Morning Wrap: Navy Wins Crappily Played Poinsettia Bowl

((ht: espn.com))

If you live on the east coast and aren't a Navy fan and watched the Poinsettia Bowl game Tuesday, you have no life.

The bowl game, featuring the Midshipmen and San Diego State was perhaps one of the worst bowl games of the year.

The reason: Seven turnovers and a missed game winning field goal attempt.

Navy won the game 17-16 on an Austin Grebe 24-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the game.

But it wasn't over until the Aztecs Donnie Hageman missed a 34-yarder with :20 to go.

Navy coach Ken Niumatololo said later "I have no idea how we won the game.

The two teams combined for less than 600 yards total offense, the quarterbacks for both teams threw a combined 34 passes, completing 14 of them.

ESPN.com gives us the high/low lights:

Montalvo Leaving Naval Academy

((HT: Baltimore Sun/Markus)

A lot of people will admit that Miami Immaculata-LaSalle QB Rafi Montalvo is lucky to be alive...

Over Thanksgiving weekend 2012, he was involved in an auto accident back home as he was celebrating the holiday with his family on break from his time at the Naval Academy. He was a passenger in a car when it careened into a house. He spent 16 days in a coma and returned to campus in time for this football season...

Here was the story at the time of his return as the third-string QB on the depth chart at the time of the accident...
((HT: WJLA-TV))
Doctors told him last week that he couldn't return to the playing field because of the scarring on his brain sustained in the accident and recovery. He has resigned from the Academy and has returned home looking to be a volunteer coach at his alma mater- also trying to finish his academics at some point. His head coach could not be more proud- in talking with Markus: “Rafi's an amazing young man,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said Wednesday. “The dedication and the perseverance he had in his rehab, to survive his traumatic ordeal, but also to do all the rehab and all the things that the military put him through [and] the medical people put him through to get back to the acadmy was pretty strenuous deal. For him to come back to the academy was a great accomplishment. ... I'm disappointed that it couldn't work out for him, but I'm super happy where he is in his life. I'm so grateful that Rafi is still here and being able to function as a normal person.”
And the HQ looks forward to seeing him on the field working to make those younger than him as much of as an example as he is...