SANTA ROSA – Playoff success has been the norm at Santa Rosa no matter who suits up for the Warriors.

Coach Johnny Cipriano’s team is back in the sweet 16 for a third-straight season.

“Since day one I’ve been telling these guys that I knew we could get to this point,” said Cipriano. “They just have to believe in themselves. It is special because it’s a personal goal of mine to be the last team standing every year.”

Santa Rosa made it to the final four last year with a talented team led by Leo Lara. This year’s Warriors have been thrilled to show off their skills in the playoffs.

“It’s a pretty big deal,” said senior guard Jonah Agado. “It feels a little better than last year. Last year, the expectations were much higher. This year, I guess you can say we had a lot of haters. So it feels much better this year.”

“As long as we follow through with what coach says and I trust in my teammates, we can go much further,” said senior post Ryan Perez. “Just because we got there doesn’t mean it stops. We keep going and pushing through.”

Santa Rosa will face Marion in the regional semifinals. The Warriors don’t know a lot about their opponent, but they have a feeling height will favor Marion.

“I’m pretty sure they will be a lot taller than us,” said senior guard A.B. Lozoya. “We’ve gone through that the whole season. Every team we’ve played has been taller than us. Our game play isn’t going to change. Hopefully we can still come out with the win.”

Friday’s contest tips off at 6pm at Seguin High School. The winner advances to Saturday’s regional final.