Damien football coach Anthony "Bonez" Tuitele doesn't mince his words when speaking about Wyatt Ho-Williams. 

"He's our best player," Tuitele says of the junior wide receiver/defensive back. 

Ho-Williams is proving his coach right with his play on the field this fall. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound Swiss army knife wears a wide array of hats for the Monarchs. In addition to being the team's top pass-catcher on offense, Ho-Williams is also a seasoned defender whether he's aligned at nickel back or safety. Furthermore, he has a prominent role on special teams as both the team's punter and punt returner. 

"He's just a savvy playmaker. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, but he's very humble and now he's our veteran in the receiver room. He's our leader in there with the most experience. It's been different for him this year, for sure, but he's just savvy and a baller, man," Tuitele stated. 

While Ho-Williams has been a starter since his freshman year — when he played middle linebacker — but to be sure, he's taken on a much larger leadership role this season with standouts like Dayton Savea and Sylas Alaimalo having graduated last spring. 

"That's the thing about Wyatt, he was our starting middle linebacker as a 5-foot-11, 130-pound freshman, but he's always just had that knack for the ball," Tuitele said. 

Things have come full circle for Ho-Williams, who is flourishing as a leader for Tuitele's young squad. Often times players with less experience will matriculate to Ho-Williams for guidance, instruction and support. 

"They love it. They go to him and every time I get done scolding them, they go to him or he's right there. He always laughs and will tell the young kids, ‘You guys take coach too personal. He's just trying to make you better. It's my third year and I'm still getting yelled at so don't trip about it.' It's good have him and he kind of brings that little joy into the meeting rooms and it's just great having him, especially for the younger kids to learn from," Tuitele said. 

Ho-Williams has taken on the added responsibilities with diligence, which Tuitele very much appreciates. 

"Oh, big time. Now he's at where if I'm going to correct something, he'll tell me, ‘Oh, coach, I got ‘em,' so he tries to take more pressure off of me. He's right there after I correct them, trying to make sure they understand the correction I made and why I'm making the correction. That's what guys like Sylas and Dayton would do when they were here, trying to help guys like Wyatt before they left and now he sees the bigger picture and is in this role where he's mature and understanding more quickly and he's stepping up," Tuitele explained. 

Not only has Ho-Williams expanded his leadership capacity, he's most definitely increased his level of production on the field as well. 

In three games of reported statistics this year, Ho-Williams has racked up 360 receiving yards and is averaging more than 32 yards per reception. In a win over Roosevelt on Aug. 22, he posted 140 yards on just three catches. 

"He's not really playing with emotion, but he's playing with the right intentions of emotions. It's not like he's upset because he's not getting the ball, but his mentality is that, ‘when that time comes, I better be ready,' and so he's trusting the process and is just willing to do what needs to be done for the betterment of the team. At the end of the day, Wyatt's just more mature this year and then he'll make a play when his number is called, especially on defense. He just wants to be in the game and wants to make an impact on the game; He'll do anything to help the team win," Tuitele said. 

Ho-Williams certainly did his share of work in Damien's 35-20 win over Iolani at Kozuki Stadium Friday afternoon. He hauled in five receptions for 151 yards and three touchdowns. 

Quarterback AJ Tuifua found Ho-Williams for a 13-yard TD pass to open the scoring with 7:14 left in the first quarter. In the final minute of the opening period, the pair hooked up on a 68-yard scoring strike that gave their team a 21-7 lead. The same duo connected more once with 3:29 to play in the third quarter on a 57-yard TD pass. 

"Honestly, that's something I expected him to do. He's been doing it throughout the whole preseason but for him, I think it was more of a breakout game and what I want for him to do is continue to grow and have big games like that. He's not being complacent and is continuing this path, but I was expecting him to have that kind of game," Tuitele said. 

Tuifua, who finished with 370 yards through the air and four TDs on 22-of-29 passing with a pair of interceptions, has been a teammate of Ho-Williams since small kid time. The quarterback-receiver tandem grew up playing youth football together in their hometown of Waimanalo. 

"Them having played together for so many years, they just have an understanding of what each other sees, what each other is thinking and there's just constant communication. They hold each other accountable and there may be some times that Wyatt feels he's right or AJ feels he's right, but when they sit down and look at it, they're able to assess things together and figure things out," Tuitele said. 

Ho-Williams and Tuifua, as well as another Damien teammate, Uriah "Maka" Maiava, coach a flag football team together in Waimanalo, Tuitele shared. 

When he's not busy with football, Ho-Williams is also a member of the Monarchs' boys basketball team during the winter sports season. Tuitele is also advocating for Ho-Williams to go out for track in the spring. 

"He likes going to the beach, but he's always helping around campus. He's been in Music Ministry that we have and he's always the first person leading the way to wherever help is needed on campus," Tuitele said. 

The formula the Monarchs plan to follow the rest of the football season is far from a complicated one, Tuitele disclosed. 

"Just trying to get the ball in our best player's hands and let him go do his thing. If we can do that, it'll help everyone else around him out too because they'll get their opportunities with defenses having to pay so much attention to Wyatt, so just trying to find ways of him to be in space and go ahead and go play football, that's what we're trying to do. At the same time, he's smart where he just takes what is given. There are times we have to remind him to try not to do too much and to manage his energy, but for him, he has that fire that he wants to score every time he touches the ball, that's the mentality he has," Tuitele said. 

The win over the Raiders Friday snapped a two-game skid for Damien, whose two losses came at the hands of Open Division opponents, Punahou (36-7) and Campbell (49-14). It also put the Monarchs in the driver's seat in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Division I race with Iolani. 

Tuitele noted that the Raiders were without starting quarterback CJ Villanueva for the first-round matchup. 

"It's always good to feel that we're up one, so to win the first one always feels great, but at the same time you can never count out Iolani, plus they didn't have CJ. If they had CJ it could have been different — a lot of what-ifs — so we just gotta continue to get better because obviously they're gonna continue to get better; that's what they're good at. It's good to get the first win because now we control our own destiny and now we have confidence, but let's have the right kind of confidence and not cockiness. There's still a lot of stuff we gotta clean up," Tuitele said. 

Ho-Williams and the Monarchs (3-2 overall, 1-0 league) will have a few weeks off before they return to action against PAC-5 on Oct. 3. 

Damien and Iolani will face off for a second time on Oct. 24.

FOOTBALL

Keenan Alanı, Konawaena — Threw for 243 yards and five touchdowns on 10-of-15 passing without an interception in a win over Honokaa 

Zedekaiah Campbell, Kamehameha-Maui — Ran 16 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Lahainaluna

Jonah Cariaga, Maui — Caught five passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Baldwin 

Isaiah Chong, Campbell — Scored on an 98-yard fumble return for touchdown in a win over Leilehua 

Zak Davis, Kalaheo — Caught five passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in a win over McKinley

Alohi Gaspar, Pearl City — Ran seven times for 107 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Kaimuki 

Devon Green, Kapaa — Made 6 ½ tackles, including 4 ½ for losses and 3 ½ sacks, and forced a fumble in a win over Kauai 

Sky Hirota, Waialua — Caught four passes for 108 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kalani  

Kainoa Iokia — Made 10 tackles and one pass break-up in a win over Kailua 

Paoa Itamura, Kauai — Made 11 ½ tackles in a loss to Kapaa 

Cameron Jackson, Roosevelt — Ran 17 times for 136 yards and a touchdown in a win over Castle 

Nai Kalauokaaea, Kalaheo — Threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-27 passing with one interception and ran in two touchdowns in a win over McKinley

Kekama Kane, Iolani — Caught 11 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Damien 

Samuel Kawakami, Damien — Caught four passes for 103 yards and a touchdown in a win over Iolani 

Hiki Kim Choy-Keb-Ah Lo, Aiea — Caught a touchdown pass, ran for a touchdown and scored on a 77-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Kaiser 

Siotame Malafu, Kapaa — Made 5 ½ tackles, including 3 ½ for losses and one-half sack, and scored on a 65-yard fumble return for touchdown in a win over Kauai 

Troy Mariteragi, Kahuku — Threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-22 passing without an interception and ran nine times for 50 yards and another touchdown in a win over Kapolei 

Kaitin Mundon, Kapaa — Ran 15 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Kauai 

Collin Murphy, Radford — Ran 40 times for 192 yards and a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass in a win over Nanakuli 

Jaedon Pablo, Campbell — Intercepted two passes and returned one 30 yards for a touchdown in a win over Leilehua 

Taimane Souza Fautanu, Konawaena — Caught a touchdown passes and scored on a 99-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Honokaa 

Zyon-Blaze Telles-Kuwahara, Radford — Caught three touchdown passes, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in a win over Nanakuli 

Afi Togafau, Radford — Threw for 159 yards and six touchdowns on 11-of-19 passing with an interception in a win over Nanakuli 

Jeremyah Toilolo, Kalaheo — Caught six passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns in a win over McKinley

Brayden Vitoria, Baldwin — Ran 12 times for 158 yards in a win over Maui 

Allix Yap, Nanakuli — Threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-21 passing with one interception and ran for another touchdown in a loss to Radford 

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Cailey Delanoza-Vea, Waimea — Had 17 kills, nine digs and six aces in a three-set win over Kauai 

Destinee Dupree, Lanai — Had 14 kills, five digs and four aces in a three-set win over Hana 

Archer Fabrao, Kamehameha-Maui — Had 15 kills, three aces, one dig and a set assist in a three-set win over Baldwin 

Jerae-honey Gonzales, Kapolei — Had 13 kills, 17 digs, one solo block, one set assist and an ace in a four-set win over Nanakuli 

Kuuipo Hunt, Kapaa — Had 13 kills, 10 digs, two aces, one block assist and one set assist in a three-set win over Island School 

Clia Kafka, Seabury Hall — Had 21 kills, nine digs, four aces and one block assist in a four-set win over Maui Prep 

Carlyn Kamoku, Kapaa — Had 14 kills, eight digs and two aces in a three-set win over Island School 

Destiny Keomaka-Wood, Seabury Hall — Had 32 set assists, three digs, two block assists and one kill in a four-set win over Maui Prep 

Kamila-Mafi Koloi, Lanai — Had 26 set assists, four kills, three digs, one solo block and an ace in a three-set win over Hana 

Zsiare Lakalo, Campbell — Had 29 set assists, 12 digs, eight kills, three aces and one solo block in a four-set win over Pearl City 

Sofia Mallari, Maui Prep — Had 10 kills, 14 digs and two aces in a four-set win over Kulanihakoi and had 13 digs, seven kills and seven aces in a four-set loss to Seabury Hall

Kacie Miyahira, Kapolei — Had 33 digs, two set assists and two aces in a four-set win over Nanakuli 

Ravina Mokiao-Loa, Nanakuli — Had 16 digs, seven kills and three aces in a four-set loss to Kapolei 

Cali Moniz-Kealoha, Leilehua — Had 18 kills, five digs, one solo block and a block assist in a three-set win over Radford

Zoey Offergeld, Maui Prep — Had 13 kills, 10 digs and one ace in a four-set loss to Seabury Hall 

Anny Scott, Kapolei — Had 11 kills, 16 set assists, four digs, one block assist and an ace in a three-set win over Pearl City and had 28 set assists, 24 digs, three kills, two block assists and one ace in a four-set win over Nanakuli 

Kanani Silva, Kapaa — Had 25 set assists, nine digs and one ace in a three-set win over Island School 

Kira-Lei Smith, Campbell — Had 20 digs, four set assists and three aces in a four-set win over Pearl City 

Cami Watanabe, Leilehua — Had 21 digs and four set assists in a three-set win over Radford 

Chandy-Lee Westbrook, Nanakuli — Had 26 set assists, 14 digs and two kills in a four-set loss to Kapolei