Friendly port for Navy team

SAN DIEGO – There was no question which team should have had the homefield advantage for Thursday night’s Poinsettia Bowl – Navy, by a nautical mile over Colorado State.

The Midshipmen had the run of the harbor on Wednesday, which only seemed natural, including a pep rally aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu.

Those are the perks of playing in San Diego, the West Coast’s largest Navy port.

“It’s great to have your fans there and hopefully we can feed off their emotion, but once it’s kicked off and you get hit in the mouth, you forget how many people are watching,” coach Paul Johnson said Wednesday during a news conference aboard the USS Midway, a storied aircraft carrier that’s now a museum.

The game was still in progress at press time with Navy leading 41-24 entering the fourth quarter.