Class 1A
No. 15 Dunbar (16-8) vs. Snow Hill (26-0)
Time -- 3 p.m.
Outlook -- The championship game is nothing new for the Poets, as they make their 14th appearance since 1993. Of those 14 trips, 11 of them have ended in state championships, with their latest in 2006. A couple of star junior football players lead No. 15 Dunbar this year in forward Sean Farr (17 points, eight rebounds, two assists) and point guard Tavon Austin (13 points, five rebounds, seven assists). Snow Hill of Worcester County hasn't lost a game this season, but its record is deceiving. "We don't play in quite the league that [Dunbar] plays in," Snow Hill coach Allen Miller said. "We like to press and run. We start five point guards, so we get killed on the boards every night, but we usually lead the turnover battle." Every player in the Eagles' starting lineup averages in double figures, with 6-foot-1 Trevon Johnson (18.5 points, six rebounds, 5.6 assists) proving to be the hardest to stop. The Poets are battle-tested, having played most of the best teams in Baltimore City. Snow Hill was a state semifinalist last season, but Dunbar knows how to win in mid-March, and that experience should put the Poets in the championship game again.
The Sun's pick -- Dunbar
1A champion pick -- Dunbar
Class 2A
No. 2 Randallstown (22-3) vs. Wicomico (21-4)
Time -- 7 p.m.
Outlook -- These two teams met in the 2006 Class 2A final at the Comcast Center with the Rams prevailing, 64-54. Then last year, the Rams won a third consecutive state championship, 66-63 over Fairmount Heights of Prince George's County, an unprecedented feat for a Baltimore County team. The game also matches Rams coach Kim Rivers (314-52, .858) who is on a fast track in career wins over 14 seasons with Wicomico's Butch Waller (624-290, .683), who in 42 seasons is the second-winningest active coach in the state and who won a state title in 2002. The Eastern Shore Indians are in the state final four for a third straight year and are on a 10-game winning streak. Devon Cole, a 5-10 junior guard, leads the Indians in scoring with 20.8 points per game and is one of five starters averaging in double digits on a team scoring 75.5 points a game. The Rams average 64.7 points per game with point guard Tione Womack averaging 12.5 points a game. The Rams have an overall height advantage with two 6-4 junior starters in leading scorer Alexander Jackson, who averages 17.4 points per game and 7.2 rebounds, and Brandon Young, plus 6-5 senior center Donnell Parker, who leads the Rams in rebounds with 7.4 per game and averages 8.1 points. The trademark Randallstown depth will be the difference in wearing down the Indians.
The Sun's pick -- Randallstown
Gwynn Park (25-1) vs. No. 12 Winters Mill (19-6)
Time -- 9 p.m.
Outlook -- Led by 6-foot-5 guard Cammeron Woodyard, who has committed orally to Penn State, Winters Mill has been one of the metro area's hottest teams, winning 10 straight by an average of 23 points, including a 71-49 victory over Middletown in the Class 2A West title game. The Falcons, however, could be facing their toughest opponent all season in perennial Prince George's County power Gwynn Park, which is ranked No. 5 in the Washington area. The Yellow Jackets, who began the season with 22 straight wins, are led by the trio of 6-3 guard Sean Thomas (averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists), 6-3 guard Harold Washington (19 points, 12 rebounds) and 6-5 forward Corey Anderson (15 points, 13 rebounds). Gwynn Park has won 10 state titles, though none since 1988, despite advancing to the final four times since 1999. Winters Mill, the Carroll County champion, returns to College Park for the second time in school history, after its semifinal loss in 2006. The Falcons are led by Woodyard (20.5 points per game), another future college player in 6-foot McDaniel recruit Devon Lesniak (14.6 points, five assists) and 6-7 forward Rashad Blackwell (8.1 rebounds).
The Sun's pick -- Gwynn Park
2A champion pick -- Randallstown