Montana Liana is set to begin his third year as the starting quarterback of the Farrington Governors. Evan Asato | SL

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Evan Asato | SL

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Montana Liana is tired of falling short.

Not that he needs it, but the senior quarterback of the Farrington football team receives all the motivation he needs at his family's Kalihi home each night.

"My dad, Carl Liana, he's always bragging in my house because he's the only one in the household to win a championship," said Montana, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound southpaw. Carl Liana was a member of the 1990 Farrington team that won the only Oahu Interscholastic Association football title in school history.

The younger Liana is set to begin his third year as the starting quarterback of the Govs and has led his team to the title game of the OIA Red Conference twice, only to come up short both times.

"It just feeds my hunger to accomplish that goal," Liana said. "It would mean everything. Hopefully I can help us win that OIA championship and maybe even be the only one in my house with a state championship."

If 2014 is the year that Farrington breaks through for another league crown, much of its success will hinge upon the play of Liana.

"We expect more maturity from him and he has put in the work in the offseason, so that's good," said Randall Okimoto, who begins his 13th season as head coach of his alma mater. "He's been working on his speed and his accuracy and his progression, so it'll fun to see what he'll do this year."

Liana participated in several camps over the summer and has added about 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason. His arm strength and foot work have improved since last year, but the big question is who will he throw to?

Senior DJ Chaffin appears to be the most sure-handed pass catcher among Liana's main targets. Others expected to contribute to the passing game are Kingston Moses-Sanchez, Ranson Tia and Joel Kealoha.

The Govs will turn to a pair of sophomore to tote the rock out of the backfield in CJ Liana — Montana's younger brother — and Challen Faamatau.

"Challen reminds me of (former Farrington running back) Matt Bell — he can run and catch the ball — and CJ is more of a power back, whereas Challen will shake it up a little," said Okimoto, himself a former standout running back. "We're looking at running back-by-committee, but we'll find out after the first few games."

The offense, which averaged 18.6 points and 236.1 yards per game last year, may not have to score all that much if the defense lives up to its billing.

"We're just loaded on defense this year, but we're not going to rely on talent, we're going to work our butts off everyday," said senior defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko, who recently gave a verbal commitment to Texas Tech.

Fehoko, who is rated amongst the top prospects in the state, will be a key piece of the Govs' defense, along with senior middle linebacker Bryce Tatupu-Leopoldo. The duo are the only returning starters from the 2013 squad that reached the Division I state semifinals.

"We like to play nasty," Tatupu-Leopoldo said. "We're very aggressive. We try to get into the offense's mind and get them out of their game and we just stay aggressive and play our game."

Fehoko, who recently returned from participating in Nike's The Opening, an elite camp for the nation's top prep players in Oregon, has taken it upon himself to provide leadership for his team.

"This year moreso I see myself as a leader. That's all I want to do is lead. I want them to feed off of my vide. I want to give off good energy. I want to be able to do things for them that they can see, so that when their time comes they can be the exact same. I want them to carry the milestone, carry the trend that we're setting now and just carry it on when they take over."

One thing is for sure. After all the tribulations of 2013 — which included the tragic passing of teammate Dayne Ortiz — Farrington is taking nothing for granted heading into this season.

"We'll never forget him," Tatupu-Leopoldo said of Ortiz, whose body was never found after disappearing while fishing with his family. "We were blessed to be around him and share the time that we had with him. As a team we grew to become stronger and our bond was even closer after that."

The Govs open the 2014 season at Kaiser on Aug. 8.

2014 Farrington football schedule
Aug. 9 — vs. Baldwin (at War Memorial Stadium)
Aug. 16 — vs. Waipahu (at Aloha Stadium)
Aug. 23 — vs. Kapolei (at Roosevelt)
Aug. 29 — at Moanalua
Sept. 6 — vs. Aiea (at Roosevelt)
Sept. 12 — at Kailua
Sept. 27 — at Mililani
Oct. 4 — vs. Campbell (homecoming at Aloha Stadium)