium against Air Force on Oct. 29, 2005.

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“My legs gave out. That’s all I had. I am so tired!”

Moments earlier, Team Royal grabbed the lead after Gavin Fowler, who switched from defense to offense, threw a touchdown pass to Cody Hoffman.

“It was just a cluster,” said Hoffman, who remains BYU’s all-time leader with 33 touchdown receptions. “I just pealed back and Gavin found me.”

Team Royal captain Reno Mahe opted to insert a much younger Fowler in place of Brandon Doman and Jackson Brown to quarterback down the stretch.

“(Gavin) was in the portal and his NIL was so cheap, I had no choice,” Mahe joked.

Fowler, BYU’s safety coach and former Davis Dart signal caller, often moonlights as the scout team quarterback in practice.

“He throws every day,” disputed his father and Team Navy quarterback Blaine Fowler. “I throw every 35 years.”

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Gavin Fowler’s touchdown followed a scoring strike by his father after one of the 1984 national championship game heroes turned back time and fired a bullet to Rob Daniel in the back of the end zone.

For Daniel, it was his second touchdown of the night. The first was a 38-yard bomb from Peterson to open the scoring in the first half.

“We were in a nice bunch formation,” said Daniel, a former defensive back. “I’m sitting at the No. 3 receiver. I had an inside slip, post-route into Cover 2.

“It was easy work. They had a middle reader, Uani (Unga), but he was too slow.”

The controversial play of the night belonged to Matt Edwards. The grandson of the late LaVell Edwards caught a pass short of the goal line, but it was ruled as a touchdown for Team Royal.

“It was good,” laughed BYU head coach Kalani Sitake. “I mean, his name is on the stadium. When you have that bloodline, you can make an exception.”

The top receptions of the night included a tipped ball by Dylan Collie, a 35-yard circus catch by Hoffman and a 24-yard grab by Harvey Langi, who managed to get a foot down just inside the two-yard line.

Much to the delight of defensive coordinator Jay Hill, there were first half interceptions all over the place, including grabs by Garrett Juergens (two), Moroni Laulu-Pututau, Austin Lee and running backs coach Harvey Unga.

“I love it. It’s kind of like our defense last year,” said Hill, whose Cougars grabbed a nation-leading 22 interceptions in 2024. “If we can one-up that (this fall) I’ll be super happy. We don’t want to go backwards.”

For Utah transfer Keanu Tanuvasa, this was his first event in LaVell Edwards Stadium as a Cougar and the defensive tackle was all smiles.

“I love our stadium, just being able to call it that, being able to see it,” Tanuvasa said. “The vibe, the feel, the people are amazing, and I love it. I can’t wait to play here. The energy is going to be crazy. I can’t wait for this crowd and the ROC to sing for us.”

Tanuvasa is not alone. His quarterback is counting down the days to Aug. 30 when BYU will open the 2025 season against Portland State.

“I’m so excited for that,” Retzlaff said. “Walking into this stadium is incredible. It’s an unbelievable place.”

A replay of the alumni game broadcast is available on the BYUtv app.

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.