Mindy Neves, left, president of the Sonoma Valley High School Hall of Fame, inducts, from left, Linc Isetta, Ross Guptill, Darryll Butler, John Florance,and Trevor Unverferth, with coach Phil Rosemergy, front, of the the Sonoma Valley Dragons’ 1993-94 North Coast Section championship team, into the hall of fame at Sonoma Valley High School, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Brenton Sanders, right, and Darryll Butler, teammates from the Sonoma Valley Dragons’ 1993-94 North Coast Section championship basketball team, greet one another after the two were inducted into the Sonoma Valley High School Hall of Fame, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
AJ and Gunnar Unverferth, display their t-shirts for their dad, Trevor, of the Sonoma Valley Dragons’ 1993-94 North Coast Section championship basketball team. Unverferth, along with several other teammates, was inducted into the Sonoma Valley High School Hall of Fame, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
John Florance, left, and Trevor Unverferth, teammates from the Sonoma Valley Dragons’ 1993-94 North Coast Section championship basketball team, unwind after both, along with other teammates, were inducted into the Sonoma Valley High School Hall of Fame, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Sonoma Valley Dragons teammates display their 1993-94 North Coast Section championship rings, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Sonoma Valley Dragons 1993-94 head basketball coach Phil Rosemurgy coached his team to a North Coast Section championship 33 years ago. The coach and players from the team were inducted into the Sonoma Valley High School Hall of Fame, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
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Mindy Neves, left, president of the Sonoma Valley High School Hall of Fame, inducts, from left, Linc Isetta, Ross Guptill, Darryll Butler, John Florance,and Trevor Unverferth, with coach Phil Rosemergy, front, of the the Sonoma Valley Dragons’ 1993-94 North Coast Section championship team, into the hall of fame at Sonoma Valley High School, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The halls of Sonoma Valley High School have seen plenty of athletes and teams celebrate championship achievements over the decades.
But only one group of Dragons can call themselves the first to do so.
That would be the school’s boys basketball team from the 1993-94 season, which captured Sonoma Valley’s first-ever North Coast Section title — in any sport — in storybook fashion.
The players and coaches from that squad have been part of the school’s lore ever since their March 5, 1994 upset victory over powerhouse San Lorenzo for the Division 3 title.
But thanks to a weekend gathering back on their home court, they are now officially in the school’s history books.
At a halftime ceremony during the current Dragons’ 51-36 win over Concord on Saturday afternoon, members of the 1994 NCS championship squad gathered at midcourt to be inducted into the Sonoma Valley High School Hall of Fame.
“It’s about time; it’s been 31 years,” said one of those players, John Florance. “Sometimes I have no words for it because it’s such a big deal. The main thing I want to display is that if nobody says anything, nobody knows about it. If we didn’t like each other, we wouldn’t have been here, and we had a great turnout today.”
Six players from the team — Florance, Kevin Unverferth, Trevor Unveferth, Linc Isetta, Ross Guptill, Darryll Butler and Brenton Sanders — were present at the ceremony along with their former head coach, Phil Rosemurgy.
Others from the team, who couldn’t attend Saturday, included Bobby Alexander, Noah Larson, Mike Rosas, Matt Gabriel, Shane Brashyn and Ryan Morefield. Another, Mark Perry, has since passed away.
Only two from the team — Florence and Alexander — went on to play collegiate basketball. Florence competed for Santa Rosa Junior College and later Biola University in Southern California, and Alexander played at Grand Canyon University in Arizona.
But whether that 1994 high school season was the end of their journey in the sport or not, the players were eager to reunite at Saturday’s festivities. A few of them traveled from around the country to be back at their alma mater. Guptill, who resides in Louisville, Kentucky, was happy to make the trip to get together with his former teammates.
“It’s great to see these guys again,” he said. “It’s obviously cool to be here for this, but seeing these guys is so much better.”
And they’ll never forget that championship night almost 32 years ago, in front of 4,000 strong at a sold-out James Logan High School gym in Fremont. Going up against San Lorenzo — a heavily favored team ranked in the top five in Northern California and the top 10 in the state — Sonoma Valley went on the attack right from tipoff, blitzing out to a 22-9 lead.
It was a lead they would never relinquish, as the Dragons kept their foot on the gas all game long in what became a 71-46 stunner. The championship triumph capped a magical season for Sonoma Valley, which lost just four games en route to the section title.
“These guys have matured,” said Rosemurgy, their former coach. “I was incredibly lucky to coach a group of guys that were, No. 1, unselfish, and, No. 2, cared about each other.”
And as the group of alums watched the 2026 version of the Dragons pick up a seventh win of the season, the question was raised: Could they still dominate on the court, almost 32 years later?
“It would be a very lazy two-three zone,” Florance said with a chuckle.