Anchored by two sets of brothers: Larry and Ioane Siuta and B.A. and Ropeti Gafa, the Govs are on the right path to establishing a program that has never made the O'ahu Interscholastic Association playoffs.

"Those four together have been incredible," Farrington coach David Chattergy said. "They relied on each other."

And they needed to, when almost three years ago, the Siuta brothers arrived from American Samoa and the Gafa brothers from Western Samoa.

"They were our first friends," B.A. — short for Born Again — Gafa said.

They arrived in the middle of the 2002 school year, and since then, have been helping the team instill pride in the program.

"The first time we came here, we had fun at practice," B.A. said. "Everyone was playing around, and if we lost, no one cared. The next year, it was kind of the same thing. This year, it is different."

Chattergy said his record for the past five years is 5-33-2. Two of those wins have come this year, and "I think we've scored more in these two wins than all of last year," Chattergy said.

He had to make cuts for the first time, holding a roster of 24 players.

Without a strong youth soccer league in Kalihi, most who attend Farrington tend to lean toward football, basketball and baseball when choosing to play a high school sport.

The Siutas and Gafas all played football this season, and chose to play soccer during the winter season.

"Football is if you're strong; soccer, you have to be smart," Ioane, a senior forward, said.

In Western and American Samoa, soccer is one of the more popular sports, "Just like football," Ropeti, a senior sweeper, said.

They brought the love of soccer with them from their respective hometowns, and in Hawai'i, it has given them, "a community, with friends," Larry said.

All spoke English before they came to Hawai'i, but not fluently. Even now, they revert to Samoan when communicating during the games.

"We try to make the other team confused," Ioane said.

Using "pasi" for "pass" and "laina" for a "pass down the sideline," the players said it can affect members of opposing teams.

"They were looking at us like they were lost," B.A., a senior forward, said.

Ioane added: "Some players were like, 'I wish I could speak that.' "

Coaching bilingual players, especially ones with English as a second language, isn't always easy, according to coach Chattergy. He said when the brothers first arrived in Hawai'i, he couldn't run a lot of the drills he wanted to because they couldn't understand what he was saying.

"These kids can smile in five or six different languages. The feeling, the passion and the fun has always been there." David Chattergy • Farrington coach on the soccer-playing brothers

"These kids can smile in five or six different languages," Chattergy said. "The feeling, the passion and the fun has always been there."

The Siutas and Gafas said playing soccer has helped them to speak better English, because the practice is conducted in English.

"It encourages us to go to class to learn more English," B.A. said.

Plus, they all need a 2.0 grade point average to be eligible to play, and they agreed that their grades improve during the soccer season.

It helps that their coach is a teacher in the school's health academy, and can speak to the players' teachers to find out how they are doing academically.

That is how he discovered Larry, the starting goalkeeper, was farsighted, when he couldn't see the chalkboard during classes.

"He improved greatly last year when he got glasses (and now contacts)," said Chattergy, who added that Larry, a junior, is now a 4.0 student. "He couldn't see the ball."

The coaches, including Marc Kawahara, Jason Okamoto and Ropati Liua, have taken their commitment beyond the classroom — to the grocery store.

The forwards and midfielders receive Gatorade and spam musubi if they score a goal, and the defense gets those treats if they shut out a team.

So far this year, the Govs have posted two shutouts and scored seven goals: five by Ioane and two by B.A.

"We usually get our first win when the season is over," B.A. said. "Everybody is getting experience from the last few years. Everybody is getting used to each other. This year, we believe we can do it."