Gwynn Park

Football Class 2A South regional semifinal Gwynn Park @ No. 1 River Hill WHEN: Tomorrow, 7 p.m. OUTLOOK: River Hill, which has not lost a game in the past two seasons and only one in the past three, opens the playoffs and the defense of its 2A state title against Gwynn Park. The Yellow Jackets upset high-powered Dunbar, 33-32, in the opening game of the season. Gwynn Park, however, comes into tomorrow night's game off a 26-12 home loss to Frederick Douglass, which burned the Jackets' aggressive cornerbacks for three touchdowns.

BRANDYWINE - Dunbar's players and coaches knew their long winning streak would end at some point. They just didn't expect it to end like this. The top-ranked Poets turned in a mistake-riddled performance in yesterday's season opener against Gwynn Park. Dunbar committed 15 penalties, blew a 10-point halftime lead and gave up 27 second-half points as Gwynn Park rallied for a 33-32 victory. That win ended Dunbar's two-year, 25-game winning streak. The Poets last lost in the 2006 season against Edmondson and have won two state titles along the way. Coach Lawrence Smith gave his team a clear message afterward: The streak is over, and it's time to move on. "There was a lot of pressure on them, [but]

COLLEGE PARK -- Hoping to better prepare his team for the challenges it might face come March, Winters Mill coach Dave Herman loaded his early season schedule with the likes of Mount St. Joseph and Cardinal Gibbons, an unusual move for a Carroll County program. It was a move, however, that paid huge dividends in last night's Class 2A state semifinals, as the No. 12 Falcons rallied from eight points down with just over four minutes left against perennial Prince George's County power Gwynn Park, then won it, 58-56, on guard Devon Lesniak's off-balance 15-footer at the buzzer.

The score was tied and 10.5 seconds remained on the clock as the Class 2A South championship, featuring high-scoring Gwynn Park and defensive-minded Mount Hebron, came down to one play last night at Mount Hebron. "We wanted to get a high screen and dish it to Aja [Wallpher] or Brittany [Bowen] and they ran the play to perfection," Vikings coach Scott Robinson said. Bowen passed it to Qiana Coleman, who was wide open under the basket for an easy layup, and the six-time state champion Vikings were regional champs for the first time since 1995.

High school football can bond a community, and there was no doubt that the crowd of just under 1,000 at Annapolis High for the Panthers' opener last night was together after a week of turmoil at the school. "I didn't notice up in the stands too much, but we [the school community] really never got apart," said Annapolis coach Brian Brown, whose team was defeated, 41-7, by Gwynn Park of Prince George's County, the defending Class 3A state champion. "We never got apart." After the post-game handshakes, the teams huddled in the middle of the field for a prayer.

The state girls basketball semifinal between No. 4 Western and Gwynn Park featured the Doves' inside power vs. their opponent's perimeter game. Chalk this one up to inner strength. The 6-foot-2 senior duo of Zhondria Benn and Nikki Matthews combined for 39 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Doves past the Yellow Jackets, 64-50, last night at UMBC's RAC Arena. The Doves (25-1) are headed to the state title game for the first time since 1999. Tomorrow at 8 p.m. at RAC Arena, they will meet No. 8 River Hill, a 54-44 winner over Urbana last night.

Due to a production error, an Athlete of the Week profile of Jamal Barney didn't appear in the Anne Arundel editions of this week's Varsity section. Here is the complete article. All-Metro guard Jamal Barney of Southwestern averaged more than 29 points, nearly 11 rebounds, six assists and more than three steals in victories over Gwynn Park and Imhotep of Philadelphia, and in a narrow defeat against Baltimore City rival Douglass. In the 69-68 loss to Douglass on Jan. 3, Barney led all scorers with 27 points to go with 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

There have been plenty of names thrown around in basketball circles when it comes to listing the best players in Baltimore City. But Douglass' Tyrone Fleming said his wasn't among them. So the 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior set out to change that last night in what he called "a statement" game. Fleming scored 34 points - including six on dunks - grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots in a 70-67 victory over Gwynn Park of Prince George's County in the Function at the Junction event at Walbrook.