Moanalua wide receiver Ryan Ramones caught 10 passes for 260 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Damien. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Male Athlete of the Week: Ryan Ramones, Moanalua football
Off the field, Ryan Ramones keeps it loose. Between the lines, however, Ramones is all about production.

The senior wide receiver went off on opening night, recording 10 receptions for 260 yards and five touchdowns in Moanalua's 46-24 win over Damien Friday. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Ramones caught TD passes of 88, 24, 41, 14 and 19 yards — all from senior quarterback Alakai Yuen, who threw for 356 yards with six TDs and 3 interceptions.

"I would safely say that Alakai has his go-to guy in Ryan, but on the same token, Ryan's route running is so smooth and deceptive that he gets open so fast and I think that's definitely attributed to his training and his work ethic," Na Menehune first-year coach Savaii Eselu said.

"The two of them just have a strong connection that, ‘if all else fails, all I have to do is find Ryan and put in on the money.' They're on the same page already and that was just the first game, so I'm excited to see if they can keep it going."

Yuen, who threw for 2,462 yards and 27 TDs as a junior last year, said he benefits from insights that Ramones has to offer.

"He's someone I can count on and he is a team leader," Yuen said. "When there is something going on in the defense — something that he notices or picks up — he lets me know and he communicates with me. He comes back to the huddle and lets me know what he sees. It makes my job easier and I thank him for that."

Yuen turned to Ramones early and often Friday night. The pair first hooked up for an 88-yard scoring-strike at the 8:52 mark of the second quarter.

"We had a particular play called for the field side, to the boundary, and we had isolated Ryan — it wasn't supposed to go to him — but we saw the corner start to play up a little bit prior to that play and we realized the safety wasn't getting over the top fast enough, so Alakai made a quick check and changed the route to a ‘go,' and he threw it over the top and put it right on the money," Eselu said.

Eselu said the long play opened things up underneath the defensive coverage, which Ramones quickly exploited.

"That's when he started running slants and they didn't have enough help for the hook and curl areas because they kept a strong, six-man box, so we figured we'd just try and take a shot in those little spots and let the guys work," Eselu said.

Ramones added a 24-yard TD catch late in the second quarter and a 41-yard score early in the third. He added a 14-yard TD grab early in the fourth and closed out his night with a 19-yard score on a fourth-and-goal in the game's final minute.

"That's a huge performance," Eselu said of Ramones, who garnered MVP honors amongst receivers at June's GPA Football camp. "It's nothing short of what we expected, but maybe not that wild."

Eselu, who shares offensive coordinator duties with former University of Hawaii running back Nate Ilaoa, said the offense will go as Ramones does.

"Our philosophy isn't ‘run-to-pass,' or ‘pass-to-run,' we will attack whatever is available and will keep attacking until you fix it, so utilizing Ryan to gets going definitely helps because it eliminates guys from the box and then we can run the ball," Eselu said. "It's a huge asset having him. The combinations seem to be endless with his skill set."

Ramones matched his touchdown total as a junior in the first game of the year. He caught we passes for 405 yards in 2015.

"He attended a few camps and has been preparing to get things rolling because he seemed to realize how much of a great talent he is and how much of a huge asset he is to the team," Eselu said. "It seemed like at one turning point in the summer he just turned this thing on and it just stayed on since then — not just in games, but especially in practices. He just wants to excel and be the best."

Eselu describes Ramones as ‘hard worker, but a jokester.'

"He's very humble, down to Earth, mild-mannered kind of guy and he always jokes around with everybody," Eselu said. "It's good fun with him, but at the same time he knows when to turn it on. He's a great student-athlete and he brings a whole lot to the table."

Moanalua (1-0) opens Oahu Interscholastic Association play with a road game at No. 10 Kailua Saturday.

ScoringLive reporter Brandon Ching contributed to this report.

FOOTBALL
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Kade Ambrocio, Waianae — Scored on a 99-yard kickoff return in a win over Kamehameha

Cole Arceneaux, Punahou — Caught three passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Leilehua

Braden Amorozo, Waipahu — Threw for 316 yards and a touchdown in a win over Nanakuli

Helam Baldomero, Iolani — Had eight tackles and an interception in a win over Radford

Stephen Barber, Punahou — Threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Leilehua

Kainoa Ferreira, Pac-Five — Caught two touchdown passes and threw another in a win over McKinley

Justin Genovia, Iolani — Caught seven passes for 137 yards and a touchdown in a win over Radford

Siale Hafoka, Lahainaluna — Caught two touchdown passes in a win over Pearl City

Ryan Johnson, Pac-Five — Threw for 341 yards and six touchdowns in a win over McKinley

Rayden Kaneshiro, Iolani — Caught two touchdown passes in a win over Radford

Nick Kapule, Punahou — Threw for 133 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Leilehua

Andrew Kaufusi, Kaiser — Scored on a 90-yard kickoff return in a win over Kaiser

Shastyn Kekahuna, Roosevelt — Rushed 21 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Kaiser

Kaimialoha Like, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Threw for 140 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Waiakea

Paniau Lindsey, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Rushed for 94 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns in a win over Waiakea

Marist Liufau, Punahou — Scored on a 33-yard interception return in a win over Leilehua

Charleston Mahoe, Nanakuli — Rushed 18 times for 100 yards and caught two passes for 64 yards in a loss to Waipahu

Alani Malafu, Maui — Scored on a 40-yard interception return in a loss to Kapaa

Omar Mareko, Kapolei — Had a game-high eight tackles, including two tackles for loss, one sack and a pass breakup in a win over Campbell

Kanai Mauga, Waianae — Scored on a 25-yard interception return in a win over Kamehameha

Satya Mindich, Punahou — Had a game-high seven tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in a win over Leilehua

Tai-John Mizutani, Iolani — Threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Radford

Leighton Moniz, Kapaa — Rushed for 135 yards on 17 carries in a win over Maui

Unaloto Pahulu, Lahainaluna — Had three sacks in a win over Pearl City

Israel Pakele, Castle — Ran for two touchdowns in a win over Kalaheo

Keoni Pangan, Kaiser — Caught two passes for 100 yards, both for touchdowns, and scored on a 20-yard fumble return in a win over Roosevelt

KJ Pascua, Iolani — Rushed for two touchdowns in a win over Radford

Tiger Peterson, Kamehameha — Scored on a 75-yard punt return in a loss to Waianae

Wyatt Perez, Kapolei — Caught six passes for 88 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Campbell

Ethanjames Ramos, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored on a 55-yard interception return in a win over Waiakea

Jaymin Sarono, Kapolei — Caught 10 passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Campbell

Enele Scanlan, Lahainaluna — Threw for 125 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Pearl City

Jonah Soakai, Radford — Scored on an 85-yard kickoff return in a loss to Iolani

Taulia Tagovailoa, Kapolei — Threw for 259 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Campbell

Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Kapolei — Had five tackles, including two sacks, forced a fumble and broke up a pass in a win over Campbell

Dylan Tapat, Damien — Intercepted two passes in a loss to Moanalua

Jett Uechi, Pac-Five — Caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a win over McKinley

Joey Vea-Quitog, Nanakuli — Caught two touchdown passes in a loss to Waipahu

Alakai Yuen, Moanalua — Threw for 356 yards and six touchdowns in a win over Damien