Player of the Week : Two Minutes More Than Enough for Snow

In its first four games, Los Alamitos High School didn’t have a chance to execute its two-minute offense, though the Griffins practice it each week.

But in an Empire League game against Esperanza last Thursday, the Griffins (5-0) finally put their two-minute offense to the test.

Quarterback J.T. Snow drove the Griffins 77 yards on 7 plays in the final 41 seconds. He threw a 17-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Robby Katzaroff, giving Los Alamitos its first win ever over the Aztecs, 24-21.

It was Snow’s third touchdown pass. He completed 14 of 24 attempts for 170 yards without an interception. For his performance, Snow is The Times’ Player of the Week.

Snow, who also plays free safety, said he had doubts whether he could guide his team to a game-winning touchdown.

“I had been playing free safety all game and when we got the ball, I was exhausted,” he said. “I felt like I had nothing left. But we got together and said, ‘Let’s pull this off,’ and we went to work.”

The Griffins gained possession on their 23-yard line after Esperanza had scored with 54 seconds left to take a 21-17 lead. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the 38 and Snow completed two of his next three passes to Katzaroff for a first down at the Aztec 32.

“After a couple of completions, we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, we can pull this off,’ ” Snow said.

Snow was forced to run twice in the final 29 seconds, and he gained 15 yards. With five seconds left, Snow hit Katzaroff at the goal line on a curl route. As time ran out, Katzaroff fell into the end zone for the winning touchdown.

“I had never experienced a feeling like that before,” Snow said. “It was especially nice against a team like Esperanza (which defeated Los Alamitos last year, 37-0).”

John Barnes, Los Alamitos coach, said he has come to expect such performances from Snow, a two-year varsity starter. Nonetheless, he had a lot of praise for his senior quarterback.

“That was the best game I’ve ever had a quarterback play for me in 15 years of coaching,” he said. “His poise and confidence were unbelievable. He’s a very, very bright young man. He’s also a very cool competitor.

“(Against Esperanza) He didn’t try to make extra yardage and be a hero. He got us some yardage and scrambled out of bounds and never took a hit. That took great presence of mind.”

Barnes said Snow’s upbringing and his participation in other sports have helped with his mental approach to football. Snow, the son of former Los Angeles Ram receiver Jack Snow, has earned all-league honors in football, basketball and baseball.

Snow said he didn’t expect the Griffins to contend for a league championship, let alone be undefeated and ranked sixth in Orange County.

“We didn’t know if we had the overall talent to go unbeaten, but we knew we had a bunch of kids that wanted to win and had a good attitude,” Snow said. “We didn’t really have a lot of experience except at a couple of positions. We’ve had a lot of young guys in key spots coming through with big plays all year.”

And a veteran such as Snow knows a thing or two about making the big play.