The secret to Navy football's start may reside in a Hilliard kitchen

HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) -- In a kitchen in Hilliard is where you may find the secret ingredient to Navy’s historic start to the 2024 football season.

"We've always called them Neiman Marcus bars,” Laura Horvath said, pouring ingredients into a mixing bowl, including a full stick of butter, a sleeve of cream cheese, and then an entire bag of sugar.

“When you’re pouring in whole chunks of things, that’s when you know!” NBC4's Whitney Harding said, watching her start her electric mixer. “I’m already a fan.”

Laura Horvath has been bringing sweet treats her to son Blake’s football teams since middle school. Blake has played quarterback, among other positions, all his life, and the baking tradition began as a thank-you to his offensive line.

"We decided that the line are the people that probably do the most work. They get no recognition,” Laura Horvath said.

"You only notice them if they mess up," Harding added.

"Right! So if there is a penalty, they get their name called out," she said.

It’s a tradition that ran through Blake’s time at Hilliard Darby High School, and now, it has made its way all the way to Annapolis, Maryland, in Blake’s first year starting at quarterback for Navy.

"My mom makes [the offensive line] baked goods every week after all of our games to show her appreciation for trying to keep me safe,” Blake Horvath said during a Zoom call. He then reached for a huge Tupperware and pulled out a small, brown chunk. “Chocolate-covered cake balls here,” he said with a smile. “They are delicious. This thing was filled and now there are four left."

It’s not just full bags of sugar that have been fueling Navy this season. After the Midshipmen started 6-0 for the first time since 1979, Blake Horvath was the talk of college football, putting up solid numbers and big-time quarterback ratings. The nickname “Heisman Horvath” even started floating around after he showed up on some long-shot Heisman odds.

“Yeah, my son Cole and I just laugh like, 'Can you believe that?'" Laura Horvath said.

"We came in with dreams and hopes and aspirations but no expectations or entitlement to anything and I think that's sort of why we've gotten where we're at," Blake Horvath said.

There is still much more of the journey to go.

"We have bigger aspirations than six wins,” Blake Horvath said. “You know being in the position that I've had and just with the opportunity, it's been surreal. I think about that before every game -- to enjoy myself and this is something I get to do."

"We always tell him, 'Don't choke on the sugar!' You know?'" Laura Horvath said laughing as she began cutting into the finished Neiman Marcus bars and thinking about the amount of sugar just mixed in the bowl. “I mean, it's hard when we're just pouring it in here!”