Navy somber after player's injury in car accident

The excitement that has been building for the renewal of the rivalry between Army and Navy on Dec. 8 was on display Wednesday at Lincoln Financial Field, where coaches and players discussed the importance of the game to U.S. military personnel around the world.

But the excitement on Navy's side was toned down considerably by a serious injury suffered by one of its players.

Freshman Ralph "Rafi" Montalvo, the third-string quarterback for the Midshipmen, remained in a medically induced coma at a hospital in his hometown of Miami after suffering a severe head injury in a one-car accident on Thanksgiving night.

For Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, the game remains significant, but his thoughts and those of his players are with a teammate fighting for his life.

"It puts a lot of things in perspective," he said. "As big as this game is, it's just a football game. So we're all praying for Rafi. We're hoping he's doing well. His parents are wonderful people and they're hanging in there. We hope today's a good day for him."

Montalvo, who recently was promoted to No. 3 on the depth chart but has not played a snap all season, was scheduled to fly out of Miami last Thursday night on his way back to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. But when he learned his flight had been delayed, he and a friend, the driver, decided to get something to eat.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the driver turned one street too early in foggy conditions, became disoriented, and drove the car into a home at the end of the street. Both occupants of the car were rushed to a local hospital and placed in medically induced comas.

Jeff Fair, Navy's director of sports medicine, told the Sun that Montalvo is fighting an infection that causes his blood pressure to rise.

Navy cocaptain Bo Snelson said an assistant coach reached him Friday at his home in Texas asking him to spread the word about the accident.

"I didn't know anything and my mind was spinning," he said. "I'm calling the guys and they're asking me the same questions that I had, that I didn't have any answers to. But more information started trickling in, we heard he's making progress. We hope he makes a full recovery."

Niumatalolo called Montalvo "a wonderful young man," and told a story to illustrate the player's unselfishness.

"I asked him to go on defense last week to be a scout team quarterback," he said. "The defensive coaches said they were fine, and he didn't need to go. So he came back to me and said, 'Coach, they have enough quarterbacks, but I can go play wideout or whatever you want me to do.'

"It just shows you he's very selfless. He's a humble kid, a good person."

Notes. Navy (7-4), headed to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl Dec. 29 in San Francisco, has won 10 straight games over Army (2-9) and leads the series 56-49-7. . . . This is the eighth time in the last 10 years that Philadelphia has hosted Army-Navy and the 84th time overall since the rivalry began in 1890. Under the current contract, the game, which was played last year at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., will return to Philadelphia next year and also in 2015 and 2017. M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore will host the game in 2014 and 2016.