Unsung heroes bring pigskin plays to life

If you don’t hear the names of Patrick Naputi and Kana Galletes mentioned after a Juneau-Douglas High School football game, it’s a good thing.

As the Crimson Bears’ unsung heroes, the center and long snapper, respectively, not talking about them means they did their jobs well. Those positions are talked about most when plays start badly.

“I have coached at a lot of levels of football,” Juneau-Douglas High School head coach Kevin Hamrick said. “And every play starts the same way, with the snap.”

If you add in a wildcat formation or tally in the punts, a center will sometimes touch the ball more than the quarterback during a game.

To the casual observer, and sometimes the die-hard fan, the center position looks like, well, a snap.

Wait for the signal and jettison the ball, either up into the quarterback’s hands or back 10 or so yards to a punter or field goal kicker.

Sounds simple — but it’s not.

The snapper has to be a powerful player with a solid work ethic. He has to identify who he will block or which linebacker is going to blitz while listening to the signals called. The he has to flick his wrist and send his arm back without looking at the recipient.

“There are a lot of things that go into it,” Naputi said. “The weather, your grip on the ball. Plus you have to take steps to protect the quarterback at the same time while snapping. I have a bunch of responsibilities beyond the snap. It is a hard position, but I just love the feeling that I am just as important as the quarterback and the rest of my team. Without me, the quarterback doesn’t get the ball.”

Said Galletes, “If you mess up, the other team is usually in very good field position, and if you do a good job, and the kick gets off, you did your job good. The point of snapping the ball is to do it fast so the other team doesn’t have a chance to stop it or recover it. We want to get good position for our defense.”

The ball has to be put solidly into the quarterback’s hands. If the signal caller flinches slightly, or the center delivers the ball to the left or right just a fraction, the ball becomes a wobbly top on the field.

If the long snapper sends the ball too low or too high, too fast or too slow, then again the play is in shambles. Then there’s the possibility the ball will be snapped too late or too early.

The offensive line is constantly readying for a bull rush from the defensive line, and has just a 0.3 second head start by knowing the snap count. If the center is early the team loses that edge, and if he’s late his team will be called for offsides.

The long snapper has to place a tight spiral to the punter 10-15 yards back, or the field goal holder 7-8 yards back, in roughly 0.7 to 0.8 seconds.

As soon as the play is in action, opposing colors slap, push and explode against the center as he is readjusting from the momentum of the hike back to the support of the front line.

“After you snap the ball, you are the first guy who has the right to leave,” Galletes said. “Nobody is on you and when the punt is gone, you have to hit someone. If you can’t hit the guy, there is no point of playing that position. You have the right of way to go. Once the ball is gone you are on defense and you have to tackle.”

Remember also that this is Southeast Alaska. Football game times generally start when the outdoor stadium lights come on, the wind blows off the Mendenhall Glacier, and rain, sleet or snow ride the gusts like tiny pellets of piercing fire.

“I honestly like it when the quarterback is right behind me,” Naputi said. “I know I am going to get the ball to him and it will be in his hands. Sometimes, I like him farther back because I know I can get it to him and we have more time to block.”

Neither Naputi or Galletes started out hiking the ball while playing in the Juneau Youth Football League. Both seniors were awarded their specialties this season.

“One day we were just messing around and I snapped the ball,” Naputi said. “My coach said I was a good center, so it has been my position since then.”

Added Galletes: “During practice, everyone was asking who could long snap. I hopped up and on my first snap the coach said I was starting long snapper.”

There have been trials.

“My very first long snap in a game was against Barrow,” Galletes said. “It was terrible. After that all my long snaps have been perfectly fine, in the middle of the punters chest. That very first one was the worst though. It was bad. They got a safety off of it. That’s why it has to be a good snap or they will get points off of it.”

The toughest opponent for Naputi this season has been the Kodiak Bears and their Division I college linebacker prospect Kordell Pillans, the 4A Boys state champion in the shot put and discus.

“He is really big and he plays on the line,” Naputi said. “He put a lot of pressure on me when I was snapping. They were just a really good team all around.”

It is easy to point the blame when a star falters and hard to praise the unsung hero when the play is true and solid.

Most football miscues do not reveal the culprit unless the referee points him out, the announcer broadcasts who to blame or it’s spotted the day after a game while reviewing film.

But if the quarterback mishandles a ball from center, due to a multitude of reasons, the blame centers on the center position.

“It always looks like us,” Naputi said. “I just look at it like it is not the last snap I am going to do. It does make me feel bad, too. I do have messed up snaps and I know it is my fault sometimes, but it is always about the next snap that matters. After a bad snap the play is over, it is about the next snap after that. So I work hard to do my next snap 10 times better than the one I messed up on. I love my position.”

Despite the the pressure of ensuring every play is started right, Naputi considers his job to be “super fun.”

“I just like it,” he said. “I get a lot of action throughout the games and I get to hit people and bring them to the ground.”

Added Galletes: “I don’t think anybody likes the feeling that you did something wrong. My punter Garret Mayer always compliments me a lot during the games and after plays. That is important. After every snap, and you know it is good, it is just a nice feeling knowing that you did your job well and you got it done. And it is pretty good when you run down the field and make that hit — the best feeling on the field.”

Galletes stays on the field after his long snap to play on the defensive line. And during practice, there’s extra work as well.

“During practice drills the coach adds snapping drills on the side,” Galletes said. “So I am snapping when I am tired too. It is what I love to do.”

• Editor’s note: The Juneau Empire reached out to Thunder Mountain football coach Randy Quinto to profile his center and long snapper for this article but phone calls and emails were not answered.